Allied Tools? or spend the $$ for S-K?

Has anybody ever used these Allied Tools ratchets? I know they are pretty cheap, and imports, but are they any good? I am not expecting Snap-On quality or anything, just something decent. They will not see a single bolt on my Jeep for years(if they last that long), or any vehicle for that matter, they are for work. They have 72 teeth, so they can't be that bad for about $14 a peice. The 1/2" wouldn't get used too much.


Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006U66HU/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I have a lot of S-K tools I got off craigslist, I wouldnt mind the majority of my tools being S-K. How are their ratchets? I already have a 1/4" ratchet.

These:

http://www.amazon.com/SK-3869-7-7-I...32/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&qid=1286506339&sr=8-42

http://www.amazon.com/SK-42475-Tuff...RC/ref=sr_1_46?ie=UTF8&qid=1286506339&sr=8-46

Thanks

What do you do for work? If its for occasional use, maybe, but if you are going to be using it every day, at the very least grab something to use as a spare if it breaks

If I was using it for work, I'd have to depend on it. How hard is it to get warranty replacements? Are they dimensionally correct?

IIRC, SK Tools filed for bankruptcy recently.

also, I dont know what your need for 1/2" drive is, but I always found a short 1/2" ratchet to be pointless, especially seeing as how its only a couple of inches longer than the 3/8 ratchet, and the shape of it doesn't look like you can put a pipe on it

ChiXJeff said:

IIRC, SK Tools filed for bankruptcy recently.

Click to expand...

I tried going to their web sight recently and noticed they are under new ownership. :dunno:

I would be using them for assembly and installation of parts on aircraft simulators. I already had a 1/4" ratchet, which will get used more than anything. The 1/2" wouldn't get used too much, but I am tired of using other people's stuff.

I am not going to go with either of the ones I had in my first post. I'm gonna find some Williams, Armstrong, Proto, or some other US made ratchets off ebay.

Never used Allied. I've got 3/8 and 1/2 sets of S-K ratchets and sockets that stay in my Jeep. My father-in-law gave them to me. They seem to have pretty decent quality.

What is wrong with craftsman? Probably the easiest to get free replacements for

Nothing in particular. But if you need precision, craftsman just won't cut it. 72 teeth is pretty good. Craftsman have 32 I think? In a tight space one will be much more efficient than the other.

Check around on ebay. I got a brand new SnapOn 3/8" dual 80 ratchet for $40 shipped. Part no F80, retails for $80.95.

I also have the 18" long 1/2" drive ratcheting swivel head breaker bar (dual 80), and I will say that having more teeth on the bigger drive ratchet is an absolute life saver. So many times I get in a situation where I used to only get one or 2 clicks with a ratchet, and the rest would be slop. With the dual 80 there's no wasted room.

I actually got neither.

I went to a local pawn shop and found two older Craftsman ratchets. Maybe 15-20? years old, with the round head, not pear head. A 1/2" and a 3/8" for $20. Both are in pretty good condition. I am going back there next week to look some more in the same box for wrench / sockets sizes I don't have or need.

Today I went to a yard sale and got two more 1/2" ratchets. One is an old Fleet MFG 1661, the other a J.H Williams S-50. The 1661 has probably 20-30 some teeth. The S-50 has 18 or so I will probably use it as a ratcheting breaker bar. I got a bunch of other things from the guy all for $30. I know they are "vintage" ratchets, but according to e-bay, they aren't worth a whole lot. So I'm gonna use them.

The Fleet looks like this, so it was used by multiple brands:



The Williams S-50




I also got one of these, I thought it was neat:

Sorry for the big pictures, I just copy and pasted them from Google.

And the last pic is of a Bonney RF 22, but mine is an RF 25

1/4 drive SK is my favorite over any other ive tried.Part #40975 This is extra fine and also available in a longer version.