shoggoth80
Well-known member
Ok. I am not the first to do this sort of thing.
I have two general frankenratchets in my collections (work, and home).
One was made from a stubby Titan handle, and a Kobalt flex head (the original Titan had a double drive...3/8 on one end, and 1/4 on the other). The Kobalt head was also a flex, but was quick release. Off came the Titan part, and on went the Kobalt. Straight swap over. Useful in some applications. It has served me well in helping reach oil filters in very odd spots.
The other was made from a clearance Kobalt handle (the handle the above head came off of), and the double drive Titan head. However, I have no use for a 1/4 drive in a 3/8 body (not true the other way around. Some long handle 1.4 drives, and a 3/8 drive in a 1.4 body are on my wish list). So, I ground it off. The bolt never quite tightened up enough on it for my liking... so I swapped it for standard hardware with a lock washer. I can tighten it to near fixed, so when I set an angle, it doesn't flop away. I use this ratchet at work a lot, as I a tool cart/chest, and a road call box. The better ratchets live in the road call box. 2 years going in fleet service, and while it's taken some knocks, and doesn't look pretty... it functions just fine. Long handled, so some leverage is there, and fine tooth, with a surprisingly fast back-swing.
So while they were put together from bits and bobs, and because one was sloppy/floppy, and the other was gimmicky, I made 2 otherwise functional pieces out of them, and they are better for it in my opinion. I know others have made frankenratchets. Please share. What did you make, how, and why?
I saw one where someone made a looooooong handled 1/2" drive out of some Pitts Pro stuff, but I don't think it had its own thread.
I have two general frankenratchets in my collections (work, and home).
One was made from a stubby Titan handle, and a Kobalt flex head (the original Titan had a double drive...3/8 on one end, and 1/4 on the other). The Kobalt head was also a flex, but was quick release. Off came the Titan part, and on went the Kobalt. Straight swap over. Useful in some applications. It has served me well in helping reach oil filters in very odd spots.
The other was made from a clearance Kobalt handle (the handle the above head came off of), and the double drive Titan head. However, I have no use for a 1/4 drive in a 3/8 body (not true the other way around. Some long handle 1.4 drives, and a 3/8 drive in a 1.4 body are on my wish list). So, I ground it off. The bolt never quite tightened up enough on it for my liking... so I swapped it for standard hardware with a lock washer. I can tighten it to near fixed, so when I set an angle, it doesn't flop away. I use this ratchet at work a lot, as I a tool cart/chest, and a road call box. The better ratchets live in the road call box. 2 years going in fleet service, and while it's taken some knocks, and doesn't look pretty... it functions just fine. Long handled, so some leverage is there, and fine tooth, with a surprisingly fast back-swing.
So while they were put together from bits and bobs, and because one was sloppy/floppy, and the other was gimmicky, I made 2 otherwise functional pieces out of them, and they are better for it in my opinion. I know others have made frankenratchets. Please share. What did you make, how, and why?
I saw one where someone made a looooooong handled 1/2" drive out of some Pitts Pro stuff, but I don't think it had its own thread.
