1/4" Drive Breaker Bar

[Tatsuya]

Does anyone actually use these?

 

[Pro-Painter]

pointless IMO.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

I use mine quite a bit, especially on corroded outboard motor fasteners.

 

[Avgas]

I use it too, when clearance is an issue.

 

[earlthegoat2]

If you have a fastener that is so stubborn and can only get a 1/4 drive on it then yes.

Breaker bars are for breaking loose nuts and bolts. Their purpose is to save your ratchets teeth for breakage. I know lifetime warranties pretty much make this a moot point and most of us chuckleheads dont want to go grab the breaker bar if a nut is stubborn anyway.

I have a 1/4 drive breaker bar just because. I have really only needed it once because clearance was an issue and my long 1/4 drive ratchet would not work. It was on a stubborn bolt on an outboard motor as AZ catskinner seems to have problems with too.

 

[MattT]

I use it too, when clearance is an issue.

Yeah they're handy sometimes for clearance. Don't use mine for busting fasteners loose though. Maybe I should because I do warranty quite a few 1/4" ratchets

 

[kblazer87]

I use mine quite often when I am using my 1/4" drive set.

 

[Trucky]

Nope, a standard length 3/8 breaker is all I need. I never really come into a situation with clearance. Oh, and a standard "round cylindrical extension end with handle" comes in handy (A pipe with a screwdriver handle on it)

 

[canuckian]

got mine with a group of other 1/4 drive tools. Didn't think I'd ever have a use for it but I have used it on my motorcycle on a few occasions when a ratchet won't fit.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

If you can't increase the drive size, then yes. Used mine twice and was happy to have it.

 

[ajchien]

I've used it as a nut driver. Break the bolt, then flip it straight and turn it like a screwdriver.

I've also used it with a screwdriver bit socket when working with wood.

 

[metalgodlb]

I think the craftsman variety is the most i see around. Which is kind of funny because everytime I strip out a 1/4" craftsman ratchet I have to use it til I can run to Sears. its almost like they know lol.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

Mine's a Bluepoint. I picked it up a few years ago thinking "this could be handy". I've got a Craftsman in the truck set too.

 

[Packard V8]

Don't use mine for busting fasteners loose though. Maybe I should because I do warranty quite a few 1/4" ratchet

Yes, I use mine all the time. I've only ever warrantied one 1/4" ratchet, but then, I'm not a flat rate tech with the truck stopping by every week.

It's just me, but now that I'm not working my tools hard every day to make my rent, I don't have any excuse for breaking one. There's time to reach for the correct tool for the job at hand.

jack vines

 

[Scout Driver]

Last week I was taking a wheel off of a tool cabinet. I could reach the nut inside the toolbox with a ratchet and socket, but couldn't reach a wrench around the wheel and bracket to hold the bolt's head. My 1/4" breaker bar with a socket could reach the bolt head perfectly.

I have found a 1/4" breaker bar is handy for small engine work too.

If women are hanging out in the garage, they think that little 1/4" drive tools are cute.

Scott

 

[treasureseeker]

I keep my ¼” breaker bar in the same drawer with the Clapper and Chia Obama
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PKU28E/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[back2class]

I've used it as a nut driver. Break the bolt, then flip it straight and turn it like a screwdriver.

Yes man! That's how it's done. Much better tool for most 1/4 drive socket use than a ratchet. Of course ratchet is better in the kinds of spaces where you can't straighten out the handle and when the fastener is rusty. But more often than not, the little breaker bar is faster, fits better and is just nicer to use. However, the Craftsman blat handle design ruins this tool. Has to be round and knurled to use it like a spinner well.

 

[cruiser808]

Scott - you read me like a book. +1.

 

[jsaw]

Use mine a lot, works good to hold one end of a bolt while you tighten the nut on the other, also, when clearance is an issue.

 

[ndoran]

I have used mine many times - I bought it as part of my first 1/4 in drive set in 1979, the set is japanese made by Hilka. I ilived in the U.K. at the time. I found it useful on British leyland esplit exhaust manifold clamps. used the rtchet and breker handle for many jobs where a 3/8 in dive was better suited but I only had 1/2in and 1/4 in drive for a long time. Never broke a socket or any part of that set.

