Rebuilt a Husky 22201 USA 3/8" Dr Ratchet

Hello everyone,
About a month ago, I was in a pawn shop, digging in the loose tool bins (like I usually do), and came across a Husky 22201 3/8 Dr. Ratchet, labelled USA. Upon further inspection, I realized it was broken and missing some of its "guts," but the chrome was in pretty good shape. I picked it up with a couple other small finds and pointed out to the kid at the counter that it was broken. So I wound up paying around $5 for 3 items.

After reading Kittsr's post about his "Husky 22201 Ratchet," Notwerk's "Blackhawk Ratchet Question" post, and HGuerrero's "New Britain-Husky Tools Found Today" post, I decided rather than taking this ratchet to Home Depot and possibly getting it replaced with something they had in stock, I thought I'd try and rebuild it based on info I read on this site. Figured it was worth a shot, and decided to take pics for comparison purposes. I hope that I didn't go overboard on pics for my post.

Here's the ratchet as I found it:
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When I took it apart, here's what remained:
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So I counted teeth on the ratchet (41), and ordered a Blackhawk 34946BR ratchet head mechanism from Toolup.com:
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Old vs. New side-by-side comparison:
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Blackhawk ratchet mechanism on the left, Husky on the right:
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Top shot of both:
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Diagonal shot of the Blackhawk in the ratchet. Fits good:
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Assembled product. Blackhawk 34946BR ratchet mechanism inside a Husky 22201 USA ratchet. I managed to find some SuperLube at a True Value Hardware near by, so I lubed it with that. I may put the old twist spring clip on the bottom instead of the new one, as it's causing the spinner to pull very snugly against the top of the ratchet, making it a bit difficult to turn freely in my fingertips.
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I'll give it a few days of use to be sure it will work fine for me, and I am hoping that the dual pawl it has now will give it more bite. The teeth were in pretty good shape, and while the "click" sounds a bit funny to me when I twist the head, the teeth feel like they grip and have some bite, so as not to slip.

Peace.
-Nebraska03

Nice. Good save

Good job! I didn't know that there were ever American Husky tools out there. What's the story with American Husky tools? Anyone have a link?

I have that ratchet, part of a set I got at HD 15+ years ago. The set had SAE/Metric sizes, 42 pc., in a nice red steel case. It is actually still my go-to ratchet, despite every other ratchet I own being a better ratchet. USA-made. Thanks to someone posting here I gave it its first-ever lubing and it's smoother than it ever was.

For the OP, here is a couple pics that show the original selector switch.

Edit: Oh, hmm, I think the 22201 is either older or newer than mine, model 22202. Mine does not have a knurled handle. I thought that was the newer design but the model numbering wouldn't make sense then lol.

And holy ****! I was thinking that straightedge you have in your pic looked familiar and looking here on my desk, I have about the same one! Westcott R590-12. You following me around 15 years ago or something?

just a few weeks ago an apprentice had a HF ratchet that broke in the first week. I gave him my 22201 husky ratchet that was given to me as an apprentice. i replaced it with a new britain nb44. i liked the 22201 and it was very good to me while i owned it. hopefully he wont lose it and pass it down one day.

Wish my sk had a spinner like that..

Nice thread!

I see that particular blackhawk kit looks like it should work in a few different ratchet's, including a "tri-wing" Craftsman I'd bet.

Make sure the Super lube doesnt cause it to skip. It did that in a Craftsman RHFT I have so it get oil instead. Other wise I use Super lube.

Wish my sk had a spinner like that..

Click to expand...

S-K did make a kit that had a spinner built in (3/8 &1/2 drive). Call them & see if they still make them. It is handy to have.

That Husky ratchet is the only one I own that has a spinner, perhaps that is why I always reach for it first. Damn handy feature. Of course, I own a mere handful of ratchets (including all sizes) so many here would put me to shame lol.

Thread has inspired me to lube the only ratchets I never have, a 3-pc stubby set I got cheap from Northern for the few times I need them. Holy cow, there was ZERO lube in those ratchets. They have a much better feel now. So for the 3 times a year I use them I will appreciate that.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I'll keep my eyes peeled for more "tools needing a new lease on life" and try and do another rebuild with pics. My dad was a teacher so to me it's fun to be able to fix something and learn something new in the process.

@Exceller- Here's a pretty good start to find out about American-made Husky tools.
Alloy Artifacts- Husky Page


@Jim2664258- Nice set! I wish I could recall a time when Home Depot sold socket sets in metal cases like that, but I guess I was too young to remember that, as we only had a Lowes and a Hechinger's down where I am at, about 15+ years ago. Metal cases are awesome.

@Plinker- The Superlube I got was in an aerosol can and had the consistency of watered-down PB Blaster penetrating oil. Up till now, I had just used an old tube of gun grease for lubricating the insides of my ratchets, but I figured it'd be too thick.

I bet that ratchet is from when Stanley was marking tools made in usa when they were being made overseas.

Out of curiosity, how many clicks are you getting out of that repair kit? I never could get a straight answer to the arc question.

@Notwerk- Not sure yet, it's hard to tell because it's double pawl now, so it sounds like as soon as one clicks, the other is a 1/2 click away? Might have to go in the hall closet and break out the stethoscope, heh.

Given the dual pawl design, the second pawl may not always engage if I understood it right. The RHFT Craftsman ratchet's are similar, noise wise, being dual pawled as well.

I would imagine the swing arc is 8*, an average for round heads.

considering that its a odd number 41 tooth design, im sure it keeps the pawls out of sync, effectively doubling the tooth count...

Nebraska03 said:

@Plinker- The Superlube I got was in an aerosol can and had the consistency of watered-down PB Blaster penetrating oil. Up till now, I had just used an old tube of gun grease for lubricating the insides of my ratchets, but I figured it'd be too thick.

Click to expand...

the standard superlube multi-purpose NLGI 2 grease is what most people are using in their ratchets, if they are using superlube. the thickness is one of the main reasons for using it actually. it works great in my dual pawl williams ratchets

@TheSilverOne- I'm not so sure about that. I've seen a Blackhawk 1/2-3/8-1/4 drive socket set at a local pawn shop around here, everything in the case is stamped "USA." The 3/8 Dr ratchet in that case looks nearly identical to the Husky I have in appearance, size, and weight (I picked it up to check). It could be an imposter, but I doubt it.

@TwoInch- If I get any other type of SuperLube, I am going to have to order it online, no one around here seems to carry it.

the only places i know that carry it are ace hardwares, and harbor freights.