Ratchet or Wrench Preference?

[tutti57]

No power allowed. If the situation allows for a socket/ratchet or a wrench (ratcheting is ok), which one do you tend to grab?

I used to be a socket guy but have switched to being a wrench guy a few years ago.

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[eschoendorff]

Depends on the situation. That said I tend to grab ratcheting wrenches

 

[jumbojak]

I prefer wrenches. Sockets are handy at times but I tend to reach for a wrench if I can.

 

[tutti57]

Yeah, this is a preference discussion, where either would work. Which do you prefer to use?

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[rmsg0040]

I prefer ratchets/sockets, seldom use wrenches

 

[Tottyteam]

Ratcheting wrenches are the preference for me.

 

[uncwstudent]

I just have a weird love of ratchets and sockets so I always end up using those if I can. Wrenches are my back up and then ratcheting wrenches last.

 

[CR888]

I just use muh fingas.

 

[Fedwrench]

Minimum hand work for me so, a cordless ratchet with socket where possible.

 

[bonneyman]

It depends on the task. At work I grabbed for ratcheting wrenches. Around the house it's ratchets and sockets. But on the work bench it's most often regular wrenches.
Thinking about it now I can't understand why those choices are made. Must just be a way of doing things that developed when I started each type of work and the preference just stuck.

 

[unknownroad]

I find ratchets a lot more comfortable to use than ratcheting wrenches, maybe just because I've been using them for so much longer (and I'm far too lazy to use a traditional wrench if there's another option).

 

[Magnum440d100]

I was taught to work on cars by my grandpa. He used ratchets and sockets and regular wrenches. I do the same. Though I do have my fair share of ratcheting wrenches now. I also have a cordless impact, though I rarely use it.

My friend though, ONLY uses a cordless impact if he can get away with it. I once watched him bend metal power steering lines out of the way so he could use his impact. A ratchet would have fit perfect, and he would have had the bolt out in the same amount of time it took him to bend those PS lines, check figment of his impact, bend the lines some more, etc....

 

[Sine Swept]

I tend to use them together. I cringe watching some guys impacting on everything then complain when something breaks.

 

[Wamsutta]

I prefer a wrench to break it loose and then spin it out with a nutdriver.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Much depends on the task at hand. If everything is equal, I'll likely grab a socket set, although, I really like my X-Frame wrenches.

 

[PartsGuy]

In this particular scenario, I would reach for my ratcheting DBE wrenches. Break it loose with the fixed box end, then use the ratcheting box end for speed. Gives me two tools in one, and less likely to break the ratchet reefing on a stubborn fastener.
I know I'm not likely to break the ratchet in the first place, but I have this unnatural fear of it happening, and prefer to break stuff loose with a fixed tool when I can.
Or, ya know, power tools like a truly evolved caveman....

 

[toolaholic]

I like my sk g pros. But usually grab my Armstrong 11 inch long 11-994 3/8 locking flex ratchet .

 

[cvairwerks]

Speed handle for most stuff on the exterior and a few interior access panels. After that, ratchets then wrenches based on access to the fastener. Only thing we use power on, is a pair of door drives, as they require about 1200 turns to open or close the doors.

 

[pdxgearhead]

I always reach for a ratchet, even when a ratcheting wrench would suit the application better. When I started working on my car as a teen in the mid 1990s, good ratcheting wrenches were relatively spendy as I recall, so they weren't an option for me. The ratchet/socket is what I'm used to.

 

[Legion Prime]

Depends, what I'm doing. If I'm gonna put my weight into something I want my force as close to in line with the fastener as I can get it which means a wrench if possible, socket on ratchet if necessary. If I need an extension then I'm going to grab an impact gun. Most times though just puttering around I'll use wrenches because all I'm looking to do is break torque and then everything else is faster by hand. If I'm working on a car or something dirty I'll use sockets as dirty threads go faster with a ratchet.

 

[P0234]

Minimum hand work for me so, a cordless ratchet with socket where possible.

Agree. Why waste the time. Before cordless, you could argue for small jobs dragging out the air hose was more hassle than it was worth. Not anymore.

 

[cvairwerks]

Agree. Why waste the time. Before cordless, you could argue for small jobs dragging out the air hose was more hassle than it was worth. Not anymore.

We do a lot of work in fuel tanks...no power for us. Even air driven screw guns and ratchets can heat hardware up enough to get to the flash point of any vapors in the tanks.

 

[Professional Tool User]

Ratchet and socket and then if that doesn't work, then ratcheting wrench or wrench. A socket can be rotated a lot faster and they simply grab on better and are less likely to slip off.

