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GW locking flex head ratchets

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rick carpenter

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In an earlier post I implied that my next Gearwrench purchase would be wrenches. Well, I saw a decent deal on a set of GW 1/4 & 3/8 locking flex head ratchets and couldn't help myself. I wish the detents were crisper so now I'm trying to figure out if I can tighten them up a bit. Maybe a spring adjustment or replacement? The pins looks to be punched to friction fit on one side and hex on the other. I stuck a hex key in the pin on the 3/8 but It's gonna take some force to break that loose. Not wanting to "modify" them in case I decide to return them I didn't proceed. I emailed GW about this and am now waiting on their reply. Anyone have this issue with locking or non-locking flex ratchets if it is one? Not counting a crappy old garage sale 1/4 stubby flex, I've never owned or worked with any quality flex head ratchets.

The 1/4 is 8-1/2" long and the 3/8 is 13-3/4" long, handles are nice. Anyhow, I'm impressed by their choices in socket wrenches and will be getting their long 3/8 & 1/2 non-flexs at some point.

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Ton ton

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Rick, how much were those ratchets? Just trying to figure out the going price for gearwrench ratchets. Thank you for your time.
 
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rick carpenter

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Set 81275T was like $107 shipped from JB Tool. It wasn't the world's best deal but it was better than some I'd seen. Non-cushion grip handles and non-flex and non-locking flex were less. For the same ratchet, long cushion grips have slightly longer handles than long non-cushion grips.

I got a response from Apex. The dude said if they work and don't slip, then they are working right. I can live with that. He said no maintenance was really necessary but I could use a "light coat of grease on the gears, or if you prefer oil, you can use air tool oil, mineral oil or even 30w non-detergent oil to lubricate occasionally if you like". Of course, I popped them open and hit them with the Red Lube of Love!
 
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Ton ton

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rick carpenter said:
Set 81275T was like $107 shipped from JB Tool. It wasn't the world's best deal but it was better than some I'd seen. Non-cushion grip handles and non-flex and non-locking flex were less. For the same ratchet, long cushion grips have slightly longer handles than long non-cushion grips.

I got a response from Apex. The dude said if they work and don't slip, then they are working right. I can live with that. He said no maintenance was really necessary but I could use a "light coat of grease on the gears, or if you prefer oil, you can use air tool oil, mineral oil or even 30w non-detergent oil to lubricate occasionally if you like". Of course, I popped them open and hit them with the Red Lube of Love!
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Thank you for the reply.
 
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setfocus

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My matco 88t ratchet started giving me issues so I ordered the redundant snapon ratchet that has been on the wish list, except it was on back order.

Then the matco ratchet gave out before the snapon came in. So I bought some gearwrench 84t lockingflex ratchets that had fast shipping and a decent price on amazon. No matco truck anymore :(

Took the matco apart on a slow day. It was just super dirty in there. Not sure how it got that dirty. Cleaned it out and lubed it with a few drops of syn ATF. Been working great, added some ATF to the gearwrench's also
 
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VolvoRyan

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I just ordered the 3-pc chrome handle set from Zoro last night. They had a 20% off coupon (that actually worked on something I wanted!). Excited to check these out. These will replace the 120XP's in my tool box, and the 120's will go into the tool bag for junk-yarding.

-Ryan
 
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Ton ton

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VolvoRyan said:
Is SuperLube out of fashion now?
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I would whatever lube you want. Don't worry too much about what others are using. There are some dedicated ratchet lube on garage journal but I am not interested in bumping them up. I use grease for the old craftsman USA ratchets.
 
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dstblj52

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CGarage said:
I am astonished how the prices throttle up and down for many of these tools.....
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why? you want to keep them in stock so when stock is low increase prices when you need to move volume lower prices to optimize profits
 
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CGarage

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dstblj52 said:
why? you want to keep them in stock so when stock is low increase prices when you need to move volume lower prices to optimize profits
Click to expand...

I understand that is business.....but to see that sort of swing in prices in less than a year is dramatic. I remember prices for nearly everything I buy and I always buy on the down slope.....I know of precious few others that even care what they pay or bother to check data.
 
