Low profile socket set or pass-through

[mrjaw14]

I'm trying to research a low profile socket system for those times when a regular socket and ratchet won't fit AND you can't get a ratcheting wrench on the fastener either.

I really like the looks of the EZred ratcheting wrenches with the long head to get at recessed fasteners, but honestly I wouldn't use them enough to justify the price, and they only fit about 10 sizes. I like the long reach, flex head, and being reversible though.

Practically speaking, I'm probably going to end up with the (gasp) craftsman max axess kit and will get a reversible flex head ratcheting wrench in the appropriate size for when I need that over the included fixed ratchet. Another option is the gearwrench vortex kit, which is available in a long flex head, but I'm thinking that might be more expensive than the craftsman kit plus a long ratcheting flex head.

My primary question for those that have one of these kits, or the armstrong eliminator (no longer sold) or any similar kit: can you tell me how thick the head and socket end up being, and if you'd recommend the kit or not.

 

[Rarified27]

I have two of the GearWrench sets and they're outstanding for clearance.

The sockets are average size for their drive type, but half of that is recessed into the ratchet when in use so the clearance is excellent.

The only potential complaint is that the GearWrench socket walls are thin and may not take a lot of abuse, but I'm not using them on fasteners that have decades of rust holding them in place.

Before buying my second GearWrench set I looked at the Craftsman and Armstrong kits, but neither had a flex head and that was an important feature for me.

This is the newer set I just got.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NIAKJU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[PJNJ]

I have an early set of the Gearwrench pass-throughs and they were fine the two times I have used them in the past ten years. Last year I needed a larger socket for working on the struts on my wife's car. I looked at Gearwrench and for the number of times I will use them I couldn't justify the cost over this set from Bostitch (Stanley) -

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3ZY4Y0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Walmart sells them in-store and on-line with them being $10 cheaper on-line with store pick-up -
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bostitch-65-Piece-Pass-Thru-Socket-Set-3-8-1-2-BTMT72287/25440928

I used them and they worked just fine.

 

[rowerwet]

I got the maxx acess kit, I needed one specific size for one job that nothing else would work for, once I priced out the ratchet and socket size I needed for the job, it was cheaper to buy the set. I carry it in my road bag of tools and have found it isn't the gimick I thought it was, I actually go to the set more than my regular ratchets (swivel head, I do not like flex head) I haven't tried using the pass through ratchets with a flex head wrench, but that is a great idea. thanks to the internal ratcheting of the maxx access the overall depth of the ratchet and socket is less than any low profile socket will get you.
I even ground one socket to make it lower profile (the real reason I buy Craftsman stuff, I can grind it without caring what it cost)

 

[Jere]

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-pc-sae-metric-go-thru-socket-set-67974.html

For less than 20 bucks with 20% coupon the HF pass thru are great. Especially if they are only for that odd hard to reach job.

 

[Scimmia]

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-pc-sae-metric-go-thru-socket-set-67974.html

For less than 20 bucks with 20% coupon the HF pass thru are great. Especially if they are only for that odd hard to reach job.

The best part about these, IMO, are that they're 3/4" hex on the ratchet side. Too many of the others out there are some proprietary setup.

Personally, I find these to be really niche tools anyway. It's a very rare occasion when a ratcheting wrench wouldn't do the same thing.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

How about the adapters made to put sockets on ratcheting wrenches? It's hard to find anything lower profile than these.

 

[T45]

Consider torque control and how bulky the various adapters will need to be.

In some cases the low-profile sockets are better in that regards.

If you aren't bothered by that, then the pass thrus are often good.

Some will depend on your work.

 

[T45]

How about the adapters made to put sockets on ratcheting wrenches? It's hard to find anything lower profile than these.

A ratcheting wrench on an hex-to-square adapter is not lower-profile thinner than a good ratchet directly on a socket.

 

[JDon99]

Cman made sockets that fit into a ratcheting wrench, should be pretty low profile and USA coo, if that matters to you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Craftsman-8...1322188717&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

 

[dede2897234]

mrjaw14,

I own a 3/8" drive Armstrong Eliminator metric set and a 3/8" drive Gearwrench locking flex Vortex metric set. Last year, I also looked at an open Bostitch 3/8" drive pass-thru ratchet and socket set at Wal-Mart.

The Armstrong ratchet has a 36 geared mechanism, the Gearwrench has a 60 tooth mechanism, and the Bostitch has a modern 72 tooth mechanism. When a 13mm socket is attached to any of the ratchets, the following ratchets have the lowest profiles by narrowest of margins: Armstrong, Bostitch, and Gearwrench. However, Bostitch does not offer a locking flex ratchet (in 1/4" and 3/8" drives) like Gearwrench which I found very useful in a number of automotive repair tasks. In addition, I found that the Bostitch has a slightly better retention mechanism for holding the socket to the inside of the ratchet or extension than the Gearwrench. The Gearwrench's retention mechanism utilizes snap rings on the inside of the ratchet or extension.

If I was in the market for a 3/8" drive pass-thru ratchet and socket set for under $40, I would purchase this Bostitch set from Wal-Mart: LINK.


Dave

 

[mrjaw14]

That's a ratcheting adaptor others were talking about it looks like. I actually have those in all 3 drive sizes. Pretty cool, but you still have the entire length of the socket to contend with on top of the depth of the ratcheting wrench. My ratcheting wrenches are the gearwrench flex heads with no reverse lever. I was wanting long pattern reversible flex heads, but thought that a kit of these pass through sockets, if they are not much deeper than ratcheting wrenches and able to hit recessed fasteners, and I'd end up with a greater assortment of sizes.

