I don't remember which one has the swivel head; that seems like a great feature. "Back drag" can really suck. Ones that work with the smaller rotation would be good, too. I should probably buy a decent ratchet or three. And, is the engraving on the large font laser engraved sockets durable? I hate looking for the socket size with the tiny font size.
swivel head sucks, it always moves the wrong way. I've gone through a lot of cheap ratchets, but my 3/8 snapon I bought 30 years ago never let me down. too bad this is OT and will get moved to garagejournal
Yeah, the force vector being misaligned can make the handle go askew. I was just thinking that a lockable swivel head might be better, for the rare occasion.
My swivel Snapons are my favorite. Best hand tool I ever bought. I keep the head tightened so it doesn’t flop. I won’t even use a normal ratchet unless I have to We have a Gearwrench set at school. Haven’t broke the first piece. Great set of tools.
I have a 3/8 Snap-On swivel head my grandfather bought wayyy back ,still my first grab choice of the others i have on hand.
I really only buy old tools at the swapmeets. SK, Snap On, Proto, Williams, Plumb, Vlchek and old Craftsman. IF I had to buy new I think it would be SK, but man have they gone up in price.
Yeah...not a fan of swivel head ratchets. Annoying in SO many ways. I don't know what the tooth count is, but I've got my Dad's old Craftsman, 1/2" drive ratchet. That old thing has to have about 20 teeth to it. It's annoyingly course, it sits in the bottom drawer of one of my boxes. I've found that the "Gear Wrench" box-open wrenches are really nice. Fair price, 72 teeth, and up to 90...teeth, for an extremely fine motion, AND has the torque capability of any other toothed wrench of equal size. Personally tested for a project at work. I've never used their 90 tooth ratchets, but I have used their 90 tooth box-open wrenches. Great tools. Mike
I've got a little Icon 1/4" set (goes in my salvage yard bag) with a swivel head ratchet that locks- LOVE IT!
Not a swivel head but I bought a Snap On 3/8 stubby ratchet for 50 cents at a yard sale that the gears didn't engage correctly. Took it to my mechanic and the local Snap On guy made it as good as new. He said it was made in 1969.
Another one I like a lot is this baby 3/8 drive from Wright Tools, next to my Super Ratchet. The body of a 1/4" drive with a 3/8" drive. Handy in tight spots but I don't put a lot of torque to it. Gary
I have a long handle broke head (swivel) 1/2" snap on that's over 25 yrs old and a 3/8" broke head mac that's a long angled handle that's over 28 yrs old. That's my 2 favorite ratchets. At the shop back when I bought them the guys gave me crap for buying broke head ratchets saying they were the worst tools ever made. After about 30 days it got to the point that my ratchets were never in my box because one of the guys were using them. Infact it got so bad one day I finally went ballistic, yelling that everyone told me they were junk and worthless and now everybody in the damn shop can't keep their hands off them!! Needless to say, the following Monday when snap on came by the boss bought a new 1/2 broke head for the guys to use in the shop. .
I enjoy watching his tests. All I can say is that I have never broken a Snap-On ratchet and I have broken several Craftsman over the years. I remember being in the junkyard 30 years ago with my 1940s vintage 1/2" drive Snap-On with a 4-5' exhaust pipe cheater bar and all my weight breaking loose some bolt and it never flinched. Most of those he tested you would never be able to buy parts for. Can you even get Craftsman parts anymore? I might buy a throw-away Milwaukee for my road box if I needed one, but I'll stick with my Snap-On at the house.
Over the years I've broken Snap-on, Mac, Craftsman, and about every other brand out there. I do have a swivel head Mac 3/8 with a long handle that's lasted probably 25 years. And now that I said that it'll break the next time I use it!
I have very old Williams ratchets that are still working like new. I have Craftsman ratchets that are old and work like new, but have newer Craftsman that are crap; especially smaller 1/4" drive! I've even got my dad's old Wards PowerCraft ratchet that's a fantastic tool. It's probably from the 1950's?
Still have the Craftsman 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 ratchets I bought back in 1967…. work just like they did back then except for the 3/8 which had to have new toothed wheel and pawl put in. Never lost a socket out of the 3 drive sets.
