How do you break a ratchet wrench?

[Bruce(OR)]

So that means after he broke the high carbon Craftsman Breaker Bar, he then used the ratchet to get it loose. ?
Snap-On uses a bit less carbon in their steel so it flexes a bit more.

 

[mark1955]

(quoted from post at 04:59:54 10/31/23) If that was they case why would torque wrenches have a ratchet mechanism...just saying Ive had to have the guts put in my snap on before I think 3 times over 15 years with my favorite ratchet. It slips once and I take it to get rebuilt its not worth getting hurt. It has been beat on put a bar on and been through the ringer. Soaked in solvent everything bad. The ten minutes it takes the guy on the truck to put guts in for free is well worth the price of the ratchet. Some things we do for convenience not the health of the tool

how did you break your ratchet..

 

[caterpillar guy]

I guess I was either not stocked well enough or didn't want to have to drive 10-50 miles for the proper tools when I was out in KS,CO,MT,WY,ID,or some other places where you don't have a wrench tree hanging around close by to pick on from to use or buy. So you use what is there at hand.

 

[Butch(OH)]

I disagree. Literally everyone here has used a ratchet to tighten appropriately sized bolts to appropriate torque specs for decades.

If your 3/8 drive ratchet can't put 33 ft-lbs of torque on a 3/8" grade 8 bolt, for example, you picked up your kid's Fisher Price tool kit by mistake. Go get your big boy tools and carry on with life.

Yes, buy right, buy once. I have SK long handled ratchets in 1/2 and 3/8. For those not familiar these ratchets have handles as long as most breaker bars. They have been my main ratchets for over 20 years and been tugged on heavily but never had a pipe on them. Same service can be expected of any other non box store tool line, Snap on, SK, Proto, Williams etc. Some of these guys need to quit tool shopping at box stores and run down a tool truck.

 

[showcrop]

I can see potentially wearing one out, but how do you break it if using it properly?
Isn't the job of breaking fasteners loose the job of the breaker bar, be it 1/4, 3/8 or what ever inch drive?

Then the torque wrench being utilized for final tightening and if there is not torque spec available, run it
snug with the ratchet wrench, the the final tightening with the breaker bar?

How do you break a ratchet wrench is utilizing it properly?

Hopefully some of you wise people can dial me in on this phenomenon.

I had a 3/4 drive that I had bought around 30 years ago. It broke when I ran off the interstate at 50MPH and totaled my truck. When I went back later to find it it was by the foot of a big pine tree so I think that it hit that tree.

 

[Tony in SD]

I can see potentially wearing one out, but how do you break it if using it properly?
Isn't the job of breaking fasteners loose the job of the breaker bar, be it 1/4, 3/8 or what ever inch drive?

Then the torque wrench being utilized for final tightening and if there is not torque spec available, run it
snug with the ratchet wrench, the the final tightening with the breaker bar?

How do you break a ratchet wrench is utilizing it properly?

Hopefully some of you wise people can dial me in on this phenomenon.

Like JMOR said, "Nothing is unbreakable". I found a dog dish labeled "Unbreakable Dog Dish". It was cracked! As others have said back when we were in our 20’s, I knew a lot of farm strong boys that broke breaker bars with no cheater.

 

[ToMang07]

I've broken breaker bars, soooo.....

 

[4wdtom]

Mostly from rust I think. A good ratchet is very strong, as good or better than a breaker bar. But rust can be stronger.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

since this got opened back up the answer is all of the above! I’m sure I contributed to them needing repair the inner pawl that holds them is what will fail most often. I also used them. Find a good tool guy. Snap on Matco Mac who ever is around but the good one will be there. He asks no questions. I have bought six ratchets of various sizes from snap on and yes my favorite everyday one has hammer marks all across its face. That’s because I use it constantly for things most will tell you not to do. I have never destroyed one beyond repair. Or broke what we will call an anvil or handle. All of them have the original head. I have broken the pin that is the same holding the head on both the ratchet and the breaker bar so...ratchet slips once you put it away grab the other one. Why waste the time 99 times out of 100 using the breaker bar to break something loose when you have to reposition? Warranty ratchet or warranty breaker bar? even in the case of farm store cheap ratchet and cheap bar. You have a trip to town and have to replace either one when it breaks. So buy 2 ratchets while you are there and save your bar for a belt tensioner or clutch pedal prop. Or for when you bought too cheap a ratchet and you snap the teeth off both new ratchets on a 5/8 bolt. A high quality ratchet will hold the same as a bar. It just won’t do it forever the teeth will wear out. Not much difference to me just be careful when it slips the first time it gets taken care of. Hospital trips are way more than even a new snap on ratchet and is the other reason to buy a good one. The tools you can abuse can make or save you a lot more money than the ones that sit next to the buffing wheel and polish.

 

[SkipperII]

I can see potentially wearing one out, but how do you break it if using it properly?
Isn't the job of breaking fasteners loose the job of the breaker bar, be it 1/4, 3/8 or what ever inch drive?

Then the torque wrench being utilized for final tightening and if there is not torque spec available, run it
snug with the ratchet wrench, the the final tightening with the breaker bar?

How do you break a ratchet wrench is utilizing it properly?

Hopefully some of you wise people can dial me in on this phenomenon.

I have a Proto ratchet that is longer than any of my breaker bars, bought it back in the mid 70s. If that won't break them loose, it's time for 3/4", .

 

[NDIHC]

My long 1/2 inch ratchet is a Snap On flex head with a 24 inch handle. My long 1/2 inch breaker bar is a Snap On with a 36 inch handle. I've never broken either of them. I've had my long handle Matco 3/8" ratchet for years and have never broken it. My bent handle 3/8" Snap On flex head ratchet has been rebuilt a couple of times but then it's been used almost daily for over 30 years. I use my Snap On 1/4" flex head long handle ratchet to remove exhaust manifold bolts and have yet to break it or rebuild it. My long handle Cornwell 3/8 and 1/2 have both had the guts replaced but I've never broken either one. Sometimes it pays to pay a little extra.