Any Advice on a Good Cheater Pipe?

[becker_atc]

I have a 3' length of 2" fibreglass pipe I use as a snipe on my aluminium pipe wrenches. Almost unbreakable. Have had it for a long time. Good luck on your hunt to get some......

Oil field supply houses generally have nice ones already cut to length I have 4' piece of 2" and about a 18" of 1.5"

 

[becker_atc]

Also can knock the end out of or cut end off a garage sale softball bat.


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[redwrench60]

Same series as NASA uses, correct?

I have one in all my vehicles.

Affirmative. NASA has been documented using Snap On cheater pipes for torquening the sulfaded ambivation lunar wane shafts on turbo encabulators and drawn reciprocation dingle arms.

 

[Dirtydan69]

Go to Home Depot or Rona, they should have black steel pipe in shorter lengths. Normally it comes in 10' . Make sure you match the the pipe diameter to whatever tool you are using it with

If it is load binders, usually you use a truckers tightening bar with a special end on it. Cheaters are used mainly for commercial equipment. For backyard automotive, they shouldn't be necessary

I just bought a 1 1/2” 4 foot long section of galvanized at the depot. HOLY ****!
12.75 a foot. Didn’t even look at the ticket, let alone realiz3 it 7ntil I got to the cashier and she rang it up and said 58.79 please. I said no thanks. Went back and found another depot guy who re wrote it at 50% off. That would translate to $125.70 for a ten foot length that normally sells for $45. The piec3 I bough5 was the last and only length of 1 1/2” pipe in the store. Still cost me about 27 and change.

 

[metaleltr]

Also can knock the end out of or cut end off a garage sale softball bat.


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Came here to suggest the ball bat. First time I saw this done the local utility was changing out be gas meter on a comercial building. He said the ball bats make great cheater pipe- of course the larger diameter fits pipe wrenches nicely

 

[6PTsocket]

I keep reading about these things and can never seem to find a good one. I've used copper pipe but pulled through it and ABS which clearly did not work. Any help out there?

I use the handle off my 11/4 ton Ajax/Walker floor jack. Both of my jacks have a 1 piece handle. That sucker is not going to bend and I don't have to keep an extra "cheater" around; it is still a jack handle.

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[PhantomEB]

Measure out the thickness of your ratchets etc and get the ID to be slightly oversize for that ratchet in black iron pipe, can even get galvanized now. Couple 4' pieces will do any home shop.

 

[kblee27]

Long time ago, when I was much younger, my uncle teach me to use a lead pipe.
But I guess they are no longer available.

 

[hangfirew8]

I was reading this thread, scratching my head thinking, where did all my cheater pipes go? When was the last time I even used one? They used to be a staple in my old family garage. I remember saving a few of the best examples when we sold the old homestead.

Then I remembered I upped my game some years ago with air impact guns. I also have the factory double nut+magnet things that allow me a daisy chain wrenches. Haven't used a cheaper pipe since. (But I would use one in a heartbeat if I had to).

 

[atikovi]

I have this Mueller-Kueps wrench extender.

Don't need it too often but when I do it works great.

 

[MaverickDMD]

Holy ****! OP here - thanks for the deluge of collective information! Gotta love GJ.

I had no idea that black gas pipe would be safe as a cheater. Always feared it might explode like another poster had mentioned. Many posters said it best with measuring out my widest 1/2 ratchet diameter, an SO S831, and finding a 3-4 foot piece of gas pipe. I think I'll pick one up at HD today, maybe trick it out with painted marks at 1 and 2 feet, and a **** end with 6 inches of hockey tape as a grip. And I think it would only be fitting to fab up a sticker that reads "GJ-50" given that the idea was spawned from 50 replies on GJ. I'll post pictures of when it's done tonight. Thanks to everyone for the help with building a safe yet cool cheater pipe for ratchets!