Opinions? Everyone has got em. I've been to the plant in Elizabethton TN.(4 times) Where all the snap-on ratchets are made. They are the best period. Best steel, best enginered design, hand assembled and tested by good Americans proud to be a part of their community Hold way more torques than required or advertised. Take less space to engage the next tooth etc. Are they expensive? Some people think so. Some people think they are priceless! Of course those are generally the people that are serious about how they make a living. put food on the table etc. They are preferred by way over 90% of professional mechanics (independent survey company Frost & Sullivan) everyone's needs are not the same granted but most of us hot rodders don't think twice about spending more on a quality component for our car (might have to wait a little and save up but you know you want it) ,a tool you can use forever and even hand down for generations seems like another place not to skimp. As far as flex head or not. Different jobs often go better with Differnt applications, not just head type but length or type of handle. There are lots of opinions, lots of people prefer red heads or blondes or brunettes. Or boxers and tightly whiteys. I stay away from recommending those personal items, but as far as the best RATCHET there can be only one brand.. Snap-on since 1920. ( well technically in 1920 they had sockets with interchanable handles not ratcheting quite yet) Yes I have an bias, but I turned wrenches for 11 years professionally (paying for my own tools) and almost 40 years on my own junk, including the vehicles I currently use to make a living and ones my children drive and there is a difference you can feel, that's not an opinion. When my vehicles aren't running (during the height of my career, I'm winding it down now) there where over 1000 mechanics in North Atlanta burbs that may not be able to get the tools they need to support their own families. That's something I take more seriously than most.
Actually... S&K sold... An is moving to Pa. Was bought by shop vac. Which translates to made in ...Wait for it, China. Would be my guess. Only reason I know, I had the combination Sae/Metric short/deep 1/4 set I had for 30yrs stolen outta my truck back seat, Front windows were down... Found online for $209.00 Ordered, Email back ordered.. Call s&k nothing is available.. Found one on eBay nos $380.00 , $25.00 shipping, $20.00 tax An I still wanted the a couple other piece's I kept in it... Ughhhh
I’ve been a medium/heavy truck mechanic for 30 years. In that 30, I’ve used SnapOn, Mac, Cornwall, Proto, and Craftsmen. I’ve also tried out the Pittsburgh that my buddy has. S&K makes (made?) fine tools, but are not easy to come by locally. In all these years, the SnapOn 80 tooth is hands down, the finest ratchet I’ve ever used. I own 5 examples of the 80. All five are in the top of my tool cart at work. I use each one every day and have not broken any of them. The 72 tooth Mac is my second choice, I have 3 of them. Old Craftsman are not bad for ratchets with course teeth. New Craftsman, sadly are junk. As some of you guys know, I used to be a pretty diehard Craftsman guy, but now, no. The warranty exchange is a pain in the ass now, Lowes wants your ID to warranty something and if the item in question is part of a set (screwdrivers) they will only warranty the entire set. If you are trying to warranty an old Sears sold tool, be ready for an argument as the people who work at Lowes have no idea about the Sears part numbers and of course they don’t cross over.
Have had a 1/4"proto set for many many many moons. I have a little metal box it goes in along with the sockets. I had them on my 34 running board forgot them & drove down the hill to retrieve the mail one day. I went to use the rachet later & they were all gone. I went back to look for the pieces & all I found was a 1/4" breaker bar that had rolled into the weeds. Days later I was talking to my neighbor & he was telling me what a neat little set of sockets he had found. I described my set & he sez yeah that is like the ones I found. I told him they were mine & I would like them back. He looked at me like I should pay him a reward. I have given him so many things & done enough for him. I didn't feel like I should give him the time of day. Hell, I even shared my scotch with him. Besides he wouldn't know which end to put a socket on. He borrowed his friend's 5 ton stake bed truck & went side hill with it & I don't think I need to explain what happened next. Somehow, he survived, The truck not so much, it went down the road kinda sideways. Moral to this story NEVER EVER put your tools on the running board when not using them & NEVER lend tools, trucks & trailers out to even your preacher. If you ever get them back, they won't be in the same condition
The Jalopy Journal
