Bonney Ratchet

[dkop1]

I acquired a Bonney T-702K Ratchet at the flea market yesterday (among other various tools) and I was wondering if anybody here knew anything about them... I haven't been able to find much online, not even from Alloy Artifacts. Somebody plasti-dipped the handle and I'm working on removing that **** at the moment, and soaking the head in some liquid wrench as the action isn't exactly smooth. Can anybody point me to some info? And I get the feeling that repair kits aren't easy to come by, but can anybody hint to me where I could look?
Thanks!

 

[ganymede]

They were made from the mid 60's until Bonney became extinct in 1990 or so.
They were marked with other brand names too including Herbrand and Giller.
Repair kits .. Don't know where to get any other than to scour eBay until one pops up.

 

[bonneyman]

Double see-saw pawl system. Very tough, but not the smoothest action in the world. Flat coil spring holds the gear assembly in.
The type of selector knob tells you the approximate age. Triple ridge is from 1967 to the late 70's.
Single ridge is late 70's thru their demise in 1994.

T designates 3/8" drive. 1/4" = V, 1/2" = A.

If yours needs fixing, you can send it to me. I have a small stash of Bonney tid-bits. If a thorough cleaning doesn't bring it back maybe I can fix it for you.

Here's my triple play of single ridge Bonney -702K rats.

 

[dkop1]

ganymede and bonneyman: Thank you for the info! I'll get some pictures up once I clean it up. It isn't broken, just a bit less than smooth and I wanted to maybe find a rebuild kit to keep on hand just in case. I like keeping 1 kit on hand for all my ratchets if I can find them. It's a single ridge, so now I know the approximate date. Again, thanks for the info guys!

 

[bonneyman]

10-4 Take it apart and clean all the internals with solvent and an old toothbrush. Q-tips for getting any crud or dried-out grease out of the pawl actuator pin and spring area.

Those Bonney rats had a 36 tooth head, but - with the dual pawls half a tooth out of synch - it basically gave you 72 tooth action.
But they were always a bit "clunky". Once worn in they get a little better, but, they'll never be like the S-K TUFF 1 ratchets!

 

[dkop1]

I picked up an SK 45170 and a Proto 5249P while I was there as well! I found the rebuild kit for the SK, haven't found one for the Proto yet but it's darn near brand new... I like the SK, it'll probably be the ratchet I keep in my car or it'll get gifted to a buddy of mine who just bought his first clunker.

 

[bonneyman]

I picked up an SK 45170 and a Proto 5249P while I was there as well! I found the rebuild kit for the SK, haven't found one for the Proto yet but it's darn near brand new... I like the SK, it'll probably be the ratchet I keep in my car or it'll get gifted to a buddy of mine who just bought his first clunker.

The SK 45170 3/8" is THE best ratchet IMHO. I've had my socket set with original ratchet since 1981. Still going strong.

 

[sonvolt]

The SK 45170 3/8" is THE best ratchet IMHO. I've had my socket set with original ratchet since 1981. Still going strong.

Bulletproof design my go to ratchet !

 

[twertsy]

Picked this one up yesterday. My first of the fine tooth Bonney rats, with a "patent pending" stamp as well.

 

[r_olson_06]

Picked this one up yesterday. My first of the fine tooth Bonney rats, with a "patent pending" stamp as well.

Jealous. Don't have one of them. Bonney is hard to come by in these parts and to have it in that condition. S-k is king with every farmer having already 2 ratchets.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

 

[dkop1]

I've got them both torn apart and cleaned now, just waiting on A: inspiration as to how to remove the well adhered plasti-dip **** from the bonney.... and B: to go out tomorrow and buy a tube o' superlube, as the tube I had disappeared in the recent change of homes my family did. can't wait to get them re-assembled! Now I'm on the hunt for some deep well 1/2" drive sockets and a deep and shallow metric set. I'm slowly replacing Pittsburgh sockets with mac, SK, Snap On etc. As I find them used and affordable

 

[dkop1]

Those look awesome! I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for ones similar

 

[KZ1000J]

Picked this one up yesterday. My first of the fine tooth Bonney rats, with a "patent pending" stamp as well.

