Fine tooth ratchet vs. a coarse tooth ratchet

[Kevin54]

I just received my new copy of Family Handyman and there was an article in there about ratchet strength. I guess in the Sept. '12 issue they did a comparison of 72 tooth ratchets and how strong they actually are. According to ASME, 3/8" ratchets must withstand 1,800 inch lbs. of torque no matter how many teeth. GearWrench has a 120 tooth / 3 degree ratchet that exceeds the ASME standards by 80%.

Does anyone have the Sept. issue that tells what ratchets they were comparing? I'm not a Tool truck person because of the cost, and also that wrenching isn't my livelihood. If it was, then I would have the better tools. I have a Craftsman / Kobalt budget, but I do have some GearWrench ratcheting wrenches. If their ratchets are that good, I just may have to pick up a 3/8" and a 1/2". I do like the looks and feel of GearWrench tools.

Anyways, just curious if anyone has the Sept. issue.

 

[toolaholic]

The article was on socket sets. They reviewed husky(54 teeth), stanleu(54 ),craftsman(36)and kobalt(72). They liked the kobalt the best cause of the 5 degree swing of the 72 teeth. Someone wrote stated why did the 72 tooth kobalt win when fine tooth ratchets aren't as strong as course. Handyman stated all 3/8 ratchets must withstand 1800" lbs of torque.

 

[TwoInch]

dont have the magazine. but the ratchets are definitely strong, and worth the small cost.

great ratchets all around. time tested, well proven design, no doubt about it.

 

[2oolhound]

It would seem that smaller teeth on a fine tooth ratchet would be weakest however when you consider the area where there are teeth, the break strength changes. Fine thread fasteners are stronger than coarse thread fasteners and the same is true for ratchets. The problem and limitations I would think are the tightness of the assembly. The inner anvil part must engage the outer pawl assembly precisely so very little tolerance or wiggle room is available on a fine tooth ratchet. I see no reason a ratchet can't be made as tight as a bearing though so who knows when they will reach their degree limit.

I gotta try one of those 120' gearwrench rats.

 

[rlitman]

Fine threads in steel can be stronger than coarse threads, only because you have more threads engaged, i.e. more surface contact. In most ratchets, only one surface is engaged at a time, and so fine tooth necessarily has less surface contact.

The exception is the Snap On Dual 80, which engages multiple teeth at the same time.

I don't really think it is much of an issue, unless you put a pipe on your ratchets.
For me, if a 3/8" ratchet doesn't cut it, I simply step up to 1/2", and don't abuse the tool.

 

[2oolhound]

Actually most fine tooth ratchets engage a lot of teeth at the same time. SK 72 teeth engages 17 teeth. I think their first fine tooth from the 50's or 60's or so was 50 teeth and it engaged 3 or was it 6 teeth using dual pawls, there was a thread about it recently. I'm not sure what the gear wrench 120 tooth set up is.

I'm thinking it has to do with the shearing strength of chrome vanadium required to withstand the 1800 in lbs. Coarse teeth go deeper than that region on a ratchet where the stress is so fine teeth are more advantageous. If one coarse tooth spans an area of 3/32" you would be better off placing 3 - 1/32" teeth there because the shear area at the base of the teeth is only 1/32" deep. (just as an example of this theory) This way you get you 5' arc which is the advantage (other than more strength)

 

[ihateminimumwage]

If their ratchets are that good, I just may have to pick up a 3/8" and a 1/2". I do like the looks and feel of GearWrench tools.

I absolutely LOVE my Gearwrench flex head ratchets. A buddy at work used my 84T 3/8" ratchet to try and break loose an exhaust manifold bolt on an ISX Cummins. Ratchet held up fine, but the USA MAC flex socket blew up into 3 pieces. Sold me on buying it in 1/2" as well (I also have a 1/4" from Cripe for $14). And if the internals do break, I'll just pick up a Matco 88T rebuild kit and drop it in.

Have to say Gearwrench makes the finest overseas ratchets out there (I do love my 72T low profile Kobalts though).

 

[sarabellum]

1800 inch pounds= 150 pound feed. 150 is a low threshhold that all ratchets will meet.

 

[bthomas518]

Just got a Hazet 1/4" 863S 20 tooth ratchet. Can't compare to Snap-On since I do not have one, but it is much, much nicer than my older "Made in USA" Craftsman.

It's so nice, I just ordered the 3/8" 8816S 30 tooth.

There is a reason that some Formula 1 pit crews use them. They don't ****.

And, they are reasonably priced if you go to the ".de" instead of the ".com" version of the website we all buy stuff from.

 

[bthomas518]

Not exactly accurate. Pretty much any modern fine tooth ratchet engages more than one tooth at a time, not just Snap-on.

So, to make that generalization -and claim only that one exception- is not really accurate.

Just a few examples, all the Apex fine-tooth ratchets (Armstrong, Matco, GearWrench, Craftsman thin profile and 84 tooth), all the round-head Stanley ratchets based on the Facom design (Proto, MAC and probably others), the Kobalt ratchets listed in the original post, and there are others I'm not listing.