Thanks also to atikovi, we are all now aware of the Mueller-Kueps wrench extender. A quick search on Amazon states this is $58 which is a decent price given that it is made to fit the shaft of spanner wrenches without the risk of bending the fork like its much cheaper competitor Maxx's wrench extender might do.

A good 3 or 4 foot 1 inch ID black gas pipe for ratchets and a Mueller-Kueps for spanners and any mechanic, shade tree or otherwise, should be good to go.

 

[atikovi]

You can snap in a 2 foot 1/2 inch drive breaker bar on the end of the Mueller-Kueps, then another 5 feet of cheater pipe on the end of that. Be sure to take a video when you use it.

 

[Cahark]

I just bought a 1 1/2” 4 foot long section of galvanized at the depot. HOLY ****!

12.75 a foot. Didn’t even look at the ticket, let alone realiz3 it 7ntil I got to the cashier and she rang it up and said 58.79 please. I said no thanks. Went back and found another depot guy who re wrote it at 50% off. That would translate to $125.70 for a ten foot length that normally sells for $45. The piec3 I bough5 was the last and only length of 1 1/2” pipe in the store. Still cost me about 27 and change.

Jeez. I just checked the price of galvanized pipe at menards. 28 bucks for 10’. Home Depot is crazy on the price of that.


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[DGersic]

I was reading this thread, scratching my head thinking, where did all my cheater pipes go? When was the last time I even used one? They used to be a staple in my old family garage. I remember saving a few of the best examples when we sold the old homestead.

Then I remembered I upped my game some years ago with air impact guns. I also have the factory double nut+magnet things that allow me a daisy chain wrenches. Haven't used a cheaper pipe since. (But I would use one in a heartbeat if I had to).

Air + impact is great, where there’s room to get the impact in. I seem to always need to get at something where the impact won’t fit, but a breaker bar + socket will. Adding a length of black pipe to the breaker helps sometimes. The black pipe doubles as pipe clamp fodder when not being used for leverage on something rusty.




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[southalabama]

Timely discussion. I've been looking for a good cheater pipe.

Dad has used a piece of thick wall aluminum pipe he brought home years ago. It's slightly flattened to slide in a wrench. Not sure how long he has had it but I'd put it at 40 plus years old given my earliest recollections of it. It shows the battle scars.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I've posted this in a few other threads. 1/2" breaker bar cut off with a link of chain welded on it. It was cheaper than that Mueller-Kueps. Although it doesn't have a square at the bottom to add anything to it.

I stole the idea from a JD mechanic I know. I've made and few and plan on making a longer and shorter version.

Other than that I have various sizes and lengths of black pipe for my breaker bars and large pipe wrenches. I even have a few small pieces to add some length to my hex/Allen L-keys.

 

[Stadger]

I use an old Japbike front fork leg.

 

[CoogarXR]

I also use the galvanized fence post. I have had the same piece for 25+ years and it's never let me down, lol.

 

[Handyfarmer]

I personally like a piece of rectangular steel tubing on some wrenches, Unlike a pipe it will not let the wrench twist,

 

[hangfirew8]

Air + impact is great, where there’s room to get the impact in. I seem to always need to get at something where the impact won’t fit, but a breaker bar + socket will. Adding a length of black pipe to the breaker helps sometimes. The black pipe doubles as pipe clamp fodder when not being used for leverage on something rusty.

I agree. I never give up options. I got a little Astro Nano and their extra-short socket set to get into tight places. I still have a 3' 1/2" flex head breaker bar. Now I just have to remember where I put those pipes at!

 

[derosa]

http://www.jensonusa.com/Park-Tool-...HxVhTSu0yw2fmI6bcuz9WwTARTvHN5O8aAsyGEALw_wcB

Originally designed for straightening steel frames, I've bounced on the end of one and the thing is great for ease of adjustability. I've had it on 14mm wrenches and 32mm wrenches as well as breaker bars and large ratchets.