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Adam Flex-head ratchets
December 13th, 2005 05:38 PM
December 13, 2005 Flex-head ratchets


I've been saving ratchet innards also.

The only ratchet that really does not have an equivalent is the ancient (60's) long-lever, long handle, solid head ratchet.

The ½ inch drive solid handle to head design was dropped and only the flex-heads remain as long handled tools.

There is a solid handle, long handle, highly polished 3/8 inch drive ratchet offered brand new. There is a lower limit of torque a user can put on a 3/8 inch drive long handled ratchet than the older ½ inch drive ratchet though.

That 18 inch long, ½ inch drive breaker bar is a very nice alternative to a long handled ratchet. And, the other ratchets will last longer, to boot.

Even the old long-lever flex heads are not rebuildable, without having the special dual-crescent selector lever and a very special snap ring, unique to the flex-head ratchets only.

Fortunately, the first thing to wear out on a flex head is the multiple head position detent system.

If you can hold a flex head ratchet (3/8 or ½ inch drive) in your hands and get the head to flop around with a flick of your wrist, the detent is gone (ball-bearing groove worn right through the detent slots) and the ratchet is "history".

But, not before I salvage the unique selector and its snap ring.

Other than these two items, a standard 43447 ½ inch square drive or a 43437 3/8 inch square drive (depending on flex-head ratchet drive size) rebuild kit works just fine.

I have a better time salvaging the non-wearing parts like the selector lever and its snap ring, than an intact drive gear or pawl. When one of these old ratchets is opened for cleaning, lubing, or rebuilding, metal slivers are NOT good. Those slivers would be parts of drive teeth that have been sheared off of the gear.

Every once in a while an almost "virgin" ratchet is returned, that suffers nothing more than a lack of lubrication. THESE are the true 100% ratchet gut donors you want to keep an eye out for.

Older ratchets used pawls with only one tooth for each direction. Newer ratchet mechanisms use two teeth per pawn direction. The newest "Thin-profile" ratchet has a radically different mechanism that has about five teeth per direction, on a floating pawl, engaging with its drive gear.

It takes a couple of decades of normal use or one **** with a hammer to render these parts non-salvageable.

None of the rebuilt ratchets offered at the counter can contain "used" parts.

But, for the Customers with their "grand-dad's" ratchet, the store I work at has options for them that not many other stores probably have.

I am a bit of a squirrel concerning ratchet parts. I have countless little tins filled with different parts.

I'm also frugal, concerning store spending, the tins referred to previously include additional units that contain the $2.18 a piece black-oxide finished product hardware. Bend down for a penny, maybe. See a black-oxide finished piece of hardware on the floor (worth $2.18), LUNGE!

Faster hallway builds, combined with savings to the store‛s Parts and Service budget is a win-win.

Fortunately, I foresaw the day when the rebuild kits would stop flowing and all we would have left are the carefully selected innards of old ratchets.

Special Customer permission is needed before any of these ratchet parts can be utilized though.

It's more of a deluxe Customer Service, than a job requirement.

I just hate to see fellow tool owners go away empty handed.

The equivalent new ratchets use design and manufacturing techniques that have resulted in finer toothed, but equally strong, ratchets. One 3/8 inch 43434 rebuild kit can easily be used to rebuild any of seven different new ratchets.

It is really impressive to see the evolution of the various Craftsman ratchets that has occurred.

And, because I'm an eBay customer, I have an opportunity to see Craftsman ratchets that no store would or should see, due to their sheer collectable value (working or not).

So, if you‛ve got an old ratchet that is ailing, don‛t be stopped by the cashiers.

Find the Senior Tool Consultant or the store‛s PMT for "creative" ratchet Customer Service solutions.

Don‛t bother escalating to managers. They generally don‛t have this information.
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