Exactly. And I've seen other brands do this too, like the Matco Special Forces line. But the square hole on the Proto female ratchet seems like a more universal design that could be easily adopted.
So I recently learned about this "female" style of ratchet, like the Proto 5649FW:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/7M8AAOSwx75kUpkq/s-l1600.png
And I have a seemingly stupid question about them: what kind of sockets do I use on these ratchets? Are there "male" sockets that fit in the square...
Hi. I'm looking for the two extensions that were made for the 3/8" drive Armstrong Eliminator. Would be willing to buy the whole set if it's in good enough shape, as long as it comes with the extensions.
Did a bit of searching and it seems that the sockets are indeed compatible. Not sure if the pawl and switch would be interchangeable, but I'm guessing they would be.
I just took a closer look at this. Are the Armstrong and Matco sets compatible? The ratchet shape looks different but the pawl looks the same. And so do the sockets.
I actually found a straight ratchet for the Matco Special Forces as well, so I have both a straight and flex ratchet for the set. But I do like the looks of the Armstrong set too!
And I'm sure there are some readers who may be wondering why I'm bothering with this when it's not even broken yet. I was thinking that it may have been a special pin, so rather than wait several years for it to break, I figured it might be easier to find now. My thinking was that the longer...
I think you might be right. I wasn't sure if there was some trick to removing the pin, so I didn't want to try hammering it out without knowing any better. But that might be all there is to it.
I recently acquired a Matco Special Forces pass-through ratchet and socket set. Nifty little kit, but parts for it seem hard to find. I know the weak point on it is the pin that connects the handle to the flex head, so I wanted to try to find a spare sooner rather than later. Since this tool...
Thanks for the recommendation. I was looking at some Protos, but they seem like overkill for a weekend mechanic like me. Stahlwille seems more reasonable if I decide to get any.