I'm thinking about the craftsman kit and then adding the stand-alone gearwrench locking flex ratchet for their vortex series and it may come in cheaper than the gearwrench kit and I'd actually end up with straight pass through ratchets and flex heads too.

edit: dave I saw your post after I wrote this. I really want the reversible flex heads since I'm really wanting these in place of reversible ratcheting wrenches. I've been in too many situations where a flex head is really nice. That's my only hold off on the Bostitch kit and the harbor freight kits. I know the craftsman isn't flex head, but the gearwrench locking flex will work on it from what I understand

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

A ratcheting wrench on an hex-to-square adapter is not lower-profile thinner than a good ratchet directly on a socket.

I'm not sure if you are being serious?

3/8" Snap On Dual 80 with a 1/2" Williams USA 6pt socket is ~1.537".
Blackhawk 9/16" ratcheting wrench with same 1/2" Williams USA 6pt socket and Craftsman 3/8" wrench/socket adapter is 1.287". I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, but that is exactly .25" (1/4") difference. Maybe your "good" ratchets are lower profile than my Dual 80, but I doubt they are 1/4" thinner.........but I could be wrong?

Snap On Ratchet:

Blackhawk ratcheting wrench/Craftsman Adapter (photo courtesy of Michael J. Fox):

 

[dnschmidt]

HF makes a pass through set that's amazingly cheap and pretty nice. Might want to check that. The Gearwrench set with the flex head discussed above use to be in stock at Cripe Distributing and when I bought mine was also super cheap. I just checked and they apparently don't have this anymore. I seldom use either of these sets both of which I own. However, when the evil gods of automotive engineering are hell bent on screwing you over they can really help you out of a jam. That Bostitch set from Wal-mart looks very interesting as it will have the larger sizes the HF and Gearwrench sets lack.

 

[dnschmidt]

Looking over the Bostitch set the only problem is see is the lack of a long extension. The Gearwrench set includes this. The HF set doesn't have one either.

 

[T45]

I'm not sure if you are being serious?

3/8" Snap On Dual 80 with a 1/2" Williams USA 6pt socket is ~1.537".
Blackhawk 9/16" ratcheting wrench with same 1/2" Williams USA 6pt socket and Craftsman 3/8" wrench/socket adapter is 1.287". I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, but that is exactly .25" (1/4") difference. Maybe your "good" ratchets are lower profile than my Dual 80, but I doubt they are 1/4" thinner.........but I could be wrong?

Snap On Ratchet:

Blackhawk ratcheting wrench/Craftsman Adapter (photo courtesy of Michael J. Fox):

Sorry wasn't trying to be flippant.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...682476&supersede=&store=snapon-store&tool=all

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=630994&group_ID=674775

 

[pi_guy]

I think you have created a condition for a use of an open end wrench.
Not everything can be done with a ratchet type tool.
If you back the bolt out you will trap the low clearance ratchet between the head of the bolt and the obstruction.

 

[OutsideMachinist]

I really only use these when working with threaded rod. The hf set is ok. I will probably grab the bostitch set eventually cause I could use the larger sockets.

 

[cheechi]

HF makes a pass through set that's amazingly cheap and pretty nice.

This is one of the top 10 best things from HF. If you get a good one. I have gone through 3 sets, one was sold to someone who liked it so much he paid me close to twice what I paid for it, the second got a little rusty and went back to exchange for the third set.

That second set with the rust I think it was the chrome. The others have not had that issue. I have seen some say the ratcheting mechanism isn't smooth and there isn't a way I see you can take it apart without breaking it. That's why I say if you get a good one. The packaging is secured with little wood screws so if you want to try it out in the store you have to get a P2 driver. But it's worth the few mins it takes to open it and check everything out really good.

 

[mrjaw14]

wish that set above was metric!

Man this is from a long time ago! I ended up getting the Gearwrench sets in 1/4 and 3/8 from Napa when they had them on sale. I've used them a few times now and they are pretty nice

 

[Greg85mcss]

I've got the 3/8 max access & a gearwrench belt tool. The cm sockets work on the gw tool. May make it easier to get individual sizes. Fwiw I've been very happy with both.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2oolhound]

I bought a snap-on low profile set for working on motorcycles. Part of the requirement was the length of the handle and how bulky it is. The s-o has a flat handle which offers good clearance for that end when you have to fit it into tight spots. The 80 tooth 5' angle is a big plus as well. I wouldn't even consider a long handled ratchet, flex or not on a low profile limited access kit. Maybe eventually the copycat manufacturerss will clue into this.

1/4" would work well for limited access if it could handle the torque.

 

[77Mini]

I scored a bit of a deal on a Husky pass through set from Home depot. Not a pricey set to start with but it will be fine for the few times I will use it.

 

[Voi]

For less than 20 bucks with 20% coupon the HF pass thru are great. Especially if they are only for that odd hard to reach job.

Link didn't work for me. Is this the one? Item 62327 vs 67974 in your link.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-pc-sae-metric-go-thru-socket-set-62327.html

[EDIT]Thought link was from last month not last year. Sorry about that.

Borrowed a set of Craftsman pass thru sockets last week and I'd like to pick up a cheap set.