Twerty...nice photography. Shop rags always make good backdrops.

Here's a Bonney I picked up a few weeks ago:

 

[bonneyman]

Well, if we're going to post pics of Bonney rats...

A-702K 1/2" modern
A707 1/2" sweetheart style
50's era 3/8" flex with quad wing selector
T-702K 3/8" early style
V-702K 1/4" modern style

 

[morgaj1]

Well, if we're going to post pics of Bonney rats...

A-702K 1/2" modern
A707 1/2" sweetheart style
50's era 3/8" flex with quad wing selector
T-702K 3/8" early style
V-702K 1/4" modern style

That flex ratchet is awesome. I've never seen one of those.

 

[SCscoutguy]

I picked up some John Deere ratchets made by Bonney the other day.

 

[dkop1]

My new beauties! The bonney, while wear-worn on the outside... Looks brand new inside. A little tarnishing, but almost zero wear on any of the internals!

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[Onedivinehammer]

My favorite ratchet, the one I consider the smoothest of fine tooth ratchets, is the Bonney A707 from the late 50's/early 60's. Here's mine:

View media item 41519

 

[Empty Pockets]

It's rare to see any used Bonney tools around here, I'm going to keep looking and some day I hope to have some friends for the 2 Bonney wrenches I got last spring at a yard sale

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[davethorik]

Here's my contribution. Bonney R701 3/4 drive ratchet.

It's like a weird SK/Snap-on hybrid.

 

[wrenchr]

I have some NOS rebuild kits for those 3/8 in my stash.

 

[swshawaii]

Thread revival 5+ years later. Do Dayton or Herbrand parts interchange with 702K series rats? Wanting to convert single ridges to tri wings. Sorry if this has been discussed before. Images below taken from eBay. TIA

 

[PowderKeg]

Yep, only diff is the bar vs tri-wing pattern.

 

[wrenchr]

Yep, only diff is the bar vs tri-wing pattern.

yup!!

 

[SVZA]

I've got them both torn apart and cleaned now, just waiting on A: inspiration as to how to remove the well adhered plasti-dip **** from the bonney.... and B: to go out tomorrow and buy a tube o' superlube, as the tube I had disappeared in the recent change of homes my family did. can't wait to get them re-assembled! Now I'm on the hunt for some deep well 1/2" drive sockets and a deep and shallow metric set. I'm slowly replacing Pittsburgh sockets with mac, SK, Snap On etc. As I find them used and affordable

Hi, I have a Bonney with a single ridge, maybe like yours (mine says T-702k). It's moving in one direction only, so trying to figure out how to open it up to clean it out. Any tips/illustrations on how you pried it open and what you used to clean the insides? I'm new to all of this, so thanks for any help.

 

[bonneyman]

It's got a flat coiled spring in a groove on the front side of the gear (under the square anvil). Carefully unhook it and slowly unravel it. It will want to pop away and disappear! Then you can pull the gear assembly out the back for cleaning and lubing.

The rusty pic shows that partially buried spring about the best of my photos.

 

[bonneyman]

Yep, only diff is the bar vs tri-wing pattern.

Any clue as to the switchover date for that? Nearest I can find in after 1971 but prior to 1977. I had access to some on-line catalogs and for sale items and was able to get the date in that range.

 

[PowderKeg]

No, I have no idea on a change date, just that the tri-wing was first and the bar later. Bonney's are the only ones I have with both versions - Utica, Herbrand, & Dayton are tri, while Bon-e-con and John Deere are bar.

From what I've seen these ratchets are virtually indestructible - soak the guts good, blast 'em out with aerosol brake cleaner, then lube with an aerosol lube (my long-time preference has been Napa SilGlyde). The aerosol straws help to blast deep in to the assembled guts, but gotta watch the eyes for errant spray/splash.

 

[tshusker]

Here's my recent acquisition. The 1/2"-drive No. A-702K, with the later single ridge.