Ratchet style wrench using one-way bearing

[Tmate]

Back in my hot rod days, I often found myself in a situation where the space was too confining for my ratchet wrench to move back and forth between clicks -- an awkward way to explain it, but the best I can think of.

I came up with a wrench that used a one-way bearing that had zero backlash, if that's what one might call it. I came across it while cleaning out an old toolbox the other day, and thought I would share it. It was not the best fabrication, but it worked as long as a whole lot of torque wasn't required. To reverse it, I simply moved the socket to the other side.

 

[Nogoingback]

Looks good. How does it work?

 

[Tmate]

The bearing itself is quite small. It would be better in a 3/8" drive size. It would be less bulky and you would be less likely to apply too much torque for the one-way bearing. In principle, it does what it is supposed to do.

 

[jcp]

mcmaster.com/one-way-bearings

 

[francist]

Wow, I had no idea you could buy those right off the shelf. One more thing to figure out some uses for now....

-frank

 

[RJSakowski]

They are used fairly often. I first ran into them tearing down automatic transmissions. We had an improved old fashioned push lawn mower called the Silent Scott that used one way bearings instead of the more typical ratchet and pawl. Tormach used one for a bench mounted tool tightening fixture. https://tormach.com/compact-tts-tool-tightening-fixture-33034.html

 

[whitmore]

Back in my hot rod days, I often found myself in a situation where the space was too confining for my ratchet wrench to move back and forth between clicks -- an awkward way to explain it, but the best I can think of.

I came up with a wrench that used a one-way bearing that had zero backlash, if that's what one might call it.

I think it's a roller-spring item, similar to a clutch, that only allows one-way movement. A PPOE had
a ratcheting C-wrench based on this, that was quite handy on pipe fittings (at low-ish torque)

<http://alloy-artifacts.org/totw_swagelok_camloc_wrench.html>

Not quite a low-angle one-way bearing in that application, but 1/12th of a circle; it made
six-point contact on the right size hexagonal nut and also slipped over pipes easily to disengage.

The (cylinder) engaging elements could rotate, in that application, but
I'm not sure a true one-way bearing would allow that (or it'd slip).

 

[darkzero]

If you guys are interested in trying something like this there are quite a few companies that make these now. They're called 0 degree or gearless ratchets. To name a few, Snap-On, Matco, Channel Lock, Gearwrench make em but there are more. Probably the cheapest & easiest to get is the Kobalt one from Lowes.

Some people like them, some people hate em. They're great cause they pretty much have no backlash as mentioned, hence the name 0 degree. But they're often disliked cause the ratchet head is bulkier & they feel weird to use. You would normally expect a ratcheting feel/action but since they have no teeth they're quite & smooth feeling. Since they have a smooth action they have a less drag so in some cases you have to hold the socket to provide the addition drag which can be annoying if reaching in a tight spot where you can't stick another hand in. I tried one & it did feel weird to me, not sure if I could get used to one but then again I don't own one.

 

[Buffalo21]

I have roughly a hundred of the Kobalts, Allens, Macs and a couple of unbranded European gearless ratchets. The work great, but as said the head is usually large, the having to remove the socket, push the drive plug through, reinstall the socket, to change direction, can be a pain. The almost zero degree reset on pull, can be a huge asset. I’ve pulled on them incredibly hard and never had one slip or break. If the head size was smaller, they would be my go-to ratchet.

 

[C-Bag]

I too first found them in automatic trans and they were called a sprague clutch. The principal is simple, it’s spring loaded needle rollers with the inner race being ramps. So in one direction the roller run free in the bottom of the ramp and the other direction the they go up the ramp and jam. They are also used extensively in powered skateboards so when the motors not going you can use the skateboard normally and overrun the clutch and when you use the motor the clutch locks up and delivers the power of the motor to the wheels.
I used to have a great screw driver that used the clutch in a ratchet style handle with a big brass knurled head. It came with different drivers that you plugged into the brass head. Absolutely handy but it disappeared out on the road and I can’t find another only the ratchet type. The brass thumb wheel was perfect to tighten or finish loosening. The added bonus was I could slip the clutch ratchet onto the shank of my SnapOn Phillips screwdriver to get added torque.