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dstblj52

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CGarage said:
I understand that is business.....but to see that sort of swing in prices in less than a year is dramatic. I remember prices for nearly everything I buy and I always buy on the down slope.....I know of precious few others that even care what they pay or bother to check data.
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i mean for you maybe but for most people their are times when you just need to buy it now
 
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sparky 1971

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How is anyone supposed to know if the price is at the bottom? When you need it, you need it. Sometimes. I got lucky when I bought the three piece 84 tooth locking flex metal handle set for $82 in April of 2019, it's now $132. At the same time I bought the 24" locking flex for $75, and now it's $141. At the time, everything was an impulse buy but if I didn't have them right now and needed it, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
 
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CGarage

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sparky 1971 said:
How is anyone supposed to know if the price is at the bottom? When you need it, you need it. Sometimes. I got lucky when I bought the three piece 84 tooth locking flex metal handle set for $82 in April of 2019, it's now $132. At the same time I bought the 24" locking flex for $75, and now it's $141. At the time, everything was an impulse buy but if I didn't have them right now and needed it, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
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I plan purchases in advance and I rarely buy on impulse. That’s how.
 
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RedneckWelder

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CGarage said:
I understand that is business.....but to see that sort of swing in prices in less than a year is dramatic. I remember prices for nearly everything I buy and I always buy on the down slope.....I know of precious few others that even care what they pay or bother to check data.
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you are completely discounting the massive inflation factor and supply chain issues driving up costs.

I price compare but until the situation stabilizes costs will continue to increase for damn near everything and the way I see it for them to decrease significantly in the near to intermediate future is quite unlikely.
 
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CGarage

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RedneckWelder said:
you are completely discounting the massive inflation factor and supply chain issues driving up costs.

I price compare but until the situation stabilizes costs will continue to increase for damn near everything and the way I see it for them to decrease significantly in the near to intermediate future is quite unlikely.
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I am not discounting that at all.

The price increases for many items dramatically outpace the increased delivery and production costs.
 
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VolvoRyan

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These days, I feel like just being able to get the tool(s) in the first place with all that's going on in the world is good enough for me. Get them while you can.

Speaking of, I went looking for another pair of Carhartt overalls last night. Amazing how hard some things are to get. At least I can fall back on my insulated stuff.

-Ryan
 
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bubinga

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sparky 1971 said:
How is anyone supposed to know if the price is at the bottom? When you need it, you need it. Sometimes. I got lucky when I bought the three piece 84 tooth locking flex metal handle set for $82 in April of 2019, it's now $132. At the same time I bought the 24" locking flex for $75, and now it's $141. At the time, everything was an impulse buy but if I didn't have them right now and needed it, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
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Are you taking about the 84 tooth locking 24" gearwrench flex head ratchet?

GEARWRENCH 1/2" Drive 84 Tooth Locking Flex Head Teardrop Ratchet 24" - 81363A-07 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P288NKS/?tag=atomicindus08-20
I paid $54.16 plus tax.
$149.43 plus tax now.
I can't believe it went up that much since October 30th.
 
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CGarage

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CGarage

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VolvoRyan said:
These days, I feel like just being able to get the tool(s) in the first place with all that's going on in the world is good enough for me. Get them while you can.
-Ryan
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So, are you one of the customers willing to pay 30%+++ over MSRP on a new vehicle at your local dealer?

A fool and his money are easily parted.
These are *series production* tools. There is nothing limited edition or rare about them that should make you decide to pay multiple times what the MSRP is. MSRP is FULL RETAIL.

Please, please, please learn from this and be a smarter consumer. Your pocket book and your financial future will thank you later.
 
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sparky 1971

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kudakev615

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CGarage said:
So, are you one of the customers willing to pay 30%+++ over MSRP on a new vehicle at your local dealer?

A fool and his money are easily parted.
These are *series production* tools. There is nothing limited edition or rare about them that should make you decide to pay multiple times what the MSRP is. MSRP is FULL RETAIL.

Please, please, please learn from this and be a smarter consumer. Your pocket book and your financial future will thank you later.
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cool dude, we get it. you are a fortune telling, financial guru that buys everything at bottom dollar and talks down to others about how they spend their money. do you have a website that i can learn more about your teachings?
 
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