Ratchets which ones ? Snap on etc ?

[phib]

Having had various ratchets that have all broken bar the teng tools ones that were nicked I am in the market for some new ones ... does anyone have any recomendations ?

I like the look of snap on ones but for £212 for 3 they are a bit prices are they worth it or are ther any other ones just as good for less money.

Thanks
Phib

[Liszt]

Halfords professional. Nice kit with a life time guarantee and wont break the bank.

[ehasler]

I've always been impressed with the Halfords Professional range. They've handled a fair bit of abuse from me with no problems at all!

[TeamD]

ehasler said:

I've always been impressed with the Halfords Professional range. They've handled a fair bit of abuse from me with no problems at all!

3rded Damn good stuff

[TonyHetherington]

TeamD said:

ehasler said:

I've always been impressed with the Halfords Professional range. They've handled a fair bit of abuse from me with no problems at all!

3rded Damn good stuff

4thed

Bloody good and the price isn't mega bad.

I can also recommend the Halfords Professional ratchet spanners. THE best invention since internet porn.

[dern]

Do you mean ratchet spanners or the ratchet socket drive? I had the halfords pro ratchet socket drive and it's survived a fair bit of use for a number of years. If it breaks at some point then I'd happily buy another if they didn't have the policy of just replacing it for free. I've also just bought a set of halfords pro ratchet spanners but have only used them for light work so far. They seem ok but would like to make any claims about longevity.

[eltax91]

Liszt said:

Halfords professional. Nice kit with a life time guarantee and wont break the bank.

Most definitely.

Wait until the offers come around, as they do quite often (think it's on at the moment in the xmas run-up). I got the 150 professional socket set for £100, normally they flog them at £150. The lifetime guarantee is good, although it does not cover the mechanisms, only the bars/ sockets themselves. Having said that i had the 1/2" Drive ratchet with a 30mm socket on the end that wouldn't shift the rear bolt that holds the drum on. I ended up with 3 feet of scafolding pole on the end and the ratchet didn't budge at all, all held together pertty well, so i'm not expecting it to break soon.

Also, i'm unsure how much of this was sales patter, but the guy behind the counter said to me he very rarely turns away someone who needs a replacement, and quite often replaces for parts that are not covered, simply by breaking a part of it that is. Reckoned he'd advised someone to get the angle grinder to a ratchet once as the mechanism had broken.

[TeamD]

dern said:

Do you mean ratchet spanners or the ratchet socket drive? I had the halfords pro ratchet socket drive and it's survived a fair bit of use for a number of years. If it breaks at some point then I'd happily buy another if they didn't have the policy of just replacing it for free. I've also just bought a set of halfords pro ratchet spanners but have only used them for light work so far. They seem ok but would like to make any claims about longevity.

The ratchet spanner bear up pretty well. My driver uses them every day and hasn't had one break yet.

[TonyHetherington]

dern said:

Do you mean ratchet spanners or the ratchet socket drive?

I mean the spanners - amazing how useful they are, and being Halfords pro they are very good quality. I've leaned on ours, even the small ones, a fair bit and they are perfect still.

[gog]

Snap on purchased some years ago, mechanism failed a often, eventually I was told that it was too old and the warranty had expired!! lifetime warranty????
Replacement Halfords is fine.

[TonyHetherington]

eltax91 said:

Also, i'm unsure how much of this was sales patter, but the guy behind the counter said to me he very rarely turns away someone who needs a replacement, and quite often replaces for parts that are not covered, simply by breaking a part of it that is. Reckoned he'd advised someone to get the angle grinder to a ratchet once as the mechanism had broken.

I've heard of that before and I know they have replaced stuff for me before that they shouldn't really have. Not much value, crappy little things, but they never even question it. The guys in there all tend to be top blokes and although people are always narky about "Halfrauds" on PH and the internet in general, their service with respect to stuff like that really is superb.

[TonyHetherington]

gog said:

Snap on purchased some years ago, mechanism failed a often, eventually I was told that it was too old and the warranty had expired!! lifetime warranty????
Replacement Halfords is fine.

That sounds very surprising. Who told you that - the guy in a van or snap on themselves?

[RobM77]

I've seen some people using ratchets with very fine steps between the "clicks", if you see what I mean. What do I need to look for to get one like that? I find that in certain tight situations I don't have enough movement on my current ratchet to use it.

[Dunk76]

Failing that go for Teng from your local motor factors (CAF stock them if you're in the South East)...

[RemaL]

ehasler said:

I've always been impressed with the Halfords Professional range. They've handled a fair bit of abuse from me with no problems at all!

also agree

and my 5000 post

Edited by RemaL on Tuesday 4th December 11:30

[Conian]

I concur.. Halfords tools, possibly the only reason left for actually going to Halfords.

Though, I did got to the shop recently with a pal, and they now employ staff of all ages, and even the younger ones seemed pleased to help. Very different to a year ago when I wrote to the manager about his lapse staff. The same staff who (it would seem) got the letter before he did and got rid of it.

Still, I spoke to him in the shop and 1 scrote got sacked

[Dave_]

I had a 32mm socket on the big ratchet , a trolley jack handle on it and my cosiderable weight swinging on it to crack a driveshaft nut. It didnt complain. Ive broke other ratchets just by looking at them.

Halfords stuff well worth the money.

Edited by Dave_ on Tuesday 4th December 11:47

[Mojocvh]

Halfords Pro

I broke a couple of knuckles few years back when using a "cheap" 21mm socket, (it split) that was a hard lesson to learn, go for the best quality you can afford (tho' not always the most expensive).

[snotrag]

Guess what I'm going to vote for...!

I got the Halfords 150 piece set when it was on offer for £99 (every few months, worth waiting for) and its supberb.

Only thing its missing is a long bar, but I got a 2ft one for about £12 to go with it.

Just right for the home mechanic - I'm sure you can get better quality, but these are by no means poor knock-off jobs.

And you can't quibble with a lifetime guarantee either - they dont even ask for a receipt.

[pimpin gimp]

if they aren't on offer, find someone with a trade card.

If you're anywhere near weston super mare come and see me, i get quite a healthy discount from all the professional tools.

that offer applies to anyone, just pm me and we'llsee what we can do.