Finding the Best Finger Ratchet
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Tools:
AMPRO T19086 1/4-Inch Drive Finger Ratchet and Bit Driver Aluminum
amzn.to/2xvofxm
S&K 45172 Thumbwheel Ratchet - 3/8” Drive
amzn.to/2XoL4NI
Related tools mentioned:
Titan Tools 12091 3/8" (12090 1/4") Drive Finger Ratchet
amzn.to/2J9Aoyr
amzn.to/2JkkgsV
GearWrench 81270 3/8" (81027 1/4") Drive Gimbal Ratchet
amzn.to/2JoG86h
amzn.to/2JoLsqe
Alltrade Powerbuilt 941264 3/8" Socket & 1/4" Hex Bit 2-in-1 Thumb Ratchet
amzn.to/2KXWFSc
S&K 49270 Thumbwheel Ratchet - 1/4” Drive
amzn.to/2xrhIDL
Transcript:
Hi, I'm Sean Michael Ragan for Cool Tools, and today I want to talk about finger ratchets, AKA palmorthumb-ratchets. Now, these guys work a lot like your standard socket wrench, except they've got a knob instead of a lever for a handle. They're great for working in tight spaces (like under the hood of your car), and they don't take up nearly so much room in your toolbox or your pocket. I've got a bunch of products I want to show you, and as always you'll find links to purchase each of those products in the description field below this video. Now let's go check 'em out. OK, we've got four different flavors here on the bench, ranging from bargain to deluxe. On the bargain end, there's this generic made-in-Taiwan model, that's currently ten dollars, if you buy through Amazon. In the middle price range, we've got two models with some unusual features; first of these is the gimbal ratchet, which is twenty dollars, if you buy it through the Big Orange Store, though you can get an almost identical model from Amazon for about half that. Next up in the midrange, this combination tool that weds a three-eighths inch square socket driver toa quarter-inch hex bit driver on the opposite face. Through Amazon, that's also twenty. And finally, this professional grade, made-in-the-USA model from S&K tools. That's forty dollars, through Amazon. The generic import ratchet is pretty straightforward. It's got a steel drive shaft with a ball detent, a plastic handle, and a plastic selector switch that lets you change drive directions. It's all held together with this single Torx screw, which I'll go ahead and remove to show you how it's put together. Here's the quarter-inch drive version, which has a nice bright green handle so you can distinguish it from three-eighths at a glance. I actually really like the handles on these, even though as a rule I don't care for plastic parts on my tools. But this one has a really nice feel. It's got a comfortable diameter, nice deep flutes, and it's also nicely thin. And overall thickness can make all the difference if you're working on a fastener that doesn't have much overhead clearance. Here's the gimbal ratchet. This is a pretty clever design, which mounts the socket driver head inside a pair of rings that pivot about perpendicular axes-these rings are the so-called "gimbals." This arrangement lets you apply torque at all kinds of weird, oblique angles, like so. The only plastic part on this tool is the selector switch; everything else is made of metal.This design has a huge cool factor, in my opinion, but I do have some doubts about how often you're really gonna need to use that gimbal feature, and it does add quite a bit of thickness, which seems like it could be more trouble than it's worth. This particular product is by Husky Tools, which is Home Depot's Store brand, where it's currently priced at twenty dollars. They also sell this quarter-inch drive version, which is completely identical except for the business end. Now, this is a very similar GearWrench-branded tool you can get from Amazon for ten dollars, and if we take them both apart, you can see that they really are almost exactly the same product. The Husky version does have a few more teeth on the ratchet, but I don't think the fineness of the mechanism really matters much. At least not when you're talking about finger ratchets, where you don't have to swing a long handle back and forth. Here's the quarter-inch GearWrench ratchet. And you can see that, thanks to the bright colors on those inner gimbal rings, the less expensive tools are actually easier to tell apart at a glance. And just to prove that Husky and GearWrench are almost certainly buying from the same factory, here's a couple of mash-up ratchets I put together by randomly intermixing parts from both of them. Next up, the combination socket and hex-bit driver which, if nothing else, has a really great handle. It's a lot like the handle on the generic import ratchet, except it's made out of anodized aluminum instead of plastic. Unfortunately, the hex-bit driver opposite the socket face costs a lot in terms ofoverall thickness; in fact, this is the thickest ratchet of the lot. ....
Find more Cool Tool reviews here:
kk.org/cooltools - Наука та технологія
Harbor Freight sells a set of 3 (1/4, 3/8, 1/2) for about $6. They work well, especially for the relatively infrequent times you need to use them.
Yay! Sean Ragan. Awesome to see Sean doing video. Will definitely include this in my next "Gareth's Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales" newsletter.
I have a small leather pouch with a 1/4 inch SnapOn spinner, adapter to screwdriver bit driver, and bits-of-all-types, including tamper-torx. It's like having EVERY SCREWDRIVER in a teeny box. For REALLY TEENY, Sear's sells/sold a NON ratcheting one with 1/4" socket on one side, screwdriver holder on other side.
Great video, Sean! I just picked up the Powerbuilt model. I had no idea these existed. Thanks!
The best one will always be the one with the most features. Gimbal for the win.
thats not true ever, what about build quality
Disappointed in the lack of testing comments. The most important thing with these is how much torque it takes to turn back, and how fine the tooth engagement is. Ones I've used took too much torque to turn in the free direction, so they would turn the nut or bolt in the opposite direction I wanted instead of spinning freely over the internal teeth. That makes their use case so incredibly specific to nuts and bolts that are slightly tight but not loose enough that you could use your fingers. Never found one I liked, guess I have to keep looking.
Great review. I bought my SO 1/4" version about 20 years ago. I have used it maybe 4 or 5 times in all those years. (I am a professional mechanic).
So you wouldn't recommend then?
@@Nyle95
No, too much backdrag. New ones may be better. A lot has changed since I bought that one.
I do miss Donald Bell, but I think I also like the new host. I appreciate the extra depth of this review. I shall be interested to see how this channel evolves.
I'm glad to be missed, but don't worry, I'm not going away. Sean and I will both be contributing to this channel going forward. More hosts, more videos!
Donald is still with us! He'll have a new video up soon. Thanks!
Mark Frauenfelder oh good! I didn’t want to lose him!
We going to use the kettlebell to score?
very helpful - thank you!
Great review and rundown, but why is the video so dimly lit? Even in the intro where it's obvious you're using a ring light, it looks like the brightness was turned way down.
I have the Gearwrench 1/4!
Hi Bro! Where to get the ampro combination drive?
The ampro was great, of course it is no longer for sale
Thanks for the info. Where is Donald these days? He moved Maker update to Make and they went under. I think he said something about Adafruit, but I am not a fan of their videos, so I don’t subscribe.
Hey Jason! A few months before Make went under, I took Maker Update over to the Digi-Key channel. I also host it once a month for Adafruit. You can catch up on all the episodes on this UA-cam playlist I keep updated with all the shows. ua-cam.com/play/PLHvctKwAXIO93gMWere3Yfa7VXI3dHs16.html
@@roberttaylor9259 Yes. In fact, there was a little Town Hall meetup to discuss the future of Make last night. Things are still being sorted out, but there's reason to be hopeful.
TikTok brought me here
Finger ratchet fell down the right with the pout lips made to go straight because of the cheese deepak turtle
Israeli spits at Christian Nun
5:03 Thank you for a great video. You speak well, but your presentation would be improved by using less pronouns like "this" one and "that" one. Say their names.