Ratchet rebuilding question

[Kevin54]

I am making some new rivets for a fellow member for a Craftsman CF-87 Open Gear Ratchet. Has anyone ever had one of these apart or similar to it?

The reason I ask, and I have looked and looked, and searched everywhere I could as far as some sort of a drawing to no avail, and I can't get it apart. He wants to preserve the patina, so I have to be very careful in what I do in getting it apart. I can't just start prying here and there.

The large rivet towards the handle, came out easily. It's a standard style of rivet, but the three smaller ones I am thinking they are more or less a round spacer to hold the dimension between the two plates, then a smaller diameter on each end that gets rolled over. I would like to verify that though if I could with anyone that has had one apart. MAKING replacement parts is no problem.

I'm 99% sure they are double ended spacers though. If it wasn't for keeping the patina, it would make it easier, but it is what it is.

 

[Kevin54]

Got it finally. It's what I thought it was. The one rivet through the pawl is a spacer that gets rolled over on each end. It has one larger 3/16" rivet on the handle end, two 1/8" rivets in the middle, then one 5/32" rivet/spacer through the pawl. Now it's off to the lathe.

 

[3baygarage]

Nice work, we don't see those open every day. Hope you show us the finished product too.

 

[Kevin54]

I will. I snapped a few pics along the way of taking it apart. It's more of a simple ratchet that what I though. Although back when the ratchet was originally designed, they had to figure out a few thousandths of slop in it. There is no ball or spring to lock the pawl in. It looks like the ratchet was turned out of a piece of solid barstock, and then a *** machined on the pawl. The little bit of slop allowed the pawl to jump over the *** (and the cow jumped over the moon ) But the pawl on this ratchet has a notch worn into it where it's been riding over the ***. Either that, or this ratchet was designed to have to hold your thumb on the pawl, but I don't think that is the case. I first though there was a ball and spring, then I thought that it may possibly have a piece in the end that has a point on it and pushed by a spring, but a little more CSI'ing shows that the handle was turned on the end and the *** turned onto it in one piece.

If it is made in two pieces, the two pieces are rusted together. The only way to tell if they are two pieces would be x-ray to see if there is a void in there. Which that is just cost prohibitive for what it is. Then I thought about dunking the end in water, then throwing it in the freezer. After it is froze, then take a soldering iron out and hold it on the ***, so the heat will travel back. That should show whether there is a void or not....maybe It's worth a try though.

Here are a couple pics of the damage, and of the ratchet body

 

[michiganman18]

Nice little project. looks fun

 

[Kevin54]

After a little CSI'ing, these ratchets must have been something along the lines of a "thumb ratchet", meaning that you have to keep your thumb on the pawl to keep to keep tension on it. The small *** that I spoke about, it is on the handle, and it is hardened. The pawl when putting pressure on it will click over the ***. I did have to add a little weld to the pawl then dress it down to get it to work properly, but it DOES NOT lock the pawl into position like it would if things were spring loaded. I had to straighten the plates, got that done. Now all that is left if making the spacer and the rivets, then reassemble, and it is good to ship back to the owner.

Here is a pic of the reworked pawl before and after. I can't weld, but have a welder, so I had a piece of steel the same size, and I pulled it off.