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YOUR favorite Racheting Box style....Please!!

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CamarosRus

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I want to order GEARWRENCH racheting boxes today from www.Tooltopia.com

I'm driving myself nuts as to which style/configuration/variety will be most useful.

I understand many of you have multiple types, multiple brands. I have none and want to buy the most useful, user friendly now.
1) set# 85198 $64.87 XL-Combo (non reverse, appear flat, no offset)

2) set# 85298 $93.09 X Beam Flex (non locking, non reversible, flip over to reverse)

3) set# 85398 $83.59 X Beam Reversible (non flex)

4) set# 85798 $103.54 XL Locking Flex

5) set# 85898 $80.74 XL X Beam (non reverse, flip over to reverse)

6) set# 85998 $98.79 XL Gear Box (LONG with fixed
box one end / rachet box other)

OR the several other style that are Not Extra-Long

What is your most popular go-to racheting box ??

Thanks for your thoughtful reply !
 
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tw33k2514

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XL GearBox would be my choice. I say that because I have never used the open end of a ratchet wrench in my life. I like to break the bolt with the fixed end and then finish it with the ratcheting end.
 
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MotoDave

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I have a set of reversible combination wrenches (Craftsman, but similar) and they are my go-to set, I hardly ever reach for my non-ratcheting ones now. The reversing feature is worth having IMO.
 
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BWright

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Xl Gearbox and XL Locking flex.

Haha at least that's what I want. I've already have the Xl locking flex, just waiting to get the gearboxes.
 
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Fedwrench

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BWright said:
Xl Gearbox and XL Locking flex.
Click to expand...

:+1: These two sets would probably be the best bang for the buck. However, we're justing talking about wrenches. You've been debating which Gearwrench set to get for quite awhile. You could always write each set number on a piece of paper, place the pieces in a container, mix them up, and pick one. That one would be the set you get this time.:wtf:
 
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BB26

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I like the XL locking flex the best of that group. XL Gearbox and X-beams are decent too but for access reasons they wouldn't be my one and only set. Hopefully you will be able to pull the trigger b/c I know you have been asking about GW ratcheting wrenches for months. I can promise you that there is no perfect answer. You just have to try them and see what works best for you. Good luck.
 
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Merkava_4

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Actually, the XL double box flex wrenches that Matco makes would be the most useful, but they're expensive as hell.
 
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jteck75

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Some guys I know and work with would disagree,but whatever style you get,I'd make sure that they are reversible. The very first set of ratchet wrenches that I bought years ago were non-reversible,and I would get so mad that I wanted to gnaw my own arm off when working at a hard to get to bolt,and finally getting the thing on there, and realizing that it was flipped the wrong way. Needless to say,I don't have those anymore lol.
 
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CamarosRus

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Just got back from buying (used/excellent condition) $70 H.F. 2 1/2 Ton Long Frame floor jack..................

I really do appreciate your patience with me. I'm inclined now to order BOTH the XL Gearboxes and XL Locking Flex Combos. Evidently the locking feature MUST BE a significant improvement and worth paying the extra $$ (??)

FedWrench had previously mentioned that
GEARBOX was coming out with Flex-Gearboxes (??) so maybe I should wait on this (??)




Need to get ready for work here. Thanks again for your input
 
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tw33k2514

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remind me to buy those before my discount ends....$400 is not exactly what I would call affordable.
 
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CamarosRus

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Merk, Exactly................maybe FedWrench has been writing G.W. and has the inside track.............on them reproducing the $400 (ouch) MATCO's.
Would it be a good feature to lock the flex on the long gearboxes ???????????
 
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Elroy

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As previously posted. Elroy has no need for Gearwrench box ends when these "original" ratchet box ends are inventoried

Picture007.jpg
 
E

Elroy

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krusty the clown said:
there isn't that better :lol_hitti
Click to expand...

As a matter of fact that's MUCH better. There are three little facts our "TV star" is missing

Elroy considers these a collector tool yet they are fully functional.

These Craftsman's are well over 40 years old.

