Where to get a good fine-tooth ratchet?

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Fayd
does stanley carry a lifetime warranty that's easy to get serviced?

i really dont know. that's why i recommend craftsman, but as you mentioned they're unavail in fine tooth.( )

AFAIK Stanley and the other lifetime tools by discounters must be sent in to the factory or taken to a distribution center.

This is one of the reasons the Craftsman warranty is so good. Find any sears and just get a new tool, if they don't have your exact one; you will walk away with a comparable one.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Fayd
does stanley carry a lifetime warranty that's easy to get serviced?

i really dont know. that's why i recommend craftsman, but as you mentioned they're unavail in fine tooth.( )

AFAIK Stanley and the other lifetime tools by discounters must be sent in to the factory or taken to a distribution center.

This is one of the reasons the Craftsman warranty is so good. Find any sears and just get a new tool, if they don't have your exact one; you will walk away with a comparable one.

IMO, Craftsman tool quality has gone downhill since Sears was bought by Kmart...and most of their hand tools are now Chinese made.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: BoomerD

IMO, Craftsman tool quality has gone downhill since Sears was bought by Kmart...and most of their hand tools are now Chinese made.

Speaking of ratchets...story time!

The noise they make reminds me of a funny story. I had a small vibraslap bell break and did not have a suitable replacement for the show and omitting it was not acceptable so we tried close miking a blackhawk 1/2" drive ratchet. It sounded fabulous! :laugh:

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Fayd
does stanley carry a lifetime warranty that's easy to get serviced?

i really dont know. that's why i recommend craftsman, but as you mentioned they're unavail in fine tooth.( )

AFAIK Stanley and the other lifetime tools by discounters must be sent in to the factory or taken to a distribution center.

This is one of the reasons the Craftsman warranty is so good. Find any sears and just get a new tool, if they don't have your exact one; you will walk away with a comparable one.

IMO, Craftsman tool quality has gone downhill since Sears was bought by Kmart...and most of their hand tools are now Chinese made.

That's mentioned a lot like 'banditos' as a danger to those travelling in mexico...however; there wrenches don't seem to have changed much to me nor many of their tools since that changeover.

Do you have any examples of older tools that have been changed?

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Fayd
does stanley carry a lifetime warranty that's easy to get serviced?

i really dont know. that's why i recommend craftsman, but as you mentioned they're unavail in fine tooth.( )

AFAIK Stanley and the other lifetime tools by discounters must be sent in to the factory or taken to a distribution center.

This is one of the reasons the Craftsman warranty is so good. Find any sears and just get a new tool, if they don't have your exact one; you will walk away with a comparable one.

IMO, Craftsman tool quality has gone downhill since Sears was bought by Kmart...and most of their hand tools are now Chinese made.

That's mentioned a lot like 'banditos' as a danger to those travelling in mexico...however; there wrenches don't seem to have changed much to me nor many of their tools since that changeover.

Do you have any examples of older tools that have been changed?

yeah. since k-mart didnt have any tool lines, i highly doubt they'd bother changing the product lines of the people they bought too much. especially on a known money maker like the craftsman hand tool line.

 

[Black88GTA]

Hm...interesting. I think I'm going to "test" the warranty on Stanley tools this weekend. I have a broken Stanley 3/8" flex handle laying around here, so I'll find the nearest big B&M place around here that sells them, take it in there, and see what they say. I guess I'll see if they give me an on-the-spot replacement (doubtful), make me send it in to the company (most likely), or tell me I'm SOL.

I actually did jump on the Stanley Proto set I linked above. I haven't been able to find a fine tooth 1/4" drive wrench either, so that should make a nice upgrade for that as well (assuming it's not junk). I'll be sure to post a review of sorts once I get them in-hand.

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
Hm...interesting. I think I'm going to "test" the warranty on Stanley tools this weekend. I have a broken Stanley 3/8" flex handle laying around here, so I'll find the nearest big B&M place around here that sells them, take it in there, and see what they say. I guess I'll see if they give me an on-the-spot replacement (doubtful), make me send it in to the company (most likely), or tell me I'm SOL.

I actually did jump on the Stanley Proto set I linked above. I haven't been able to find a fine tooth 1/4" drive wrench either, so that should make a nice upgrade for that as well (assuming it's not junk). I'll be sure to post a review of sorts once I get them in-hand.

Last time I broke a Stanley Ratchet wrench, I called toll-free, they asked for the model number of the tool and immediately shipped a new one.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
Thanks all for the recommendations! The S-K fine-tooth ratchets look awesome, but yeah, a bit spendy. Although I may break down and just buy that so I don't have to keep replacing broken wrenches, if I can't find anything decent in my price range. I have pretty much given up on spending less than $20 though - seems a decent ratchet is more expensive than I thought. Haven't bought one in a while - the the old Husky I had came from a used tool store, and the new one was $12 at HD.

I've decided not to limit myself to what I can find locally, as I'd rather wait a week or two for something that I'm going to be using for (hopefully) years, rather than just grab whatever's on the shelf. I have some things I want to get done immediately, but I can live with my junky new wrench for a couple weeks while I wait.

What is the consensus on Stanley Proto tools? I heard from someone at work that they are nice, but would like more opinions. I found this, which looks perfect for what I need from a wrench - 72 tooth gear, small heads, and $43 shipped for a set of 3. I just don't know much about this brand. There is a lifetime warranty, but I don't think that really means much.