 

[vssykes]

they work very well on brake bleeder screws you can open and close the bleeder quickly without fiddling with a ratchet lever

 

[gnx547]

I have one sitting in my box and I never used it yet.

 

[russlaferrera]

I use mine on small fasteners. You get a better feel when loosening/tightening. It helps with your normal desire to add just a bit for force and then "POP"

 

[chewy7]

i bought one for a couple bucks at a rummage/barn sale. probably wont use it much.

 

[MadMark]

I have used one taking out the side door mirrors on my camaro.
It fit well inside the door. couldnt get the ratchet in at the angle the nut was at.
Also had to use a semi deep socket, I think it was a 10mm.

 

[whelenfan]

Scott - you read me like a book. +1.

having all of those "little" 1/4" drive tools out makes other "tools" look bigger huh?!?

 

[tony p]

I have a sliding bar type one; it gets used mostly in conjunction with an extension to make t-handled socket- or bit-drivers as the need arises. (But I'm lucky, I seldom have to deal with badly corroded fasteners.)

 

[Rarified27]

Has anyone come across a 1/4" breaker with a handle longer than 6 inches?

I've got a couple of fasteners that need to be held in place while turning the other side with a ratchet and the long 3/8 ones won't fit, even with a shallow socket.

 

[VictorBravo]

I've used it as a nut driver. Break the bolt, then flip it straight and turn it like a screwdriver.

I've also used it with a screwdriver bit socket when working with wood.

Same here.

Also, sometimes in very tight places in engine compartments, all you can squeeze in there is a little breaker bar to loosen fasteners.

 

[619DioFan]

Have found mine to be usefull on hard to reach distributor cap screws. sometimes add a flexable 1/4 inch drive extension to it.

 

[Lx460]

The only reason I have one is because it was a Snap-on at a yard sale for a dollar...

 

[Vvmvbb]

+ small corroded fasteners where you need to go back and forth to get them moving without breaking them.

 

[robalmal]

I've used it as a nut driver. Break the bolt, then flip it straight and turn it like a screwdriver.

I've also used it with a screwdriver bit socket when working with wood.

Same here. I keep a spare 10 mm. socket on mine all the time as that is the size I seem to need most.

 

[JUNK-MAN]

I use mine quiet a bit too.

 

[skulldrinker]

Mine is 40 years old I don't think I have ever needed it but it completes the set.

 

[Dave455]

Yep! I've got one, and a 1/4 inch sliding T, and a quarter inch speeder!

As access becomes tighter and tighter I find that I'm using 1/4 inch drive more and more. The breaker bar, naturally, gets used for breaking fasteners loose! I wouldn't use my 1/4 inch ratchet for this any more than I'd break fasteners loose with a 3/8 ratchet!

Increasingly, I'm finding I use 1/4 inch drive tools where previously I'd have used a screwdriver. That might be with a Pozidriv bit, or more likely with a Torx!

 

[Strouty]

Apparently the people who think they are pointless don't do any real life work. Those things are gold when you have an area that is too tight for a 3/8" socket, last time I checked all my 1/4" drive sockets were thiner.

 

[shockwave]

They are great on offset tensioners when doing at timing belt and changing sway bar link with locknuts

And also if you are running any tap the 1/4 breaker bar and sliding t are my go to with tap socket

 

[tube_guy]

Has anyone come across a 1/4" breaker with a handle longer than 6 inches?

I've got a couple of fasteners that need to be held in place while turning the other side with a ratchet and the long 3/8 ones won't fit, even with a shallow socket.

Truecraft tools sold a 1/4" drive breaker bar that's about 12 inches long or so. Made in Japan and pretty decent quality.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I've used it as a nut driver. Break the bolt, then flip it straight and turn it like a screwdriver.

I don't own any nut drivers. I use 1/4" sockets with a screwdriver handle extension. The Craftsman model I have, has a female 1/4" square hole in the top of the handle. If I need a bit more torque, I use my 1/4: breaker handle.

I also occasionally use my breaker bar with 1/4" extension and a 1/4" universal. Another tool in the box. Handy when working on appliances or outdoor power equipment.