As other have said, box ratchets are very handy, but there are limitations.
My first set of these was the Craftsman model with fixed-direction ratchets.
You have to flip the wrench over to reverse direction. The words ON and OFF
are etched on each side below the opening, making it easy to tell which
direction is which. But that means you have to examine the wrench before
putting it on the nut to make sure you have it oriented correctly (sometimes
difficult for us older folks who use reading glasses.) Also, if you need to
reverse direction, you must have adequate clearance to get the wrench off
and flip it -- not always available.
I also have a few Craftsman box ratchets with reversing levers. These have
the advantage that you can put the wrench on the nut and flip the lever to
the correct direction without having to read small type. The downside is
that you can't tell which direction is currently selected. It's a 50-50
guessing game. Also, I've found the levers move very easily, which is good
in some respects, but sometimes the direction will reverse if my hand
brushes against the lever while using the wrench, or if the wrench hits a
nearby obstruction during use. I often find the direction has changed and I
have to flip the lever again.
For both models, the ratchet travel is long enough that in tight spots you
sometimes have to use a socket instead, and often that will need to be a
deep-well socket.
I've had the ratchets in a couple of the fixed-direction wrenches break when
trying to remove a particularly stubborn nut. Not fixable. I don't know if
the lever-controlled ratchets are more or less susceptible to this, but
suspect they are more susceptible.
73, Dick WC1M
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Asfco [mailto:asfco@nycap.rr.com]
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:06 PM
> To: Ed Williams; K7LXC@aol.com; towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tool name?
>
> This was my guess at the tool name you were looking for...
> gearwrench is great & the best thing about these is that it does not
> require
> you to move the handle all that much in order to grip and move the
> fastener.
> Some types of these wrenches require a much longer length of travel
> making
> them almost useless under certain conditions where you don't have all
> that
> much room to play with.
> 73
> John W2GB
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ed Williams" <sunset392@cox.net>
> To: <K7LXC@aol.com>; <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 10:59 PM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tool name?
>
>
> > Hi Steve,
> > You might like to try the following a 2 wrench set with 8 sizes.
> >
> >
> http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200
> 344807
> > _200344807
> >
> > I have both the standard and metric versions. They work very smooth.
> >
> > 73, de KN4KL ed
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> > [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of K7LXC@aol.com
> > Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 5:59 PM
> > To: towertalk@contesting.com
> > Subject: [TowerTalk] Tool name?
> >
> > Howdy, TowerTalkians --
> >
> > What is the name of the closed-end, single sized wrench that has
> a
> > plastic inner ratchet and you can reverse it by moving a little
> lever?
> > I've
> > used
> > them but I don't know what they're called. Tnx.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Steve K7LXC
> > **************From Wall Street to Main Street and everywhere in
> between,
> > stay
> > up-to-date with the latest news.
> > (http://aol.com?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000023)
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > 07:13:00
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> >
> >
> >
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