Advice on buying an air wrench?

I have a Primeco contractor's portable compressor which runs smoothly and has plenty of air for airnailers.

Can anybody suggest a reasonably-priced but durable 1/4 or 3/8 air ratchet that might work with this? I need something to work on the foreign fleet that my kids seem to be ***embling---can't get my fat hands in behind stuff.

Ideas? Can't afford the best, but need something. Help.

 

If you have access to a tool guy (the dudes that drive the Snap-On, Mac and Matco trucks to dealerships and shops), then talk to them. When I worked at the Ford dealer, I bought a used Snap-On air ratchet off the Matco guy for chump change! WAY cheaper than buying it new, and it worked perfect!

Ha Ha...the best part was, that if it ever broke or needed service, I could hand it to the Snap-On guy when he came to visit!!

You could also get a cheap one at Harbor Freight or somewhere like that...but odds are, it'll break right when you don't need it to break, or it just won't have the balls to do what you need done.

My advice would be to seek out a Snap-on (or Blue Point...same basic thing) from either a tool guy or possibly off of e-bay (be carefull there!). When it comes to tools, cheap stuff often lets you down, and in the end, you wind up spending MORE to buy replacements and such. Go with the best if you can.

 

I have a old Builder's Square (remember them?) Chinese 3/8 I've used for over 20 years and it's still going strong. Granted I'm not a pro but I've certainly got my money out of it. I also have a 1/4 Blue Point from the Snap-On guy that's over 25 years old and still works as well as the day I bought it. I've oiled them both every time I was done using it so that may have helped with long life.

I don't know if your compressor will keep up with an air ratchet if it's the pancake kind. Ratchets use a lot more CFM than a nailer will. Borrow a ratchet from a buddy if you can and try it with your compressor.

 

Also snap-on has a payment plan I use that but mostly buy bluepiont from them.

 

I've had snapon matco mac and cp.

I used to run the **** out of 1/4" ratchets, and a little no-name 1/4 impact gun. I also used 1/4" ratchets with 3/8" anvils in 'em; fit in small places, and the anvil is about 2.5X as strong as the smaller one. If you grab the air fitting, you can still get some good leverage (I know, I know, they're not s'posed to be for breaking **** loose, but I was flat rate...). I really didn't use my full-size 3/8 that much, or the 3/8 guns either. I was working on Hondas and Toyotas; the extra room just didn't work out when doing a T-belt. Couldn't get the bigger ratchet in there for ****.

The gun was made by whoever sold to CP; you could see where their cast-in logo had been mostly polished off. ****er just flat rocked. Dirt cheap, worked as well as anything I ever had.

The regular 3/8" snap on air ratchet is a pretty good piece. Not cheap, but good. Wish I could say the same for my 1/2" snap impact gun. Piecea****in**** cost $325; shoulda bought a better IR for less.

I liked my CP 1/4" as well as anything; broke it (abuse) and ended up buying a mac which I did not like any better.

Just steer clear of the no-name "swap meet specials", esp. in 3/8" ratchets. They're slower than ****. Not worth using if you get 'em for free. Mac, matco, snap, IR, CP... they're all pretty good (except snap on's impacts are overrated).

Quiero ir a la pawn shop!

-bill

 

If you come to a worst comes to worst scenario, try the Kobalt brand from Lowes, i have a few items from them, so far nothing hasnt ****ped out, if it does, bring it back get another one. there pretty cheap to and seem of respectable quality (there no snap-on or matco's) but they do the job

 

I have a SnapOn 1/4" drive ratchet with the 3/8" head. Use it all day, every day. Nowhere near as good as the CP I had that died. You pay extra for the name.
IRs are good too. Both brands will do you fine.

 

i would go with IR, i've used the truck brands over the years and the IR ones last just as long (and alot of stuff is made by IR and re-branded for the trucks). if you want new i've used this place a bunch of times.....cheap, no tax (if your in certain states) and free shipping over $99.
www.thetoolwarehouse.net

 

I heard somewhere that snap-on owns the kobalt brand that lowe's sells. Not professional grade stuff, but it works well for me. I think they have a lifetime warranty too.

 

Your compressor wont pump the CFM needed to run that for more than a few minutes.

Air tools need a big tank and a oil driven pump to work without over heating the compressor.

I used to rebuild compressors

 

i got some good name brand at my pawn shop!!