Re: Impact wrench advice

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

Hm.  As someone who's broken a number of rachets, I'd never advise
anyone to use a ratchet for something that requires a lot of torque.
Use the ratchet to snug something up, then use either a torque wrench
or a breaker bar to tighten up.  Always use a breaker bar to loosen
something that's really stuck.  Breaking ratchets is no fun.

I've also found a 1/2" impact to be very useful in places where the bolt
is down in a well or is otherwise difficult to reach.  Having a long
extension makes applying much torque awkward, at best.  I've also found
the hammering action, esp. in conjunction with heat, etc., to be very
helpful.  It also seems to be easier on the fastener, too.  I've sheared
off many more bolt heads with a breaker bar than with an impact wrench.

All that said, I've also found that I rarely use my impact wrench in day
to day servicing, and only pull it out when something is well stuck.
My compressor gets most of its use filling tires and blowing crud out
of/off of things.

james montebello


On Tue, 2 Jul 2002, Mark Denovich wrote:

> For less than $200 you are stuck with 1/2" or less impact wrenches.
> Unfortunately, you won't get significantly more grunt from one of these
> than you can get from a 1/2" ratchet (possibly with cheater pipe.)  In
> my experience I can muscle things loose with a 1/2" ratchet that my 1/2"
> impact wrench won't budge.  The hammering action of an impact wrench can
> help a little but it's no magic bullet.
>
> For significant torque you need to go up to a 3/4" or 1" impact wrench.
>   Unfortunately these aren't cheap (generally $300+) and you need a lot
> of air.  This means big hoses from the compressor to the wrench, along
> with a big compressor, probably 2-stage 5 real-hp or better (not to be
> confused with Sears-hp).   Again not cheap.   Oh yeah, the sockets
> aren't cheap either.
>
> So unless you are planning to invest, try a different angle:
>
> heat, penetrating oil (I like PB-Blaster), and a 3' section of thick
> wall black pipe to slip over the end of a 1/2" breaker bar.
>
> You'll either get it loose, shear it off, or realize it's not coming loose.
>
> 	--Mark
> 	--been there, done that
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