Ratchets (with pictures)

[kxxr]

switcherchangeradjustamajigger thingy. We get ya!

[kxxr]

I've never seen a "Rota-Grip" before, but here it is. It's 3/8 drive and is gearless; no clicks. I don't know why the head is split like it is but I sure would like to hear what the reason is if someone knows. The selector turns 360 degrees. It locks the drive plug in the 12 oclock position, and lets it turn opposite directions in the 3 and 9 oclock positions. It almost seems as if it is supposed to do something in the 6 oclock position but all I can see is that the head has a little wiggle to it in all settings. Otherwise it seems tight and well made. It says Patent Pending, but has no number on it. Anyone seen one before?

[Papaw]

Caper on Garage Journal has one- http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1242680

Look here, but not much help- http://www.trademarkia.com/rota-grip-73146700.html

[rusty]

I'm guessing it has a roller cam in it, and needs the head to wobble just a bit to get it to dog and undog.
Interesting design, very small head.....neat.

[kxxr]

I'm on a roll with a few foreign made tools here lately. Here's a close look at the Craftsman spline sockets and the ratchet they came with. I got a great deal on them 2nd hand and they are handy in the kitchen tool box. I have to give them a 9 for looks and feel and I bet they will perform great for the jobs I'll be asking of them.

[rusty]

>handy in the kitchen tool box

Ok, I just have to ask....You have spline drive bolts on your kitchen?

[Papaw]

According to Craftsman, they fit standard fasteners quite well. My son has a set, but I haven't tried them yet.

[oldtools]

They work great!! fit spline, hex, square. granted I haven't used high torque yet.

[kxxr]

The Wright 2400 1/4 inch drive is about 4 and 3/4 inches long and the head can hide behind a dime, just like the Blackhawk 24991. The Blackhawk may be a bit smaller, but I don't have both to compare to. This one is nice, I count about 46 clicks around.

[kxxr]

Here's an Armstrong FA-51 in nice condition. I think I may have posted it in a group before. It is 3/8 drive, has 24 clicks and is just barely under 7 inches long and weighs in at about an ounce per inch. It's hard to see in the picture, but the little knob on the selector is knurled; a nice design touch. I have always liked the Armstrong logo on it. These were available for a fairly short time, 1938 to 1941, according to AA.

[kxxr]

The Metrinch is an unconventional design and as such gets a lot of negative publicity from the naysayers. There has been a fair amount of hands on research and comparison documented in a couple of Garage Journal threads with surprising results. If you are interested in those, they are easy to find over there. They are not designed to fit the same way a conventional socket does, and so they do seem to fit more loosely to the fastener, but by many user accounts they are very effective, especially on rounded or damaged fasteners. There are a couple of older Metrinch websites out there that describe the principles of the design too. I don't know if these are still being made or not. Not much historical information is available. I give credit to anyone trying to bring an unusual idea to this field. I bet they know how Galileo must have felt to challenge conventional thinking :) The ones I have feel like they are pretty well made, but are certainly manufactured in Taiwan or China.
Anyway, here's what they look like:

[kxxr]

I understand that there isn't a ton of interest in these Metrinch tools and that for those who may be interested, there is a great deal of photo, video and written information available via a google search. I was looking around at what is available and stumbled across this picture of a Metrinch socket that is completely different in design and concept to the 'original' Metrinch I have pictured above. This one does appear to have the same name and packaging / logo design but is not made anywhere close to the same way. This USA made version has 12 points and, as the picture shows, 6 of them are to fit SAE fasteners and the other 6 are meant to fit metric. They appear to be priced much cheaper than the original Metrinch tools (which were kind of pricey, by the way), even though they are US made. This version is not the one that appears in any of the tests or videos available. Does anyone have this version or have anything to report about it? They are available on eBay right now and it appears there are lots of them. I find it odd that 2 completely different designs carry the same name and there is no mention of the changes that were made. I will look around to see if I can find 2 patent descriptions and post back here if I do. Here's the "12 point" version:

and here's what I have. I thought they were all like this until I ran into the one above.

[oldtools]

Cool wrench & Sockets, like the idea...

[lauver]

Jim,

You can also use a selector from a modern Proto box head ratchet; they haven't changed at all over the years.

[EVILDR235]

kxxr,
I also have a Armstrong FA-51 3/8 drive ratchet. Mine has a spring loaded  detent ball that prevents accidental direction change. I don't see that detent on yours. I wonder if Plomb made those ratchets for Armstrong. Plomb started using that design around that same time frame. I have been putting a collection of Plomb / Proto / P&C  related ratchets and knockoffs. The collection could number in the hundreds.

EvilDr235