Tough Couple of Weeks.

[shoggoth80]

So. I work fleet shop. Inevitably stuff breaks. The past couple weeks seem extra rough though. Some sockets, a jack, jack stand. Yesterday...my GearWrench roto ratchet blew out. On a bolt with a 9/16" head. This was my third one. The first lasted a couple years. The second until this last winter. This third one though...the chrome was still shiny. Lol.

Dunno if the quality has been cut on them, but it feels that way. Swivel joint wasn't even loosened up yet. Not many cycles on this one. I warrantied it. Except this time I opted for an 84t model. Non swivel. I love roto ratchets...but after the third one... I'm ok with something else. I have other roto heads. Anyway. Pics, because.

 

[L.Cheapo]

I used my Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches last week. I almost never use them. They're older (late 90s/early 2000s) and Taiwan. If they've been used a dozen times its a lot. When I went to put the 15mm down...I had a handful of chrome flakes, and the tool now has sharp spots along the edges of the beam, where you would pull on it. Why warranty it--to get a Chinese replacement? This is why I'm done with hand tools that don't say Snap On on them. You get what you pay for.

 

[Rrumbler]

Apparently, the brand has been around for about fifty years or so. My only exposure to the brand was in the early eighties when Sears began selling the ratcheting box end wrenches, and one of the guys I worked with bought a set. The concept seemed like a handy one, but the wrenches did not even last out one day on a 66KV circuit breaker overhaul; the ratchet mechanism either slipped badly under relatively mild pressure, or just blew out completely. That colored my opinion of that type, and I never even bothered to buy any. In that vein, I also passed over any tools of the brand that I came across. I am certain that there are others who might adore them, but not me.

 

[shoggoth80]

To be fair, I like a good chunk of what GW offers, and I really like their sockets.

 

[thegroundpounder99]

Hopefully your luck improves. I bought a set of GW 1/4 12pt sockets on sale, seldom need them so didn't want to spend big. It came with a ratchet and I turned it a couple times and gave it to the guy that works next to me. I got some GW stuff but I'm not overly impressed with it.


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[JBradley500]

This is why I'm done with hand tools that don't say Snap On on them. You get what you pay for.

I agree. I'm not a terrible tool snob and I like stuff from all kinds of companies but I pretty much am sticking to SO if I can afford it. Proto, SK, Wright, and Williams USA are all plenty good enough too, just sometimes they don't have exactly what i'm looking for. The rest just seem to change too much for my liking.