They weren't made in a Taiwan gearwrench facility
 
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Fedwrench

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Actually it was Bchee that said Gearwrench is coming out with their version of the Matco xl fixed/flex wrench. I wouldn't hold my breath though. I talked to Gearwrench reps at SEMA and they would neither confirm or deny the new wrenches. I wouldn't wait for a Gearwrench version. There are affordable alternatives such as the SK Gpro xl flex head spline wrench and the EZ Red xl flex head wrenches, or the fixed xl Gearbox if you want really long ratcheting wrenches.
However, there is a great solution for someone's first set of fine tooth ratcheting wrenches. I would strongly recommend the Craftsman fully polished reversible ratcheting wrench set 42404/42405 which are on sale for $69.99 this month via Craftsman club. I have beat the hell out of mine for more than a couple of years now without any issues. They're US made, have a fine 72 tooth action, have a little meat to them, no capstop, and are warrantied forever. Yeah they cost more than Gearwrench, Yeah they skip lesser used sizes but, for a basic set they will serve you well.:beer:
 
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krusty the clown

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Elroy said:
As a matter of fact that's MUCH better. There are three little facts our "TV star" is missing

Elroy considers these a collector tool yet they are fully functional.

These Craftsman's are well over 40 years old.

They weren't made in a Taiwan gearwrench facility
Click to expand...

exactly........:thumbup:
 
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Old Donn

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Fedwrench said:
I would strongly recommend the Craftsman fully polished reversible ratcheting wrench set 42404/42405 which are on sale for $69.99 this month via Craftsman club. I have beat the hell out of mine for more than a couple of years now without any issues. They're US made, have a fine 72 tooth action, have a little meat to them, no capstop, and are warrantied forever. Yeah they cost more than Gearwrench, Yeah they skip lesser used sizes but, for a basic set they will serve you well.:beer:
Click to expand...

Me too. They were the original set of ratcheting I bought and are still my first choice, ratcheting flex-heads being a distant second. Both are full polish and have the pro model handle, not the dreaded raised panel. They've served me well and have had no performance issues. That said, I don't ask too much of them. If the fastener's stubborn, a shot of PB Blaster and a standard box end first.
 
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krusty the clown

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tonydanzah said:
Sorry to say but I have a few of them from an auction of a toolbox and those 3 factors don't make it a better tool
Click to expand...

i have a lot of vintage tools and while there MAY be better tools out there today they are much cooler. i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

tony i'm guessing your a youngster :lol_hitti
 
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MotoDave

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tonydanzah said:
i think being reversible is not a key point and i think the non reversible seem to hold up better
Click to expand...

For my use, which includes a lot of tight suspension parts (Subaru Endlinks) the reversing feature has come in handy quite a few times. I wouldn't buy non revering wrenches.

But that's why we each get our own opinion :)
 
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tonydanzah

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Once photobucket comes back up, ill post some pics. I was in michigan visiting my parents and went to a auction. I really only wanted the old cman box and cart to put in my garage, but it was filled with 5 buckets of older tools. Some good some bad, i only brought the tool boxes and some of the better tools back. Still have lots of older stuff back there that i will bring back when i go visit around xmas.
 
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BWright

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Merkava_4 said:
What if you need an angle that's in between where it locks at? I wouldn't want it.
Click to expand...

Well on the gearwrenches at least, you can unlock them and they work just like a standard flex. So they are the best of both worlds.
 
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Hawk321

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I really love Gearwrench...and I would only buy flex-heads and some adapters. But what I don't like is, that I can't maintain my gearwrenches. Snap-on/Blue-Point does, the guts are hold by a circlip.
 
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matthew

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I'm not a professional wrencher, but... at one point I was involved with a field repair where a bolt needed to be loosened that was very difficult to access. Had to reach through a space just big enough for my wrist, and feel my way onto a bolt. Couldn't get any of about 6 or 8 other styles of wrenches to work, so I bought a set of flex Gearwrenches, and they made the job possible. The flex head needed to rotate through the arc of the swing, so it was the perfect tool for the job.

I was so impressed that I bought an SAE and metric set of flex Gearwrenches for myself as soon as I found them on sale.

My comments:
- as far as I'm concerned flexhead is the only way to go. Chances are you'll use a regular ratchet if there's space, these are tools for restricted access, and the flex head is just better for that.
- I don't think locking flex is necessary, the tension in the regular ones seems to give a good feel
- I like the non-reversible style, I think it's probably going to be more durable.
- I've sometimes used the open ends, but I don't think they're necessary. Ideally the wrench would either have a non-ratcheting box end, for cracking fasteners loose, or would just be fewer pieces with ratcheting flex ends on both ends (Gray tools offers a set like that).
- they have a nice feel to the ratcheting
 
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wolpi

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hi,

i'm from germany and i use these for most of the time. (pls be patient with my bad english):


Würth Zebra
05122009039.jpg


or these

Hazet - KS Tools
05122009040.jpg
 
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