"Converted" my Ridgid impact driver to square

[FriendOfYours]

Ridgid offers nearly everything I need, love the warranty and have had good luck with their tools. But, the only thing they don't have is a 3/8" impact wrench. They have a 1/2" but it is much larger

Pulled the hex drive and milled it to a 3/8" square anvil. There is still quite a bit of meat between the hex hole and outside

Who knows how long it will last, but the arbor is replaceable so I can always order another and weld the hex. I just need to machine a groove for a friction ring

 

[Mohawk Dave]

nice. did you pull the arbor out to chuck it in a mill? Get a look inside the gun?

 

[Voi]

Ridgid offers nearly everything I need, love the warranty and have had good luck with their tools. But, the only thing they don't have is a 3/8" impact wrench. They have a 1/2" but it is much larger

Pulled the hex drive and milled it to a 3/8" square anvil. There is still quite a bit of meat between the hex hole and outside

Who knows how long it will last, but the arbor is replaceable so I can always order another and weld the hex. I just need to machine a groove for a friction ring.

Nice, I was wondering who was going to try this first. Are you going to try to use this as both a 3/8" wrench and 1/4" driver? But if it fails you'll order another arbor and fill it with weld before machining it down to 3/8" hex?

 

[FriendOfYours]

Yes. Once you detach the arbor spring lock thing, it just falls out. No messing with the actual motor itself

Good solder joints and everything hot glued in place.

Nice, I was wondering who was going to try this first. Are you going to try to use this as both a 3/8" wrench and 1/4" driver? But if it fails you'll order another arbor and fill it with weld before machining it down to 3/8" hex?

I have a Hitachi brushless 1/4", so the Ridgid will be just 3/8". I talked to the Ridgid local repair guy and the replacement arbor is only $15, and ya, I'll fill the center in and machine it

 

[taumac]

Got a question... Wouldn't these be easier? 1/4 3/8 1/2 I use all of these in my 18 dewalt impact.

 

[dfreeman616]

The downfall to those adapters, and why i got a 3/8" to round out my tools, is that they add length to the driver as well as reduce the final torque at the fastener. certainly better than nothing, though.

 

[taumac]

I can surly see length could be issue a issue but didn't know about reducing torque. I know that I'm looking for a small right angle impact to add to the collection someday.

 

[Hammer1963]

Great idea!

 

[FriendOfYours]

I can surly see length could be issue a issue but didn't know about reducing torque. I know that I'm looking for a small right angle impact to add to the collection someday.

The Ridgid JobMax is awesome for that. Can have right angle and a 3/8" electric ratchet

He's right on the money though. From just testing here I lose !at least! 25ft/lbs using an adapter and it adds a good 1.5"

I know that sounds like a lot but the extra leverage of the bigger anvil makes a huge difference. Good example is to compare the Milwaukee M18 line. The 1/4" makes significantly less torque than the 3/8", and the 1/2" is 10ft/lbs more than the 3/8". Exact same guts, different anvil

 

[Danglerb]

Got a question... Wouldn't these be easier? 1/4 3/8 1/2 I use all of these in my 18 dewalt impact.

The "wiggle" reduces the impact a bunch vs a solid drive with no adapter.

 

[taumac]

Very interesting, good info to know.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Have you ever actually tried to use the Ridgid warranty yet?

 

[Kracin]

Have you ever actually tried to use the Ridgid warranty yet?

i was wondering about their warranty as well, it sounds really good until you read it all the way through and they basically just cover defects for life, not when something gets worn out. if you don't find a defect in 3 years of use, there probably isn't one. so it makes the lifetime thing somewhat null and void.

that and apparently you can only purchase ridgid through an authorized dealer (home depot), if you buy through amazon, they won't accept your warranty

 

[FriendOfYours]

I've warrantied a sawzall and my original jobmax. No hassle, you just have to make sure you register right when you buy them

 

[tcianci]

I have Ridgid 18 Volt Li stuff. I have used the warranty several times, batteries, chargers and they have rebuilt the reciprocating saw twice so far. I am a contractor and have used most of the cordless brands out there. Ridgid is not the best but so far it has the best warranty.

 

[Voi]

Ridgid offers nearly everything I need, love the warranty and have had good luck with their tools. But, the only thing they don't have is a 3/8" impact wrench. They have a 1/2" but it is much larger

Pulled the hex drive and milled it to a 3/8" square anvil. There is still quite a bit of meat between the hex hole and outside

Who knows how long it will last, but the arbor is replaceable so I can always order another and weld the hex. I just need to machine a groove for a friction ring.

Any updates on this?

 

[FriendOfYours]

Have used it every day for the last 2 months. Works great!