- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
- Messages
- 2,485
The scrap yard had several(probably Harbor Freight) torque wrenches in the pile. I took one home and saved the business end as the
ratchet was in pretty nice condition. It needed a longer handle to be useful so did a little machining of a ring to slip over the end of the
ratchet handle and tacked the ring onto the ratchet using my TIG welder. I'm getting better at simple TIG jobs and just a "tack" at
140 amps ON DC held the ring on nicely. I did a little grinding on the ratchet handle so is would just go into the pipe handle with some force.
I had intended to tack that as well but considering how tight the fit was, I decided it wasn't necessary.
So now I have usable 1/2 inch ratchet wrench with good reefability for little expense. I'm pretty happy with that. It will be useful
for the time when one needs a long handled ratchet wrench.
Here you can see the little ring I machined and tacked on to the ratchet handle. The nice part is that the handle is tapered so I simply slid it up to
where it was tight and affixed it.
The below photo shows the pipe handle jammed on to the ratchet. I can't see where it would be necessary to tack the pipe to the ratchet
as it was a pretty good press fit. However it if it ever does come loose, I know what to do.
The pipe handle is about 20 inches long so will be good for leverage...
ratchet was in pretty nice condition. It needed a longer handle to be useful so did a little machining of a ring to slip over the end of the
ratchet handle and tacked the ring onto the ratchet using my TIG welder. I'm getting better at simple TIG jobs and just a "tack" at
140 amps ON DC held the ring on nicely. I did a little grinding on the ratchet handle so is would just go into the pipe handle with some force.
I had intended to tack that as well but considering how tight the fit was, I decided it wasn't necessary.
So now I have usable 1/2 inch ratchet wrench with good reefability for little expense. I'm pretty happy with that. It will be useful
for the time when one needs a long handled ratchet wrench.
Here you can see the little ring I machined and tacked on to the ratchet handle. The nice part is that the handle is tapered so I simply slid it up to
where it was tight and affixed it.
The below photo shows the pipe handle jammed on to the ratchet. I can't see where it would be necessary to tack the pipe to the ratchet
as it was a pretty good press fit. However it if it ever does come loose, I know what to do.
The pipe handle is about 20 inches long so will be good for leverage...
