Ratcheting open end wrenches....

[JMorrison4371]

Craftsman Vs. Snap On

Snap On
Alright, the Snap On guy pulls up and hands me the latest flyer. on the cover it has their new "ratcheting open end" wrenches. Well I took one look at them and said not No but Hell No. it looks like they took a regular open end wrench and cut almost all of the tip off of it.

Craftsman
I had been looking at Craftsman's ROE wrenches for a while and really want a set. Instead of cutting a whole tip off an open end, they just cut a little notch in one side and stuck a spring loaded thing in there. This looks much better to me. Plus, of course, the Craftsman's are a helluva lot cheaper.

Sorry Snap On, but I think Craftsman's got it on this one.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

AKA Knuckle buster.

 

[JMorrison4371]

The SO's or the Craftsman's?

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

None Buy ratcheting box end.

 

[eaneumann]

Just bought GearWrench 85597. Very nice!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WFSK48/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ajchien]

Wish there was a video showing how those SO ones work.

 

[CaseyJoes.]

Snap-On had a very similar design to their current one for YEARS and only "recently" has it not been in production. I guess they stopped for a while to slightly re-design it and now have brought it back out. I have heard nothing but bad about the Craftsman ratcheting open ends. No, the Snap-On ratcheting open ends will not replace regular open ends, but they have their place and can speed a job up and help out in a tight spot.

 

[rsanter]

I have the older style SO ratcheting open ends and they are great
I sometimes cant belive how hard you can pull on them with them slipping

bob

 

[Skin]

Wish there was a video showing how those SO ones work.

The modified open end design that allows one way to slip has been around for 80 years. The problem with them is they dont allow for much contact so if the fastener either deforms or the wrench slips you get hurt. They are quite bad for breaking a fastener loose which makes the newest SO interation a bit funny since its a combo speed end ratcheting box end which, to me, is redundant. Another big problem with them is they require ~60 degrees to slip and engage the next set of flats so they're really bad around obstructions [and no improvement over a basic open ended wrench]. Oh and the Snap-On ratcheting wrenches are already very long.

Heres a vid of another companies design, same exact premise. Everyone has made/marketed their own version at one time or another. As i said its been around for 80 years, still hasnt really caught on, whats that tell you?

Where these could actually be useful is on one end of an angle wrench or flare wrench for hydraulic/brake lines but few have tried to do that. About all i could see them being good for in the automotive world.

 

[ridestreet]

i have a set of the craftsman ones, got them when ACE had them for real cheap, used them once, wasnt a fan so now they just sit in the toolbox

 

[usdemt]

I dont understand all of the "injury" and "knuckle buster" comments on these wrenches. If you are using a wrench with an 1/8 of an inch contact with enough force to hit something if the wrench slips than you are an idiot. They have their place. Not a big place but they can be useful.

 

[defy]

I just brought a set of the gearwrench ratcheting open enders, I haven't used them yet cause I don't have room in my box (apart from messing around with a 10mm fastener holding the desk I'm sitting at together) I can see the disadvantage of the big swing arc, but I had a number of occasions where I thought they might be useful, so I grabbed them, if they work out to be **** at least I got a straight ratcheting box end on the other end to use.

The gearwrenchs look quite nice though, made in Taiwan, finish is flawless and quality seems to be great for the price.

 

[Bart Simpson]

Snap On recently came out with the ratcheting combos with the speed open end.

I think these are the wrenches the op is talking about .

See links.
http://image.snapon.com/internationa...10.set_npa.pdf

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

Snap on has offered the speed open end in the past in many forms such as, combination wrench , flare nut combination , open end with speed on one end and flank drive + on the other , open end with speed on both ends ,etc.

This Snap On video shows the older style SRXM speeder combination wrenches among others.

see links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=HskHI_Ydmp4

This is another short video of the Snap On SRXM speeder wrenches.

These Snap On wrenches work well for there intended purpose.

Here is a Gearwrench video of their version.

Here is a Craftsman video of theirs.

Here is another video that shows the Craftsman (starts at 1:45 ) , looks the same as the Gearwrench.

There are lots of versions of these wrenches with and without moving parts .
Here a just a few.

Here is an Mastercraft Maximum version.

Facom version.

Ratcha Wrex version.

Partsmaster version

Alden version.

Robson version

Stark version.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

Snap-on UK can't afford HD camera or what?

 

[diesel research]

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RcQ8VU3qRis" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Scuderia-F1]

I have the older style SO ratcheting open ends and they are great
I sometimes cant belive how hard you can pull on them with them slipping

bob

I have to say that I´m very pleased with my old set as well!
With that said I would also like the newer ratcheting SO wrenches as well.

 

[Scuderia-F1]

Snap-on UK can't afford HD camera or what?

Let´s just leave it at they´re a little conservative in the ol´empire!

 

[geologist]

Let´s just leave it at they´re a little conservative in the ol´empire!

The sun never sets...

...on the camera they bought in 1992.

