1/2" breaker bar needed

biscuit141 · Mar 27, 2012

I need to pick up a 1/2" breaker bar, won't be using it a ton. I have heard mixed reviews on the HF breaking. My local sears has a USA made breaker bar 18" long $28. Should I grab one of these before they go China made?

It really is depressing to see the made in USA tools being thinned out to make way for the China ****. Will all their tools eventually be made in China or are they only doing certain products?

bobcatdan · Mar 27, 2012

I'm not a fan of craftsman breaker bars. I have found them weak. You break it six months from now and then what do you have. Swap meet and car show season is coming up quick, wait and buy a used SO. There are a lot of guys swear by the hf bar, but I wouldn't waste $8 or whatever they cost.

greasemonkey44 · Mar 27, 2012

i have an HF bar.....and i really dont like it
it flexes alot; some jobs its a must but im looking for something better

reptilezs · Mar 27, 2012

i have a older cman 3/8 with a riveted head. i like it better than the new style with just a pin

billymade · Mar 27, 2012

Stay away from the Craftsman; they break and can hurt you (ask me how I know). Look for a USA brand; matco, mac, proto, armstrong, williams, snap-on etc., flea markets are great for this sort of thing. The pro/industrial brands really shine in this area of tools; find one used, usa, for cheap; the best of both worlds!

RRmech · Mar 27, 2012

+1 on flea-markets and yard sales

My 17", 1/2" drive WARDSMASTER USA (made by WRIGHT) breaker bar, ran me $8.

Steve

RobertMo1988 · Mar 27, 2012

i have a 1/2'' snap-on 15'' older one but no rust $35 shipped if your interested.

same one as this one minus the rust.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snap-on-NS-...ultDomain_0&hash=item4844a968b3#ht_500wt_1202

amolaver · Mar 27, 2012

as far as i'm concerned, if you need a breaker bar, 18" is too short. the hf 24" is a great deal - i think i got mine on sale for less than $20. i found and bought a 24" matco for $40 as well. they seem to flex the same amount. it 'seems' like the head design of the matco would be stronger, but neither has broken yet and i've jumped up and down on both of them (@240lb).

i'm looking now for 3/4 bar since those seem to come in 30" lengths - sometimes even the 24" requires a LOT of muscle. why work harder than you have to..

ahm

oldtools · Mar 27, 2012

I would take the HF breaker bar over the Craftsman. CM breaker bar is not very strong.

trboxman · Mar 27, 2012

I have an older 18" craftsman breaker bar that I've used the heck out of with no issues. I also have 24" HF breaker bar that's also served me well. The extra 6" is nice to have. If I could only have one I'd have the 24". The HF can often be had for $10.00 or less when on sale.

jethro29 · Mar 27, 2012

i have this like new 18" snap-on picture here.pm me if interested. it's #1 in the pic.

ActAppalled · Mar 27, 2012

I have the Craftsman 18" and a Proto 24" breaker, both in 1/2". The Proto feels and looks like twice the weight of the Craftsman. I haven't had a chance to use the Proto yet but I was very impressed when it came, and it only cost me $27 shipped with my MSC discount.

road1will · Mar 27, 2012

I've broken several of the Craftsman bars, both 3/8 and 1/2. The HF bars flex too much, especially if your trying to yank a bolt loose. Buy a good SO or Matco bar, you will feel the difference the first time you use it.

thedeatons · Mar 27, 2012

I have been looking for a 1/2" Wright breaker bar for many months.... Biscuit, If you end up with an extra Wright please let me know!

James

jethro29 · Mar 27, 2012

you don't want to cheap out on a breaker bar or you will end up on your ***.

byoungblood · Mar 27, 2012

I've had the square drives shear off of a couple of Craftsman breaker bars. I still have one in my travel box, I use a 3/4" drive sliding bar with a 1/2" adapter and an extra 18" of pipe if I need to break something loose and can't get an impact on it.

jtfc · Mar 27, 2012

I have the harbor freight bar and it works great I also have an 18" snap on bar it gets a pipe all the time both work awesome.

marslawn · Mar 27, 2012

I think I have an older husky breaker bar. I can check tomorrow. PM me if interested.

Wakefield · Mar 27, 2012

3/4" drive Wright or SK with a sunex impact adapter? Wright 3/4" slider bar?
Snap on 1/2" best for access into tight area?
How old does the Craftsman have to be to be one of the good ones? Can you tell by looking at it? If it says "wear eye protection" is that a real bad one?
I guess the Duralast ones that are supposed to be good are all gone?
Deafautotech's 30 inch long Matco holding up?

biscuit141 · Mar 27, 2012

Wakefield said:
3/4" drive Wright or SK with a sunex impact adapter? Wright 3/4" slider bar?
Snap on 1/2" best for access into tight area?
How old does the Craftsman have to be to be one of the good ones? Can you tell by looking at it? If it says "wear eye protection" is that a real bad one?
I guess the Duralast ones that are supposed to be good are all gone?
Deafautotech's 30 inch long Matco holding up?

That's a lot of questions.

freeskier · Mar 27, 2012

the hf bar is the way to go. i buy only high end ratchets but for breker, the 16$ hf unit has done the trick

Wakefield · Mar 27, 2012

I have used a 1/2" drive Craftsman a number of times to remove wheel lugs and not had a problem with it but that is not what many here would consider hard use. It is only a few years old.

