Harbor Freight Flex Head 1/4 3/8 1/2 flex head ratchets

[ex-x-fire]

Well I broke the pin on my 18" 3/8 flex yesterday. I was piping it pretty hard when the pin broke.
I drilled out the broken piece & pressed in a allen wrench. It took a lot of force to push it through, made a loud "creek" noise, now the flex is very tight now. Well see if it loosens up over se

 

[Bradley2424]

Well I broke the pin on my 18" 3/8 flex yesterday. I was piping it pretty hard when the pin broke.
I drilled out the broken piece & pressed in a allen wrench. It took a lot of force to push it through, made a loud "creek" noise, now the flex is very tight now. Well see if it loosens up over se

Can you take a pic of what you did I am warranting out mine on Thursday this week and want to fix it so I never have to worrie again. The gears in the head are amazing its just flex part that makes this ratchet week and from being perfect.

 

[02camaro86]

i would invest in upgrading to another ratchet. if it makes your job easier and quicker in the long run its making you more money and paying for itself. in the short term if that means no beer/going out so be it, in the end it will save aggravation at work.

 

[ex-x-fire]

Can you take a pic of what you did I am warranting out mine on Thursday this week and want to fix it so I never have to worrie again. The gears in the head are amazing its just flex part that makes this ratchet week and from being perfect.

I don't have a picture & what I did was pretty basic. Drill out the remaining threads, find a allen wrench that is close to the size, cut the wrench, make one side pointed, press it through with a press or big vise, trim the excess.

 

[gungatim]

I promised when I got back I would update on how I shimmed my ratched.

I took it apart last night to go through the motions again.

clearance between the head and the handle was .017, I used .010 brass shim stock.

one thing I noticed which I did not before, is that I DO have a bellville/wave washer in there. the reason I didn't notice it before: the washer is recessed into the head. where the washer sits is countersunk, the washer sits in there flush, doing absolutely no good whatsoever. in fact, it's hard to tell it's even there.

back to the fix:

grab some .010 brass

Use your hand dandy HF sheet metal punch with the 3rd smallest die

punch a hole in the brass

grab your hand dandy sheet metal punch set you bought to try and make rings from quarters ($25 on amazon).

center the hole and punch out a 3/8" disc of brass

take a hammer and LIGHTLY tap the brass flat on a hand dandy HF vice to knock down the burr.

slip it in opposite side of the recessed belleville washer and tighten it up...

no more sloppy-floppy for you!

 

[dnschmidt]

Wouldn't just going to McMaster-Carr be easier?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#brass-shims/=xe3eof
http://www.mcmaster.com/#belleville-disc-springs/=xe3ga0

 

[gungatim]

Wouldn't just going to McMaster-Carr be easier?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#brass-shims/=xe3eof
http://www.mcmaster.com/#belleville-disc-springs/=xe3ga0

no, not at all. grabbing everything off the shelf in the shop, doing a little fix-it project in 5 minutes while enjoying some fine aged bourbon is much easier. at least it was for me Isn't that why he have a shop and tools to begin with?

 

[Bighead38]

Am I the only person who wants a flex head to be floppy?

 

[Coach James]

OP, what set did yiu get from Amazon?

Thanks

Coach

 

[CORTEZSS69]

Am I the only person who wants a flex head to be floppy?

Kinda what I was thinking.. I have the 1/2 and use it all the time. Its loose but that's kinda why I bought it.. For twenty some bucks it cant be beat..

 

[gungatim]

I'm sure everyone has their own desired level of floppy-ness they prefer, but a bunch of us have experienced the heads being so loose over time that they can be difficult to use.

for me, I consider too floppy where if I set the angle of the head a certain place, and the weight of the head causes it to fall down completely, well that's too floppy.

my fix doesn't require over-torquing and stripping the screw out, and makes the head like new. easy to move but stays in position where you put it.