 

[Mgdoug3]

Ratchet first. I can throw a socket set with shallow and deep sockets in a vehicle or tractor and have what I need in most cases. I'll take some DOE wrenches with me if I need a wrench but don't want to take a lot of wrenches with me.

 

[The Fall]

3/8" long-handled ratchet. Almost every time.

 

[sberry]

Common combo wrench. A lot with adjustable.90% of it can be done finger once it's loose or installing.

 

[jmhinkle]

The only time I grab a wrench is if space requires it or I need to hold a bolt head while removing a nut with a socket.

 

[toolmutt]

Wrench, if the fastener just needs broken loose and can then be spin off by hand. If it has to be "wrenched" all the way, then a ratchet/socket.

 

[BarryWells]

Combo wrenches like Proto ASD and Snap On FDP and spinning socket T handles Japanese stuff.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I use both, just depends like Joe says, on the situation or location.

I do try to use a regular wrench to break a fastener free with a regular wrench before switching to a ratcheting wrench on larger stuff. I also prefer reversible ratcheting wrenches to regular ratcheting wrenches.

 

[Handyandy23]

Like others have said, impact / cordless is my first choice these days by a wide margin.

After that definitely ratchet and socket over a wrench. This is probably just a habit formed by what tools I had available to me on the cheap when I was younger. If you have one long handled flex head ratchet then you have more leverage than a standard wrench, decent accessibility with the flex, and you can get them pretty cheap.

Years ago getting a decent long pattern, ratcheting and/or flex wrench set was a lot of money. Now that I have them they haven't broken into my rotation as much as they maybe should. Regular old combo wrenches in standard length I almost never use just because they seem very inefficient. Basically only for holding a nut on one end while I use an impact or ratchet on the other.

I also find that sockets fit over a rusty bolt head a lot easier than a wrench. Again this is maybe just personal preference / what you get used to, but living in an area where cars are all very rusty underneath, almost every bolt head you have to tap / wiggle / hammer the sockets on. The socket gives you a nice area to hold while you tap it, or you can wiggle it on the end of the ratchet.

 

[Hal]

Ratchet, because I don't have the hand and arm strength I used to. Long handled ratchet, or ratchet and cheater pipe. I don't like to use a cheater on a wrench, and certainly not on a ratcheting wrench.

Even for fasteners that will come loose easily, I like to give myself all the advantage I can. I usually wind up feeling better at the end of the day if I have not been straining at stuff.

 

[PR1Gneon]

Ratchet and sockets.

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[Arcoril]

Ratchet, because I don't have the hand and arm strength I used to. Long handled ratchet, or ratchet and cheater pipe. I don't like to use a cheater on a wrench, and certainly not on a ratcheting wrench.

Even for fasteners that will come loose easily, I like to give myself all the advantage I can. I usually wind up feeling better at the end of the day if I have not been straining at stuff.

I'm in exactly the same boat now. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've pulled out the breaker for bolts that were originally tightened to 30 ft-lbs.

I've also found that I feel much better at the end of the day if don't strain. It might take me a little bit longer but I'll gladly keep walking back and forth from the cabinet to grab a longer tool instead of putting my body weight onto my arms.

 

[ajchien]

Ratchet and sockets. Mostly because I have a wider variety of handle lengths compared to wrenches.

 

[Brian247]

I mainly use ratchet and sockets I would say 95% of the time. I work on forklifts for a living out of a van so it it much easier to grab a ratchet and my socket rail with both metric and standard on it and walk into a plant. I only use wrenches when the situation does not allow me to fit a ratchet.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

ratchet/sockets. I hate using regular old wrenches. Spend so much time fumbling with the wrench to get it seated on the fastener half the time your hand is tired and hurting before you've got the fastener half way out of the hole. My wrenches only ever get used when I need to hold one end of the fastener while the ratchet does all the work or I just cant get anything else on it. Really need to invest in some ratchet wrenches.

 

[Superdavey]

I have recently switched to the extra long gearwrench fixed/ratcheting wrenches. The fixed end is zero degree and its a lot thicker than a regular box end , so I find it tends to strip out bolts less and of course the leverage. I tap on the erench a few times if the bolt is stubborn and don't have to worry about the tool breaking . Once I break it free , I just switch to the other side. I do most of my suspension work exclusively with those wrenches now .

With the amount of ratchets and sockets I own ... Believe me , I try to put them to use as much as I can , but those extra long wrenches really do work better.

They also fit better in tighter places

 

[Lucid Moments]

Generally I prefer whatever works and is close to hand. More often than not though that tends to be a ratchet and socket.

 

[CrazyTools]

Always a socket with a knurled extension. If there’s a clearance issue a regular wrench.