Your claim may have been true years ago, but it's not anymore. It 100% depends on the design of the ratchet, and most of the quality ratchet manufacturers have moved to fine-tooth ratchets that engage more than one tooth.

Have a 3/8" Proto round flex-head (made in Italy, Facom design) and can concur. It is no joke. I've broken loose old brake caliper fasteners without any PB Blaster with it.

 

[Mr_B]

The GW 120XP are fairly chunky head ratchets with quite high back drag.
I think the 84T was best ratchet they did .
You want look at capri, tekton and carlyle ratchets also, even the HF pitts pro work good and all have 3 to 7 tooth pawl engagement (pretty much all do even on a 10 buck ratchet, pitts pro easy warranty if local to store and 5 buck coupon on a ratchet is available so they total value buy if work the coupons to the max .

 

[EZ_Garage]

...pitts pro easy warranty if local to store and 5 buck coupon on a ratchet is available so they total value buy if work the coupons to the max .

Everyone of my PP ratchets were purchased with a $5 off coupon. I have 11 different PP ratchets in total and think I might have just over $100 in all of them. I think they provide the best bang for your buck as most of them are going to be around $10 after coupon.

The only PP ratchets I don't really like are the flex head versions because of the lack of detents/lock. Instead, I have the GW 84 tooth flexheads and they are very nice.

 

[visionguru]

The GW 120XP are fairly chunky head ratchets with quite high back drag.
I think the 84T was best ratchet they did .
You want look at capri, tekton and carlyle ratchets also, even the HF pitts pro work good and all have 3 to 7 tooth pawl engagement (pretty much all do even on a 10 buck ratchet, pitts pro easy warranty if local to store and 5 buck coupon on a ratchet is available so they total value buy if work the coupons to the max .

Not sure how many 120xp s you've tried.

I have 6 120xp ratchets. I think 120xp's ratcheting action is as nice as a Snap On (I have 8), very smooth, similar backdrag.

The GW 84T 1/2 ratchet I have is clunky, feels no different from the ubiquitous 72T, 90T on the market. 84T seems discontinued. I'm surprised at your ratings of GW 84T.

 

[Mr_B]

Not sure how many 120xp s you've tried.

I have 6 120xp ratchets. I think 120xp's ratcheting action is as nice as a Snap On (I have 8), very smooth, similar backdrag.

The GW 84T 1/2 ratchet I have is clunky, feels no different from the ubiquitous 72T, 90T on the market. 84T seems discontinued. I'm surprised at your ratings of GW 84T.

I have set of 120XP and several 84T and used many 120XP's .
I find 84T way better in real world use, break in and lube with red lithium and atf mix they nice for the price .
For price range you can get way nicer from capri or carlyle and even some facom taiwan ratchets not too much more cost .

 

[Mr_B]

Everyone of my PP ratchets were purchased with a $5 off coupon. I have 11 different PP ratchets in total and think I might have just over $100 in all of them. I think they provide the best bang for your buck as most of them are going to be around $10 after coupon.

The only PP ratchets I don't really like are the flex head versions because of the lack of detents/lock. Instead, I have the GW 84 tooth flexheads and they are very nice.

Good man making most of coupons.
they dirt cheap yet very usable tool and warranty for 10bucks a shot .
even the flex heads decent diy ratchet if take time pick nice tight ones off the rack and reset the pinch screw and put drop of bearing retainer on the threads .

 

[bthomas518]

Just got a Hazet 1/4" 863S 20 tooth ratchet. Can't compare to Snap-On since I do not have one, but it is much, much nicer than my older "Made in USA" Craftsman.

It's so nice, I just ordered the 3/8" 8816S 30 tooth.

There is a reason that some Formula 1 pit crews use them. They don't ****.

And, they are reasonably priced if you go to the ".de" instead of the ".com" version of the website we all buy stuff from.

Have since acquired a Snap-On TL72 and FL80 to compare to the Hazet 863s and 8816s. The Hazet's have insane build quality, but if you can't find them for less money than the Snap-On's, just go Snappy. The fine-tooth Snappy FL80 is smoother than the Hazet 8816s for the first few weeks I've used them, pretty sure it is just as strong. The Hazet 863s 1/4" drive is just as smooth as the Snappy FL72, true toss up.

I'm sick, I want to add some Stahlwille ratchets even though these are more than enough.

 

[demarpaint]

This is a beast of a 90 tooth ratchet. The strength exceeds some breaker bars, and the price isn't bad. 1/2" drive, Hazet 916HPL

 

[VolvoRyan]

I got a set of long handle 120XP's when Amazon was blowing them out for Black Friday.... seriously nice. Very little back drag. Granted, the design probably has changed in the seven years that this thread has been around.

-Ryan

 

[JBH]

The Hazet 863s 1/4" drive is just as smooth as the Snappy FL72, true toss up.

Ouch. I was expecting better from Hazet. (I don’t have an HZ ratchet)