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Thanks for the replies. A lot of cheaper wrenches have high review ratings. For example, the ratings for HF Pittsburgh wrenches isn't much lower than the rating for HFT Icon wrenches that cost five times as much. I think this confirms that they all use good enough metal to have a low failure...

While shopping for combination wrenches I noticed that several name brands didn't mention what metal they used. Harbor Freight, Tekton and several other budget brands do specify. For example, Pittsburgh are "Carbon Steel". Icon, Dewalt and Tekton are, "Chrome vanadium steel". Does anyone know...

That looks like an excellent solution. I've been considering getting the type of T driver that has a big plastic handle but I like your solution better. Then I realized I already have a good enough solution in my toolbox...

Your 12V Makita Drill/Impact Driver set has a Lithium-Ion battery. They are excellent at holding a charge for months. Their weakness is, "The typical estimated life of a Lithium-Ion battery is about two to three years or 300 to 500 charge cycles, whichever occurs first." They are expensive to...

Battery powered are perfect except for the battery management problem and the possibility of the batteries becoming obsolete. AC powered are perfect except for the line cord. I think battery power is great for frequent users, especially if they are working away from a source of AC. I like my...

For that I would use my AC impact wrench. I got AC because I will only use it where there is AC. I might have gotten a battery powered impact wrench if I knew they were powerful enough to remove lug nuts. Another option is loosen all of the bolts with a long wrench and then use a socket and a...

I'd guess that smaller impact wrenches are scarce because it is usually easy and fast enough to work with small fasteners with hand tools. Rather than getting a smaller AC impact driver, why not just get a longer wrench? With the leverage of a long wrench, humans are powerful tools. I'm assuming...

This is irrelevant but I bought an electric impact wrench kit with a few sockets and a case for $30 from Kragens about 20 years ago. Two sockets cracked after about 30 bolts and then the wrench itself disintegrated. (On the other hand, I have a 50 year old Dremel Moto Tool that still works fine...

Thanks for the info. I just switched from the insulated driver to the ergonomic one. I didn't know about the nice softer grip of the ergonomic one and I don't really need the insulated driver. The Tonsiki can be returned free with Amazon Prime and it intrigued me so I will check it out. My bit...

Thanks for all of the great info in this thread! Based on your input and my reading lots of reviews about ratchet drivers, I decided to buy a two magnetic drivers and also a Milwaukee bit set. I think the magnetic driver will be a good improvement. I might like a ratchet drive too but I didn't...

I think this only applies to situations were you have to drive in the screw singlehandedly. Using two hands it is easy to twist the driver with one hand and use the other hand to hold the driver steady while preparing to twist again. Maybe the point is it is easier to be singlehanded with a...

Thanks for all of the excellent input. I've also been reading Amazon reviews of different highly rated ratchet screwdrivers. I’m still undecided. I understand that if you do a lot of screwing, so to speak, it is nice to have options like a ratchet screwdriver. But, as others have said, if I need...

While browsing the "Impact driver bits" thread, people mentioned Ratchet Screwdrivers. At first I thought they seem like a good idea but are they really any more efficient? One aspect that is less efficient is having to flip a switch to go from CW to CCW. I want one just because I like tools...

I have 4 of the 6 ton version and they are big and heavy. I got them because I like the pin lock concept but they are so big I always use them on the lowest setting which is more stable and doesn't utilize the pin. They are a good value but overkill on my 3400 lb Corvette. Make sure the top...

You guys are awesome. Here is a totally unrelated photo I took today of a bear in my neighborhood.

“professionally recalibrated every 6 Months”, that is rediculous for several reasons as probably everyone here knows. I read that before I bought my Icon and it caught my attention but I bought it anyway because an HF employee said they quickly replace any handtools as long as they don't look...

If you think I was being silly, maybe you are projecting. Yes, calibration is never included in the warranty. I never said it was. That would be silly. At Precision Instruments website I could find nothing about their warranty. That makes me very skeptical about its usefulness beyong 90 days...

I'm pretty sure that HF's torque wrenches are made by companies that specialize in torque wrenches. My older torque wrench is a Matco. It was sold with a lifetime warranty but because I don't work in a shop as a mechanic Matco wasn't interested in honoring that warranty. They said I could send...

Yes, after a calibrated torque wrench leaves the factory, it could explode into a million pieces. It could also stay calibrated for a long time. I've read posts from several people that said their old Pittsburgh torque wrenches have kept their calibration for years. I think an Icon will do at...

Now I think your point is we should evaluate the bolt and the bolt hole, do our best to solve any out of spec friction problems and then based on the amount of remaining out of spec change in friction, which we can't measure, we should guess at the appropriate torque value to achieve the ideal...