GearWrench Survey

[lauver]

GearWrench Brand,

I realize your trying to find out how people actually use GearWrenches,
but I'd like to know what GearWrench recommends for break-loose and final-tightening situations?

Thanks

 

[Uncle Buck]

GearWrench Brand,

I realize your trying to find out how people actually use GearWrenches,
but I'd like to know what GearWrench recommends for break-loose and final-tightening situations?

Thanks

Great idea!

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/ProductD...reId=10153&productId=40853612&catalogId=12605

My regular Gearwrenches, were bought at Lowe's, at a Christmas special years ago. (they pretty much have been donated to shop use)
I bought the Armstrong, version of the above, because you didn't offer these before (I have yet to use the open end side of my long Gearwrenches).
I filled in the sizes that I didn't have, and bought the Metric stubbies, and the Craftsman SAE stubbies.

I Wish you had these in either stubbies, or normal length though.

 

[eschoendorff]

GearWrench Brand,

I realize your trying to find out how people actually use GearWrenches,
but I'd like to know what GearWrench recommends for break-loose and final-tightening situations?

Thanks

Simple, they will recommend whatever results in the least warranty claims.

 

[paramudduck]

Blind customer survey to see if they need to change the wording on the Warrenty?

 

[Lightning]

I never use ratcheting wrenches to break fasteners loose. I am very adamant about using the right tool for the job. What is the point of having so many expensive tools that you never use? It is my opinion that the best ratcheting wrenches have the lowest ratcheting torque which usually means less strength. I prefer a tradeoff of lower ratcheting torque for less strength.

 

[NOMAD]

Used my BFH against the side of one yesterday to get a suspension bolt free. Did the job nicely.

 

[Sunrise]

my friend and i abuse cornwell ratching wrench. loose high torqued bolts, nut. seems hold up fine.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I still say that I would consider all that swapping back and forth between breaking something loose and back to a Gearwrench then swapping back to another tool to final tight is too time consuming and not worth the effort to me. I do not abuse my tools but I have yet to break a quality ratchet (that is not limited to Snap-on) by breaking loose a fastener or tightening one to final tight and I think you would almost have to be an ape to damage a quality ratchet by using it in the way I described. I feel the same way about these Gearwrenches.

I would love to hear from guys like Deafautotech chime in as to whether or not they simply grab a ratchet and break the fastener loose, or do they wrangle back and forth between a break bar or fixed wrench before grabbing for their ratchet? I bet the answer is most all grab the ratchet and trust it to hang in there with them regardless whether they are tightening, or loosening a fastener. I find it hard to believe some guy working at a flat rate are otherwise will want to be farting around wasting all that time! The same goes for these gearwrenches, if you cannot trust them to do the job when it gets a bit tough they are not worth owning to me. I am not interested in a tool I would call a pampered convenience at all.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

I still say that I would consider all that swapping back and forth between breaking something loose and back to a Gearwrench then swapping back to another tool to final tight is too time consuming and not worth the effort to me. I do not abuse my tools but I have yet to break a quality ratchet (that is not limited to Snap-on) by breaking loose a fastener or tightening one to final tight and I think you would almost have to be an ape to damage a quality ratchet by using it in the way I described. I feel the same way about these Gearwrenches.

I would love to hear from guys like Deafautotech chime in as to whether or not they simply grab a ratchet and break the fastener loose, or do they wrangle back and forth between a break bar or fixed wrench before grabbing for their ratchet? I bet the answer is most all grab the ratchet and trust it to hang in there with them regardless whether they are tightening, or loosening a fastener. I find it hard to believe some guy working at a flat rate are otherwise will want to be farting around wasting all that time! The same goes for these gearwrenches, if you cannot trust them to do the job when it gets a bit tough they are not worth owning to me. I am not interested in a tool I would call a pampered convenience at all.

