Remove Rubber from HF Roto Ratchet Handle?

[bwringer]

I want to carry a Horror Fright roto ratchet in my motorcycle tool kit. These things are insanely handy.

I'd like to remove the rubber on the handle to make it less bulky.

What's the best/easiest way to attack this stuff? My utility knife would barely make a dent. Maybe I need a better knife...

And what's under there once it's naked -- spikes? Plutonium? Jimmy Hoffa?

 

[Mr_B]

couple of flat pinches in the handle stock are what holds the moulded handle in situ.
need a sleeve over it ideally .
putting grip in vise and twisting ratchet while pulling normally gets them started, I epoxy knurled sleeves over lot of my ratchets, just done all my carlyle as soft grips for softies and bulky at times .

 

[up a creek]

I want to carry a Horror Fright roto ratchet in my motorcycle tool kit. These things are insanely handy.

I'd like to remove the rubber on the handle to make it less bulky.

What's the best/easiest way to attack this stuff? My utility knife would barely make a dent. Maybe I need a better knife...

And what's under there once it's naked -- spikes? Plutonium? Jimmy Hoffa?

I somehow doubt ol' Jimmy is under there.
Take your ratchet put it upside down in your vise so that the handle is about 2 inches above your vice. Ensure you put block of wood on either side of jaws or at least wrap ratchet shank in some sort of shop rag. Least you have teeth marks in sides. Take a larger open end of a wrench, and a prybar
Put the open end under handle area and flush with the shank. Then gently, take the pry bar and start to pry the handle off. If you find that you have raised the handle quite a bit but it is still stuck you can lower the ratchet in the vise a bit or stack another wrench open end on top of the other so it raises the prying action of the pry bar.

As far as what it looks like, my guess, and only a guess, there are some sort of either voided splines or outer splines. And.... I am not 100% on this, but I have heard HF uses glue on their ratchet handles. Why, I do not really know, if they do, because most companies it is put on by jamming it over the handle pressed on if you will.

 

[ChevyEFI]

If you don't like the remaining splines or swedges, get heavy duty 3M shrink tubing, or marine grade glue-lined shrink tubing for a thin, semi-durable cover.

 

[cptn_zippy]

I removed mine by boiling the handle in a pot of water and pulling it off with an oven mit.

J

 

[bwringer]

I removed mine by boiling the handle in a pot of water and pulling it off with an oven mit.

J

This sounds like the laziest and therefore the best way...



There's a probably apocryphal story about a famed efficiency expert, Charles Deming or someone like that. When he visited an assembly line, he asked to watch the laziest employee for a while, reasoning that this is often the person who had discovered the most efficient ways to get things done.

 

[bwringer]

If you don't like the remaining splines or swedges, get heavy duty 3M shrink tubing, or marine grade glue-lined shrink tubing for a thin, semi-durable cover.

Yep, that's the plan -- heat shrink or maybe some sort of tubing from my vast stash of assorted tubular leftovers.

 

[cptn_zippy]

Yep, that's the plan -- heat shrink or maybe some sort of tubing from my vast stash of assorted tubular leftovers.

Unlike you, I wanted a larger handle...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[up a creek]

Unlike you, I wanted a larger handle...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is that a HF ratchet? If so how much was that one?

 

[WWheeler]

Is that a HF ratchet? If so how much was that one?

Looks like one of these with a Craftsman handle swapped onto it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/catal...ed+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=swivel+head+ratchet

 

[Air21]

There's a probably apocryphal story about a famed efficiency expert, Charles Deming...

As the token ASQ Member and Six Sigma Green Belt, I'll have you know the name of our personal Lord and Savior is William Edwards Demming.

I'll go back to my control charts now. Carry on.

And boiling I believe is the industry best practice for this operation.

 

[up a creek]

Looks like one of these with a Craftsman handle swapped onto it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/catal...ed+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=swivel+head+ratchet

Thank you, I had not seen those last time that I went in. I will take a peak at them next time I go to town.

 

[bwringer]

As the token ASQ Member and Six Sigma Green Belt, I'll have you know the name of our personal Lord and Savior is William Edwards Demming.

I'll go back to my control charts now. Carry on.

And boiling I believe is the industry best practice for this operation.

Huh. Where did my brain come up with "Charles"?



I'd swear I've seen pics of a HF ratchet with a Snap-On handle, which caused great offense, and much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Dingleburry]

Hacksaw cut it lengthwise, hammer and chisel to split it. Or Clamp in vise and pipe wrench twist it off!!

 

[bwringer]

Welp, now we have documented actual photo evidence of what's under that mysterious green lump.

And it's... not bad, actually.

Sorry about the crappy lighting. The shank of the ratchet (the 1/4" drive version, in case you're wondering) is a little shorter than the handle, and there are two wee swedges that aren't sharp and shouldn't hurt my delicate mitts at all. I'm going to skip the heat shrink and leave it naked metal, which will save a vital .01 ounce out in the woods. And it'll fit in my tool roll a bit better.

It's shiny and chromed all the way down, so that's nice. I've seen other ratchets where they skip the chrome under the handle.

I used the boiling water trick. Very easy. My wife wasn't here and besides she's sort of used to me boiling weird stuff. I'm glad I didn't use abrasives or force -- it would have been a shame to nick the metal.

 

[up a creek]

Welp, now we have documented actual photo evidence of what's under that mysterious green lump.

And it's... not bad, actually.

Sorry about the crappy lighting. The shank of the ratchet (the 1/4" drive version, in case you're wondering) is a little shorter than the handle, and there are two wee swedges that aren't sharp and shouldn't hurt my delicate mitts at all. I'm going to skip the heat shrink and leave it naked metal, which will save a vital .01 ounce out in the woods. And it'll fit in my tool roll a bit better.

It's shiny and chromed all the way down, so that's nice. I've seen other ratchets where they skip the chrome under the handle.

I used the boiling water trick. Very easy. My wife wasn't here and besides she's sort of used to me boiling weird stuff. I'm glad I didn't use abrasives or force -- it would have been a shame to nick the metal.

Glad you got it all worked out, or off as seen in picture lol.
I picked up that same ratchet and the 3/8 counter part this past week. I like them so far as I got a chance to use them both. I might do that for 1/4 but the 3/8 I have to leave the handle on that one.

 

[Fedwrench]

I was going to say just pick up a titan roto head ratchet. they're very similar aside from the titan having an all metal handle.