 

[Danglerb]

About a year ago I got the itch to try some and bought half a dozen brands to see which I like best, Craftsman extreme, Alden spring loaded, Snapon, but I don't remember if I liked any of them.

 

[MattPersman]

"new" hehe. I have little bit older some snap ons, not a full set just some random sizes for transmission or PS lines I would frequently remove. they are not bad. IIRC you are just kind of starting off in the tech field that being the case I don't think it would be on the top of my list unless A. the deal was superb (like 1/2 or more off), B. I already had most of the other tools I needed. These are nice also haves, but not a main line basic tool

 

[Jim85IROC]

My father has a set of non-reversible gearwrench ratcheting combination wrenches, and the open end has a notch that allows for quick "ratcheting". I thought it was rather useless until I had to loosen a bolt on my father's Mustang that I couldn't get the box end over. I got sick of constantly re-positioning a standard open ended wrench, so I grabbed one of those gearwrench jobs. Once I got the hang of it, it saved me a LOT of time.

I'd never break a fastener free with it, and I can't really say that I've run into enough situations where I'd use it to justify buying my own set, but I certainly did appreciate having it available for that task, so I can definitely say that they have their place.

 

[uart]

and the open end has a notch that allows for quick "ratcheting".

Jim, is that just a notch like the SO ones, or was it a notch with a spring loaded tooth like the other GW ones I've seen pictured?

 

[Jim85IROC]

Jim, is that just a notch like the SO ones, or was it a notch with a spring loaded tooth like the other GW ones I've seen pictured?

Just a notch, but it's much smaller than the SO ones. I can't find them on the Gearwrench site, but it was a 7-ish piece set that he picked up at Advance Auto for about $30 some months ago.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...E-Gear-Wrench_99993027-P_N3417_T|GRP2078_____

Looks like I'm wrong. Looks like it is spring loaded.

 

[MD11]

I have nothing but love for my Snapon's .. I can't say well enough about them.

 

[slob]

I have the Craftsman open-end ratcheting wrenches. They're useless.

 

[trboxman]

I have a set of Craftsmen open-end ratcheting wrenches that are more than 10 years old that I use quite often. They're better for some things than others.

 

[hatt]

I have the old Craftsman set. Never found much use for the open end but since the wrench is longer than regular RP the box end is useful.

 

[superautobacs]

Bart Simpson,

Nice compilation and video references.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RcQ8VU3qRis" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There were many variations of the idea, unfortunately well before his patent was filed.

Yup, places where a box end doesn't fit, adjustment rods, turnbuckle bolts, etc.


Definitely not for initial loosening/final tightening.

The concept is not new at all; it has been around for a century. Over time, different manufacturers have come up with modified profiles.

J.H. Williams seems to be the first to produce the idea into a product, way back in 1910! The product was called "Racho", and it's the most primitive in its design profile; however, the profile apparently allowed it to work on square nuts/bolts as well. Check Alloy Artifacts for more info.

From what I can tell, Simplex Wrench Co. in N.Y. had a patent in 1924--this design allowed a single end to be used on more than one size of fastener. These were apparently sold out of the Snap-On truck. Check out this link for more info on the product and company.

The current profiles are more akin to the ones that sprung up in the early 50's. It was the start of a new generation of speed wrenches and had the name "SPEED-HED", sold under the Thorsen brand. These have a more compact head than their predecessors:

Click to direct to original thread

 

[Seanbev24]

IMO, Snap-On screwed up in having the ratcheting box end on the other side. If they had the ratcheting open end on one side, and a regular FD+ open end on the other, I'd buy a set in a heartbeat.

The Craftsman versions are pieces of ****.

 

[MattPersman]

IMO, Snap-On screwed up in having the ratcheting box end on the other side. If they had the ratcheting open end on one side, and a regular FD+ open end on the other, I'd buy a set in a heartbeat.

The Craftsman versions are pieces of ****.

they used to make them this way well FD open end. and they made them with a standard box 12 point as well. seems this rebirth of them they wanted ratcheting

 

[Bart Simpson]

IMO, Snap-On screwed up in having the ratcheting box end on the other side. If they had the ratcheting open end on one side, and a regular FD+ open end on the other, I'd buy a set in a heartbeat.

The Craftsman versions are pieces of ****.

Snap On sold these, I mentioned that in my post above.

" Snap on has offered the speed open end in the past in many forms such as, combination wrench , flare nut combination , open end with speed on one end and flank drive + on the other , open end with speed on both ends ,etc. "

Here are a few pics of a 15MM wrench like you want.

Click to enlarge.

Snap On SRSM15.







Here is a link to the Snap On speed wrench patent, check out the abstract / drawing section.

http://www.google.com/patents/US5551322

 

[superautobacs]

Snappy also had a flare nut version as well:

 

[Bart Simpson]

Snappy also had a flare nut version as well:

Yes and they work well for that application , break it loose with the flare nut end and and then speed it off with the speed end.