Refurbing a Rat.

[Outlawmws]

So I pulled one of the rats I picked up this summer out of storage, and took it apart a bit to see if it was fixable. I picked this one as it's a bent handle flex head rat, and I don't have one of that breed in the daily driver stable.

It didn't land there right off the bat as the flex joint was SLOPPY, and I had assumed it was from hard use and a lot of it. Its a "Powerbuilt" so I have no frame of reference as to how good a rat it is to begin with. No COO...

The flex head hinge pin turned out to be a socket head screw so getting it apart was easy, once all the impacted grease was pried out of the socket.

I measured the screw shaft and the hole, and looked for wear and dang if there is no significant wear! its just made SLOPPY; I'm talking .020 of a difference one to the other! Hole was just above .250, but the screw was a full .020 smaller... I was thinking of shimming it using some .250 brass tubing, but the brass tubing is thicker than a .010 wall, at least .o15...

So i start poking around and remember I have some telescoping antennas around, but none are the right size in OD either. Then i found an old one that was broken, and its .265 OD, but the right wall thickness...

So I cut a length of it with a jewelers saw (very fine teeth), and then split it on one side. Still too big. So I got out the Dremel and a diamond disk and "sanded" the gap bigger.

That got a gap that allowed the SS Split sleeve to be inserted into the Flex head!

Perfect fit! the slop is gone so now all it needs to be like new (or maybe better than new...) is a rebuild kit as the works are a little loose. Usable but could be better.

Anyone recognize the head, and who could provide a rebuilt kit?

If anyone else has rebuilt a rat in some way, or modded one feel free to post em up!


Head with sleeve half inserted:

Completed rat:

 

[jabberwoki]

Clever ******! You`ll need to post up your address so we can send all our sloppy flexheads to you for repair!

 

[RCRGarage]

Nice work on that RATCHET.

 

[kc-steve]

Great stuff Outlaw! I have heard about others just using a punch to indent the end of the pivot stud just enough that it causes the pivot stud to expand and tighten.

Another quick and easy fix for old ratchets is just cleaning them if they skip. You can just spray some WD40 inside to loosen up the grease and grime. If that helps, then go ahead and take it apart for a thorough cleaning and lubrication.

Steve

 

[Outlawmws]

Great stuff Outlaw! I have heard about others just using a punch to indent the end of the pivot stud just enough that it causes the pivot stud to expand and tighten.

Another quick and easy fix for old ratchets is just cleaning them if they skip. You can just spray some WD40 inside to loosen up the grease and grime. If that helps, then go ahead and take it apart for a thorough cleaning and lubrication.

Steve

Thanks guys; I agree, cleaning and re-lubing is often the solution if the rat is not operating smoothly, but this one is, its just a bit more sloppy than I like.

No one recognizes this head for rebuild? (BTW it is a 3/8 drive)

 

[ajchien]

I thought powerbuilt had a lifetime warranty through alltrade tools. I think they're an importer bases out of the Los Angeles area.

 

[Outlawmws]

I thought powerbuilt had a lifetime warranty through alltrade tools. I think they're an importer bases out of the Los Angeles area.

Yeah, I finally got around to Googleing it, and you are right. i sent them an Email to see if a kit is available. Its a (somewhat) fine tooth @ 44 teeth or so... This exact rat is no longer available, and they all seem to be 24 tooth...

 

[Outlawmws]

Well, I emailed alltrade/Powerbuilt, and asked if there was a rebuild kit available for this rat, and after 4-5 back and forths, not only is there one, but they are sending one to me!

So flush with success, I attacked an older Mini Mac Flex head 1/4" drive M3R, with the same loose pivot pin issue.only this one has a pressed pin and was sloppy in the handle part. The pin was a slip fit in the head with three spots where it had been indented/deformed to make it tight in the head.

So after a bit of research/measuring, I used a #8 drill by hand to clean up one head hole, and then slightly more than clean up the other head hole.

Then I set up the head and the same #8 drill bit and drilled the head's hole.

The drill was a spare #8,so I slipped the shank through the assembly and used a diamond Dremel disk to cut off the end of the shank (it's still a usable drill, jut a bit shorter), and then had my daughter hols the new pin while I raised three spot sin the center of the new pin with a key-way chisel.

They also had a small lock washer in a pocket on one side of the head part that was supposed to provide side tension to keep things from rattling around and provide some tension so the head didn't flop around, but it was too flat to do its' job. So I "reset" it using two pliers to spring it out 50 thou out so...

got everything started and used my vise to press the pin home, and Voila, its probably better than new at the flex joint!

This one's guts are in good shape so this one is now back in service.

 

[lauver]

Outlaw,

Next time you need thin shim stock, think aluminum can (Bud, Coke, etc); it's easy to cut with scissors, utility cutters, or x-acto knife. The aluminum stock is 0.050" and wears well. I've made many a shim for various ratchets that had a little too much end play for comfort.

Give it a try, it's free and universaly available.

 

[joshdc91]

Silly question, but when you lube a ratchet, what do you use?