Buy once, Buy quality. This is not some gadget that you will toss in 5 years. I still have my dads tools that i use regularly that are probably 50 years old including ratchets.

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: feralkid

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
Hm...interesting. I think I'm going to "test" the warranty on Stanley tools this weekend. I have a broken Stanley 3/8" flex handle laying around here, so I'll find the nearest big B&M place around here that sells them, take it in there, and see what they say. I guess I'll see if they give me an on-the-spot replacement (doubtful), make me send it in to the company (most likely), or tell me I'm SOL.

I actually did jump on the Stanley Proto set I linked above. I haven't been able to find a fine tooth 1/4" drive wrench either, so that should make a nice upgrade for that as well (assuming it's not junk). I'll be sure to post a review of sorts once I get them in-hand.

Last time I broke a Stanley Ratchet wrench, I called toll-free, they asked for the model number of the tool and immediately shipped a new one.

Thanks for the tip, good to know. I kind of want to see what the B&Ms do with it first, in case I break a wrench in the future and need a replacement right away. If they turn me away, I'll just do that and see if they'll ship a new one out.

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Buy once, Buy quality. This is not some gadget that you will toss in 5 years. I still have my dads tools that i use regularly that are probably 50 years old including ratchets.

Yeah, it looks like the wrench I finally broke was probably about that old. I had no idea of the age until very recently, as I picked it up used and it worked great. This is my exact wrench on Ebay, still in the original packaging - that box looks like it's from the '50s or '60s.

 

[Black88GTA]

Well, the wrenches I ordered came today (Amazon was fast!!). They're awesome The first thing I noticed was that they were made in Taiwan. :disgust: and the packaging just says "Stanley" and doesn't have "Proto" anywhere on it. Hmmm. But, once I picked them up and started playing with them, I was happy. No play in the mechanism at all (or VERY little), nice and quiet, and the heads are very small. My initial impressions are that these are very solid feeling, quality wrenches. I haven't actually gotten a chance to use them yet, but I honestly don't think I could have done any better for $43 shipped. These are a FAR cry from that crappy new Husky wrench I picked up at HD last week.

I'd highly recommend these if you happen to be looking for an excellent budget socket wrench set

 

[mztykal]

Kinda late, but got any pics of the new ratchets? I was curious how the Proto stuff is now. I have some really old Proto tools that I inherited, but was looking for new fine tooth ratchets, and I kinda like the Snap-On ones....

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: Billb2
? 80 tooth gear

This is what we have. It is awesome for engine work in cramped spots.

 

[her209]

The fine tooth ratchets from Craftsman are the thin profile ones. I think it has 60 teeth (6 degrees) and is $33.

 

[mztykal]

Originally posted by: her209
The fine tooth ratchets from Craftsman are the thin profile ones. I think it has 60 teeth (6 degrees) and is $33.

They have stubby looking handles though. Doesn't look very comfortable...

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: mztykal
Kinda late, but got any pics of the new ratchets? I was curious how the Proto stuff is now. I have some really old Proto tools that I inherited, but was looking for new fine tooth ratchets, and I kinda like the Snap-On ones....

I don't have any pics of my set handy, but here is an Ebay auction with the exact set I have in it. He put coins on the heads for size reference.

These have been great for me - my only gripe is that the direction switch on the back of the head is almost too large. When you have your hand / finger on the back of the ratchet head holding it in place (especially in close quarters), it's easy for the switch to change direction on you in the middle of working. Happened to me a few times so far, but I guess there's not much that can be done about that.

 

[TonyG]

Another place to keep in mind for quality tools for a good price, if you don't mind buying used, is your local pawn shops. I picked up 15 craftsman box wrenches, a handful of craftsmen sockets and ratchet all for about $20 a few years ago. I "need" to go tool shopping again sometime...

 

[Ronstang]

I really like the old Craftsman fine tooth ratchets of about 25 years ago. I do not think they make them anymore. The last time I was at a flee market I bought several used ones in great shape from a guy that specializes in tools...he threw in an original rebuild kit for each one. I do not think I will need anymore for the rest of my life now, but if I see one at a flee market for the right price I will pick it up.

 

[mztykal]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
I really like the old Craftsman fine tooth ratchets of about 25 years ago. I do not think they make them anymore. The last time I was at a flee market I bought several used ones in great shape from a guy that specializes in tools...he threw in an original rebuild kit for each one. I do not think I will need anymore for the rest of my life now, but if I see one at a flee market for the right price I will pick it up.

Haha yah old ratchets feel better built. But I've heard if you put a drop or two of engine assembly lube on some of the new ones it makes the gears feel smoother.

I'm not a fan of the new Craftsman ratchets, they feel cheap.

I think I'm going with the SK's.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
I really like the old Craftsman fine tooth ratchets of about 25 years ago. I do not think they make them anymore. The last time I was at a flee market I bought several used ones in great shape from a guy that specializes in tools...he threw in an original rebuild kit for each one. I do not think I will need anymore for the rest of my life now, but if I see one at a flee market for the right price I will pick it up.

Flea markets, swap meets, yard sales...all potentially good places to find good quality tools at affordable prices.