When I was in a shop, there is/was a difference between the ratchets, and the Gearwrench style wrenches. If you met resistance with a ratchet (which do get used less then air tools, due to speed in shop), if you had resistance, you had two choices. The first was a breaker bar (used more at home), the second, more common choice, was to grab the next drive size. If you had resistance and were using a 3/8", you were using the wrong size and needed a 1/2" drive.
Gearwrenches don't work like that.
Only had two Gearwrenches broken. One, by me, using my non breaker techniques (gunk got into the 13mm ratchet), the other, by another mechanic, who used them on a regular basis to break fasteners loose (21 or 22mm if I remember correctly).

 

[Lightning]

It does not take much time to switch tools from high torque breaker bars to lower torque ratcheting wrenches if you are well organized. It is also much safer because a ratcheting wrench failure could cause severe injury. There are things in life more important than money. I choose not to compromise safety for a few dollars more income.

 

[toolfreak]

I use my gearwrenches to break loose and tighten fasteners alot, I have even double wrenched them in places where a regular wrench wouldn't work. I have bought 6 sets in about 5 years and only broke a reversible 9/16". Ever since I have bought the flexhead the rest just sit in my box, but I still want to buy the stubby flexheads. By the way, I have the straight pair of those pliers and they work great, they allow you to use one hand instead of two hands, like my snap on's. They also allow you to reach into tighter spots since the handles don't open any further than a short pair of needlenose.

 

[Brad54]

I voted "sometimes." I love my gear wrenches, and have a couple sets: Craftsman full-polish, and GearWrench brand, both regular and stubby.
'54 Buick, '57 Chevy gasser, '56 Chevy project cars. '62 Suburban daily driver, and I just got a '73 Duster. The ratchet wrenches are the first grab in my box.
Those vehicles all have a fair amount of stuck, rusted and otherwise hard-to-move fasteners.
I'll go after the visually obvious hard ones with a 6-point socket and ratchet/breaker bar. If it's a place where only a wrench will fit, the GearWrench is the first grab, unless I'm concerned with rounding off the bolt or nut--then I swap to a 6-point box wrench.
I also have a set of the socket adapters, to turn the GearWrench into thin profile fine-tooth ratchets, and I've used those to bust loose stubborn fasteners.

I also keep a set of GearWrench brand wrenches in my junkyard/road trip tool box...and they've gotten a fair amount of abuse, because in the junk yard, you've gotta make due with what you have, and sometimes that's not pretty.
-Brad

 

[brianpgriset]

I voted "never" because it states on the box not to use for breaking bolts loose and high torque applications. Although, thats not to say I always use another wrench to start a bolt. If a bolt is tightened to a low torque I have no issues using the Gearwrench to remove it. I would consider that different than "breaking" a bolt loose.

 

[chappys4life]

normally I use my gearwrench's to break bolts free.....if I am struggling I break out the snap ons.

 

[berusch]

Those are some **** pliers, hope I win them

I use my gearwrenches most of the time. I especially like the stubby set. I only resort to a breaker or standard wrench if the fastener is pretty stubborn.

I have 4 (or maybe 5?) different sets of ratcheting box wrenches, 2 of which are gearwrench brand. I've never had a failure with any of the gearwrench branded tools. (I've had a few problems with craftsman brand ratcheting box wrenches, where the direction selector jammed, that was resolved under warranty.)

Thanks for the good tools

 

[spriso]

I use my GearWrenches each time I work on my cars.

My wrenches have been remarkably trouble free. I do have one that sometimes gets stuck, but if I give it a quick tap, it breaks free.

I love the stubby versions!

Michael

 

[cat]

In the motorbike context, so I only use them on smaller good condition nuts and bolts. The bigger stuff like axles and really high torque ones, I just use the normal sockets and breaker bar. The Gearwrenches are the best thing ever - except when the head's too big to fit in tight spaces - they save me fiddling with sockets all the time. And what I didn't think of when I bought my 1/4" sockets was how easy the size numbers are to read. And they're not as bad as my damn Palmera spanners. The Gearwrenches are easier to read.

 

[kwyjibo]

Hate to sound like a broken record...
for high-torque applications, I use a breaker bar/socket or box-end. I am relatively old (fashioned) and most of the ratcheting is done with the trusty old socket set.

