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Harbor Freight USA made bolt breakers

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Odd-job

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If (small if) HF is sourcing from Mayhew am surprised HF couldn't work around any patents if they exist given their past history and outsource to Asia. They must have gotten a good deal with Mayhew and hopefully we'll see more rebranded stuff available. Either way not complaining. With a coupon these are a good value and am only upset because I already splurged on a set of Mayhews.
 
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M635_Guy

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Odd-job said:
If (small if) HF is sourcing from Mayhew am surprised HF couldn't work around any patents if they exist given their past history and outsource to Asia. They must have gotten a good deal with Mayhew and hopefully we'll see more rebranded stuff available. Either way not complaining. With a coupon these are a good value and am only upset because I already splurged on a set of Mayhews.
Click to expand...
There is no "working around patents" by outsourcing to Asia.
 
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Handyandy23

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Does anyone have much experience using these? I watched a couple YT videos that seemed to show they weren't very effective. Living in an area that salts the roads I'm always interested in new ideas to free stuck fasteners, but they have to actually work.
 
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Lt CHEG

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Upstate NY
I will grab a set of these and try to get more U.S.A. made stuff as they come out. I’ve answered several surveys from Harbor Freight that I would shop there more often, buy more, and pay more for U.S.A. made tools, so now I’ll put my money where my mouth is. Thanks for the heads up.
 
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neophyte

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Harbor Freight used to sell US made tools years ago, before they had as many stores as they do now.
This would have been pre-Amazon, or at least before Amazon actually sold tools.
I believe SK may have been one of the brands.
Prazi, a maker of specialty tool attachments was definitely one.
I forget who else.

Products - Prazi USA

www.praziusa.com www.praziusa.com
 
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sparky 1971

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Handyandy23 said:
Does anyone have much experience using these? I watched a couple YT videos that seemed to show they weren't very effective. Living in an area that salts the roads I'm always interested in new ideas to free stuck fasteners, but they have to actually work.
Click to expand...

I have a set of SK breakers and to say I wasn't impressed would be an understatement. I only tried the 1/2" once, it was on a severely rusted control arm bolt on the Jeep, but the tool wouldn't budge it. They are also really difficult for one person to operate. Trying to run an air chisel with one hand while turning a wrench at the same time with the other hand is a lot harder than it sounds.
 
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Handyandy23

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sparky 1971 said:
I

I have a set of SK breakers and to say I wasn't impressed would be an understatement. I only tried the 1/2" once, it was on a severely rusted control arm bolt on the Jeep, but the tool wouldn't budge it. They are also really difficult for one person to operate. Trying to run an air chisel with one hand while turning a wrench at the same time with the other hand is a lot harder than it sounds.
Click to expand...

This is basically what I expected. An impact gun is already hammering, just maybe not as hard as an air hammer. But then a big impact is going to generate way more rotational energy than I can with one hand on a wrench while holding an air hammer in the other hand.

Only way I could see this being better than a regular impact is if you had two people, one to hold the hammer and the other with both hands pulling on the wrench. And either an XL wrench or some kind of cheater bar on it.
 
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vavet

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Ashland, VA
Can someone educate this non-rust belt person why and how these are used?
I understand the premise, I think. These go in the air hammer. Then you put your socket on the other end, put the socket on the nut or bolt head?
Are you applying torque to the hex portion of this with a wrench while you're beating it with the air hammer?
Are you hoping to break the fastener or get it to come loose?
 
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sparky 1971

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vavet said:
Can someone educate this non-rust belt person why and how these are used?
I understand the premise, I think. These go in the air hammer. Then you put your socket on the other end, put the socket on the nut or bolt head?
Are you applying torque to the hex portion of this with a wrench while you're beating it with the air hammer?
Are you hoping to break the fastener or get it to come loose?
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You have the basic idea. Beat the fastenener while trying to turning with a wrench to get it loosened. I'm sure there is an application where this is the perfect tool but I haven't come across it yet.

With the socket over the nut or bolt head it's really not beating on the fastener as much is it's beating on what the fastener is through. I already stated my one attempt was a fail. I don't know if having one person on the hammer and another on the wrench would have fared any differently.
 
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Bubba Fett

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HF will be offering USA-made pry bars, also made by Mayhew. They will be sold under the Icon brand.