6-Speed · Mar 27, 2012

No problems with the HF 1/2" B-Bar. I have both the 18" and 24"; been using them for years now. They are some of the few tools from HF that I really like.

DrkMtnDew · Mar 28, 2012

My SO 24'' BB is great.
My HF 24'' BB is good.

Next best thing is a 3/4'' X 36'' bar.

beerdog · Mar 28, 2012

Obviously, a craftsman/HF 1/2" breaker bar is no comparison to a Snap-on grade. Snapon is made for pros who use it every day and expect it to last for a long time. Craftsman is made for the DIY market. It works well, but willnot take the same torque load. There is a reason the SO's are way more expensive.

NC-Fordguy · Mar 28, 2012

Had to remove a ZF-5 from a F-350 this past Saturday. My IR impact gun would not budge the bell housing to block bolts.

Ended up using a HF 24 in 1/2 drive breaker bar to break the bolts loose. Broke all six bolts loose and I didn't notice any flexing.

For 10 dollars I'm satisfied

PushnFords · Mar 28, 2012

The Craftsman ****...I think I gave mine away. After I hurt myself pretty bad on a CM and MAC I bought a scuffed up 18" Snap On for $50 shipped off of eBay. I've had a 5" cheater on it and jumping on the end (260lbs) and I bent it but it has never broken. Eventually I bent it back straight on another bolt. I have a 24" Genius flex head ratchet that I paid around $45 shipped brand new and it has held up very well too..better than several name brands that coworkers had.

6-Speed · Mar 28, 2012

I have used the ratcheting 1/2" Dr. B-bars with good results. I have an 18" from HF and another 24" from Nieko, but they both use the same head. You can't place as much torque on them, but I have used the 18" to remove a very-stuck starter bolt in tight quarters where a fixed B-Bar would never have worked.

battlegraduate09 · Mar 28, 2012

I found that if your using an 18"-24" breaker bar on something, it must be pretty tight right?
so do you really want to worry about how that bar your using is flexing or if when you hear that "pop" your gonna be able to see or not, or if you got lucky and broke the bolt/nut loose ?

I didnt, i spent the money on a 26" flex head ratchet/breaker bar from matco, and a 24" breaker bar from Mac

shampoop · Mar 28, 2012

I've only heard excellent things about the HF 1/2" prybar. It's only weakness is that it doesn't have the low clearance of a pro grade brand like SO. However for a home user that's completely unimportant. Get a 24" breaker bar for sure though.

Tony N. · Mar 28, 2012

I don't think I can justify buying a Snap-on breaker bar after seeing this 24" bend:

This breaker bar was used during a crank bolt removal over at a car forum. I have a 1/2" breaker bar from Neiko made of chrome vanadium that bent real good during my crank bolt removal but it returned to its shape after the bolt removal.

I wonder if Snap-on will warranty that breaker bar.

gonefirefighting · Mar 28, 2012

I used the HF one with a 8 foot long cheater pipe after bending the snap on and breaking the matco on the first bolt last year when I had to drop a D8 dozer belly pan in the middle of winter.

if anyone would have broken it I certainly would have done it that day.

MattPersman · Mar 28, 2012

the HF 24" is a bad MFer, its unmatched for the $ imo

geologist · Mar 28, 2012

billymade said:
Stay away from the Craftsman; they break and can hurt you (ask me how I know).

Yeah, I've got a nice scar from a Craftsman breaker bar failure.. right under my chin (was working under an S10).

JASTECH · Mar 28, 2012

I have a couple thoughts.

1) Does the bolt/nut know you are not a pro, therefore break free easier w/o breaking your B-Bar?

2) Use a torque wrench and see what the ft.lbs. are that is way above specs.

Steve, Thank you Sir! Need your help on another if you would like to help PM me.

kippieland · Mar 28, 2012

Genius makes a 2 ft. one.

RKA · Mar 28, 2012

Interesting to read the responses in here (and not surprising really). Back when I didn't know better, I bought a 24" from my local auto parts store since sears never had them in stock. I use it more often than I thought I would, mostly because it beats struggling with a ratchet for no good reason. Yes, it's probably made in China, no it hasn't broken or deflected to the point of no return. BUT, I do watch where I put my face and where my knuckles could land in the event of failure and now that I know better, next time I'll get something from Williams/Proto/Armstrong/etc. I do believe it will let go sooner than one of the USA brands and I do believe it will let go in a way that I will regret for at least a few weeks. The chinese breaker bar will probably find it's way into a shipping tube this year.

RRmech · Mar 28, 2012

I've read a lot here about 24"-25" breaker bars.
But I don't recall seeing many on the RR?
The Truck Shop (and sometimes Machine Shop) handled the really BIG gear, and they almost exclusively used air impacts.
Almost everyone else (HVAC, Electric, Motor, Inspection, & Running Maint.) used smaller 15"-to-18" breaker bars.

Steve

Steve_P · Mar 28, 2012

I bent a HF 24" with no pipe/cheater bar on a pinion nut install; it was flexing a LOT and I was worried about it breaking and my ending up on the floor. I exchanged it for a new one, but yeah, they are a bit flexy IMO. I picked up a 3/4 Titan for the next crush sleeve

tkdone · Mar 28, 2012

I have the 24 in kolbolt and its gets alot of use,no problem with it

1/2" breaker bar needed

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