 

[GearWrench Brand]

Thanks to all for participating in the survey, and thanks for taking time to explain how you use the tools. I have been spending a good bit of time reading your feedback, and I'll try to reply to questions as well as I can.

WINNERS: Our winners, chosen at random, are Merkava 4 and hholmberg. I will contact each of you in a private message to get your shipping addresses.

Thanks again!

Ian

 

[kythri]

Merkava_4 doesn't like tools that aren't made by Snap-On, so I'll be more than happy to take his prize.

 

[l_bilyk]

lol

it's true he doesn't

 

[GearWrench Brand]

When is Gearwrench going to update their website? Most of the content is at least a year old. Come on guys, lets see some new products and perhaps more info on existings items. please,

Good feedback! We realize we need to update, and we have plans in the works. We have been focusing our efforts on developing new tools, and it is getting tough to keep up online and in our catalog!

We'll make sure you all are the first to know about the website updates when they are in place!

Ian

 

[mdoolittle]

GearWrenches are always my first grab. I abuse them almost on a daily basis. I have put cheater bars on them, hammered them, you name it. NEVER had one fail!!

 

[GearWrench Brand]

I think it's safe to say, though, that the GearWrench-style ratcheting wrenches are probably one of the most significant tool developments of the late 20th century.

The other thing that I really dig about GearWrench, though, is that just about every other tool that I have used with the GearWrench brand on it is consistent in quality. Regardless of country of origin, regardless of place of purchase. Makes me more confident when shopping for tools.... so congrats on that...



Can't ask for a better compliment than that! Thanks for giving us a try, and thanks for your business. Hopefully, our tools have help you get a lot done!

Ian

 

[GearWrench Brand]

GearWrench Brand,

I realize your trying to find out how people actually use GearWrenches,
but I'd like to know what GearWrench recommends for break-loose and final-tightening situations?

Thanks

Good question.

Generally speaking, we design our tools to exceed industry standards, which vary based on the size of the fastener the wrench is built to turn. That said, there is no official industry standard for the ratcheting box end torque test. So, we have designed our ratcheting box ends to exceed the standards for no-ratcheting box ends. Those standards are based on the amount of torque a person can apply with their hands, and they are set very high, in order to prevent injuries. It is difficult to be specific in this forum, without referring to specific torques. We never recommend cheater bars or double-wrenching, and we always recommending using the tools in a safe manner.

 

[GearWrench Brand]

Blind customer survey to see if they need to change the wording on the Warrenty?

That's a negative my friend. Just learning about how you all use the tools.

Ian

 

[eschoendorff]

That's a negative my friend. Just learning about how you all use the tools.

Ian

Just a gut feeling... but based on my experience with GearWrench stuff, I would bet that there probably aren't too many warranty issues...

At least not like the warranty issues with the Craftsman raised panel ratchets!

 

[GearWrench Brand]

It does not take much time to switch tools from high torque breaker bars to lower torque ratcheting wrenches if you are well organized. It is also much safer because a ratcheting wrench failure could cause severe injury. There are things in life more important than money. I choose not to compromise safety for a few dollars more income.

Note - all wrenches made by Danaher are designed with the "failure mode" in mind. We use steel alloys and heat treat processes that are designed to be rigid in use, even under high torque loads, and when/if they fail, they are designed to exhibit ductile failures rather than fracturing. In other words, we use materials that will have some "give" before they fail. That said, most people will never approach that torque load if they are using the tool as intended.

 

[hidollartoys]

GEARWRENCH FOREVER. I was skeptical of the concept and quality until I did a motor swap for my friend. He is not a mechanic but is a tool junkie. These tools are AWSOME!!!!! Now I own 4 different sets and will purchase more!!!!!!

 

[TEXACMAN]

I was pretty skeptical when they first hit the market but after using another techs Gearwrench set I was sold. I use mine practically every day on the job(HVAC Tech). Very handy getting into tight quarters , mine came with the sockets and adapters in a nice case. This is one of my favorite tools! Sometimes I use a regular socket wrench with the sockets but not very often. Never stripped one yet.