The have been carrying a lot of MIUSA chemicals, and the red buckets are made here. All this is nice to see.
 
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jblnut

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40yrs ago Gramps made this same basic thing except with a 15/16" socket welded right on the end with a 1-1/8" nut welded on top of it. We still use it every time to break the bolts on our chisel plow points loose. It hammers the dirt off the shanks and you can get the bolt loose at the same time. It works quite a bit better than just using an impact to loosen the bolts.
 
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Odd-job

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Use these mainly for rusty and rotted out phillips screws on decks. It is faster than the hammer impact drivers, but also needs appropriate air regulation depending on the size of the screw.

Its great to have another tool for rusty sockets, but the bolt typically needs to have a solid lip to get the impact force into the threads to loosen the rust. Shallow broached sockets or astro nanos sometimes work on bolts without lips. Sometimes these don't work at all on shallow bolt heads. Luckily I live in CA and don't have to deal with seized fasteners too often.
 
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Geir Tore Simonsen

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Oct 3, 2013
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sparky 1971 said:
You have the basic idea. Beat the fastenener while trying to turning with a wrench to get it loosened. I'm sure there is an application where this is the perfect tool but I haven't come across it yet.

With the socket over the nut or bolt head it's really not beating on the fastener as much is it's beating on what the fastener is through. I already stated my one attempt was a fail. I don't know if having one person on the hammer and another on the wrench would have fared any differently.
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It works really well on flanged bolts and nuts, or allen heads and similar. On ordinary bolts you need to put some steel of suitable length inside the socket so that the force from the blow is transferred directly to the fastener, not the surrounding material. The beauty of this tool is that the hammering works by axially compressing the bolt and won't shear it off like an impact can, and you can apply controlled torque with the wrench. It's one of my favorite tools for loosening rusted bolts without breaking them. I have no problems using the air hammer in one hand and the wrench in the other.
 
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jonesg

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northern Maine/
there is nothing to retain the socket to the drive end of the tool, no hog ring or detent ball.
it can get awkward in a downward vertical situation.
 
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ThePostman

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Virginia
I have the actual Mayhews, and they are great for rotor screws, these basically retired my hand-held impact driver. Now if they can just get the Dominator pry bar in store.....
 
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Mgdoug3

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I have a rebranded SK 1/2" drive one. I bought it solely to remove rusted exhaust manifold bolts. It worked perfect on an 8.3 Cummins that is notorious for twisting off bolts.

These bolt rattlers aren't really made to replace impact wrenches. They're made to rattle and try to break up rust and corrosion. I would use one of these if I have to try and remove steel bolts out of aluminum where it's easy to twist off the bolts or gall up the threads.
 
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sparky 1971

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Geir Tore Simonsen said:
It works really well on flanged bolts and nuts, or allen heads and similar. On ordinary bolts you need to put some steel of suitable length inside the socket so that the force from the blow is transferred directly to the fastener, not the surrounding material. The beauty of this tool is that the hammering works by axially compressing the bolt and won't shear it off like an impact can, and you can apply controlled torque with the wrench. It's one of my favorite tools for loosening rusted bolts without breaking them. I have no problems using the air hammer in one hand and the wrench in the other.
Click to expand...
The one and time I used mine was a flanged bolt. I will admit to not being able to get my body in to a good position to use the tool to its full potential but I doubt it made a difference. An overnight soak of Kroil, Seafoam Deep Creep, Blast em, and WD40 specialist together with a good heat up from a torch and I was able to get the nut off. Then, after about an hour of alternating between beating the bolt with an 8 lb sledge and rattling it with an impact I got it to move. Then it only took about five minutes to drive it out. Pretty much the same MO that I used on the other side six months earlier when I didn't have the Shake n Break, which I bought specifically bought for this one task. I have the 3/8 and 1/2 but have had no reason to use them.
 
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bcradio

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I have one of the Mayhew, but after reading this thread, think I'll just use a through socket on a ratchet with a pin punch in my air hammer to hit the head of the bolt through the socket.
 
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nbpt100

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Massachusetts
The Wivco seems to make more sense as it is designed to use with Bits. Unless you have a flanged bolt I do not see how this can work on a hex bolt. Am I missing something?????
 
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