Snap-on comfort grip issues - am I crazy?

[jonnymopar]

Hi all,

Sorry to start yet another thread about the Snap-on comfort grips, but I think I'm losing my mind here. Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read through this.

I bought a used FHLF80 some time ago. It's a 2007. I'd always wanted one, but couldn't afford new. No rebuild necessary, just a good cleaning got it back to it's nice smooth action. The first time I cranked on it, the grip slid halfway off! Luckily I braced myself before things got ugly. Simply by hand, I could pull it all the way off.

I prefer the green, so I bought a brand new green comfort grip, thinking that the previous owner probably stuffed the wrong grip on this ratchet. It came in, but it was the same inner diameter as the one that was slipping off. Sure enough, just by hand, I could put the new one on and yank it back off.

I got angry and left it alone for a while. A few weeks ago, I bought an NOS FHLF80, this time a 2015 vintage. I still had the green comfort grip that I bought new. Ok, perfect, I’ll stuff that on when the new ratchet arrives. I did the boiling water trick and got the grip off of the new ratchet. It came off with very little effort. The shaft diameter on the 2015 ratchet is exactly the same as the 2007! Furthermore, the 2007 grip, the 2015 grip, and the new green grip I bought all have the same inner diameter.

Is there something magic that keeps these grips on that I’m not seeing?! I’m reading about people having to smack these on with a deadblow. All of these fit by hand!

 

[Waterh20]

Hi all,

Sorry to start yet another thread about the Snap-on comfort grips, but I think I'm losing my mind here. Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read through this.

I bought a used FHLF80 some time ago. It's a 2007. I'd always wanted one, but couldn't afford new. No rebuild necessary, just a good cleaning got it back to it's nice smooth action. The first time I cranked on it, the grip slid halfway off! Luckily I braced myself before things got ugly. Simply by hand, I could pull it all the way off.

Did you test the new ratchet before trying to replace the grip to see if it also slipped off easily? I wonder if your old wrench/ grip has some sort of reidew on it that was used to help get the grip on/off that is causing this.

 

[bimmer630]

I had that happen to mine too. SO guy said "put glue in there or something" (no warranty). I broke the ratchet head at the pivot and warrantied a whole new ratchet, then sold it and got a mac

 

[Wamsutta]

There's something wrong with the 2007. Either the shank outside diameter is too small, or the handle hole diameter is too big. I know you said they're identical to the 2015, but something has to be different. Try putting the 2015 handle on the 2007 shank; see what happens. It's not supposed to slide all the way on without giving it a few taps with a soft faced hammer.

 

[jonnymopar]

Did you test the new ratchet before trying to replace the grip to see if it also slipped off easily?

Yep. It was on there as good as I'd expect. I couldn't move it.

Last night, I got the new green grip good and hot, then slid it on the 2015 ratchet. It slid all the way on by hand, but I gave it a little tap anyway to make sure. Then I immediately set it somewhere safe and let it cool on its own overnight without disturbing it. Today, I put the ratchet in a vice and I could not budge that grip. It's on there good.

My only guess at this point is that when the grips are good and hot, they take a form to the "wings" on the shaft as they cool. Whereas stuffing it on at room temp, it just slides over them. I don't know without taking a cross-section of everything, and I'm not wealthy enough to sacrifice one of these to research. Chalk it up as an unsolved mystery for now I guess.

 

[T45]

Motorcyle grips are glued on with a version of superglue. If you get stuck (sorry, bad pun), just use that. Its quite effective in that context. You'd obviously prefer adesign solution without adhesives,of course, when working around solvents all dat, which is why the handles are staked. In any event, there is a "how its made" video of the soft handle ratchets that shows the handle naufacturing and assembly process if yor are interested.

 

[Wamsutta]

At 4:20 you can see the lady press the handles on cold.

 

[Tech92420]

I've seen my SO dealer take a grip off my ratchet by putting in a vise and hitting the handle with a punch, one he got the handle off he put the new one on by hitting with a big dead blow hammer a few times. Those handles take some effort to put on or take off. If it slips off, something is wrong.

 

[mbshop]

Yup, just get some strong glue and glue the handle on. May need to rough up the metal a bit. Handle grips stay on through some tough use.

 

[jonnymopar]

Thanks everyone. I'll probably epoxy the grip on the 2007 ratchet. I may even tape everything off and very lightly sandblast the shank so the epoxy has somewhere to bite. The ratchet itself works great. I just don't wanna kill myself using it.

 

[Wamsutta]

Put a couple of drops of Gorilla super glue on the wings of the shank and press the handle on.

I'd be surprised if that didn't hold.