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what is a good ratchet?

11K views 25 replies 17 participants last post by  1931 steve 
#1 ·
what is a good ratchet?, but cheap $$ and not like the craftsman regular?
 
#3 ·
Cheap ratchets are ok,forminor work.If you are going to spend any extended time working on cars,trucks or anything invext in a decent set of tools.Lowes,Home Depot and Sears all three will be able to help you out. I would not recommend Snap-on sets to people who do not use them alot,unless they HAVE the money for them,as they do get pretty expensive for just the occasional user.As far as any torque reading instrements,stay away from the cheap torque wrenches.Suck up and buy a good quality tool.Also if you get a torque wrench,get the "click" style,not the needle sweep type.
 
#4 ·
tools

For me personally if money was not an object every tool in my box would be snap-on.....

But back to reality... My rule is....i buy it in craftsman and if i ever break it i will buy it in snap on....

My box is about 60 percent craftsman, 30 percent snap-on and the last 10 percent assorted........

Invest in good quality tools and you will never be sorry for it.....

Keith
 
#5 ·
If you don't want a Craftsman ratchet, IMO Craftsman is the best for the cheap money. If you want just a good quality tool you cant go wrong with Matco, Snap On, or Mac. Check on Ebay for these, And I can assume that you are looking for a 3/8th drive. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I think Matco is the BEST for the money.

Steve :welcome:
 
#9 ·
RCastle said:
Sears Professional line is the same as MATCO. Regular Craftsman ratchets are extremely uncomfortable to the palms of your hand if you have to use them for an extended amount of time.
I hope you mean that Craftsman feels the same as a Matco tool, the quality is not the same. IMO not even close. Craftsman is good for the weekend warrior (don't get me wrong some professionals use them also just not as often).

Steve :welcome:
 
#10 ·
They are identical.Same maufacturer.I have sets at work and here at the house.Snap-On makes a better ratchet than the Matco, and MAC has a zero turn ratchet that has the tightest turn tolerance of any ratchet.There is no slack before it grabs to turn.They are pretty expensive though.



As far as the quality of the Matco or Craftsman Professional.I have personally launched both brands across the shop at a cinder block wall,with pissed off mechanic velocity and neither one of them have broken yet. :thumbup:
 
#11 ·
There are good tools and junk tools, Craftsman falls somewhere in the middle but IMO they are over-hyped by a good ad campaign and if you are going to make a living with your tools they just do not make the grade. If you use Snap-on, Mac, Proto, etc. for a while the difference becomes apparent in short order. If you are using your tools to repair lawn mowers and bicycles then about anything will work but if you do machinery or serious auto work that "lifetime" warranty wont mean much when you are in the middle of a job with a busted socket or worse yet busted knuckles because that lousy ratchet slipped or the fastener rounded off when the wrench spread a little or that u-joint adapter broke or ******** The bottom line is your tools should be able to do what you expect of them and last a life time WITHOUT having to exchange broken ones, at least not very often.
 
#12 ·
Mr.NutCase said:
what is a good ratchet?, but cheap $$ and not like the craftsman regular?

In terms of cheap, but good, I had a Popular Mechanics 1/2" drive that was awesome...until the directional pawl broke. Been in my toolbox for over 12 years now. It was hands down the best $12.99 I ever spent at Waldo-Mart. But, it broke and now they won't stand behind it. And I will not take that Stanley ratchet in it's place. Buy the good stuff, keep it in good repair, and just about any ratchet will last a lifetime, IMO.


In a while, Chet.
 
#13 ·
Unless I'm stuck on stupid or missing something the Craftsman and the Matco tools are not the same. Please if they are the same give me proof and I can start saving money. Is it they are made by the same manufacturer, just a difference in quality? Or are the identical???

Steve :welcome:
 
#20 ·
Craftsmen is good for me. In my auto class, the tools are probably about half and half between snap on and Craftsmen but there a very small amount of S&K in the mix too. Most of the sockets are snap on but all rachets and breaker bars are craftsmen or S&K, my teacher has had more than a few snap on rachets break and is not faund of them, they were breaking when he owned the 3 shops he had also.
 
#21 ·
Fresh469 said:
what about the tools that autozone sales? duralast i beleive......they looked decent when i was in there looking around today.....
they look like crap, i saw them today, 10mm socket looks like joke!, Great Neck looks better!
What do you think of the Greak Neck (flex-head ratchet 11in long,) Imitation that looks like Snap-On one? is it good to keep on car?
 
#23 ·
Ratchets I buy Craftsman, fairly cheap, fairly good quality. I also have a sears hardware 4 miles from my house so it's easy to exchange that's another thing that hurts some people is that sears is not so close to home for easy exchanges. I do buy snap-on torque wrenches though, to me I feel they are the best. I broke down and bought the digital snap-on 3/8 and 1/2 torque wrenches and love them. The digital ones are like two in one. You can use it like a dial torque wrench and a snap torque wrench, great for setting up gears etc.
My favorite ratchet is the craftsman 3/8 drive flex head. Nice long handle and mobility. and they're only 20 bucks
 
#24 ·
Ok I guess I will probably be told how wrong I am but my 2 cents anyway. I know Craftsman has a good following, brand loyalty I guess, but they are not even in the same class with Snap-On, Mac, Proto, etc. I work in the mining industry on some of the largest equipment in the world and have for the last 35 years and my welding and repair business depends on my tools, if they break I lose money no matter what kind of warranty because I can not stop and run to Sears to change a tool. I know and work with many other mechanics who would not even consider trying to use Craftsman or any other second rate tool because they will fail under the abuse we demand of them. Now after saying that I am not knocking Craftsman I think they can be a fine tool for most shops and average duty and for the price can be a good bargain but my point is comparing them to pro grade tools is a mistake. If you tried to use the Craftsman ratchet and sockets like we do the Proto, snap-On, etc, using "cheater pipes" and other abuses that they are not designed for the Craftsman would snap like toys but then NO tool should be expected to hold up under abuse such as that. In the real world However, when equipment sits idle for even a short time it can mean many$$$$$, we resort to whatever it takes and I have seen these pro tools take far more abuse than any tool ever should have to and I can tell you from experience they are light years ahead of Craftsman in durability. Now am I saying everyone should buy Snap-On? Not at all and in fact for most people it would be a waste of money since few will ever have the need to use their tools in conditions like I described but to say Craftsman is equal to or better than the pro tools is just plain ridiculous and if you ever have to maintain something like a D-11 bulldozer you will find out real quick what will break and what will not and that is why you do not see Craftsman on many service trucks or in many heavy equipment mechanics' tool boxes. Even though it cost them a hell of a lot more for "real" tools to outfit their rigs these guys know what quality means to their job and where to find tools that will not let them down when it counts and that is not at Sears!
 
#25 ·
Well to me there is no reason for any controversy over which tools to buy..At work we bought some of the best tools available..For ex: metabo grinders as they hold up very well but they are about 400 ea for a 9" grinder..At home Ihave some HF grinders which do just fine for the home shop..At home I use Craftsman and others some of which I have had for years.

OMT
 
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