Ratchets, or socket wrenches, are an amazing and under appreciated tool for any mechanic, repairman or do-it-yourselfer.
Ratchets are a major time saver and are customizable and easy to use.
The key to ratchets are the mechanism they use that differentiates them from regular wrenches.
Ratchets allow the user to keep turning the nut or bolt without having to remove the wrench and re-seat it.
This saves massive amounts of time and energy when it comes to tightening and loosening.
Ratchets allow for a massive variety of sockets to fit any nut or bolt.
These are popped onto the ratchet by plugging them into a square fitting.
There are a few sizes of square fitting and these are referred to as drives.
Sockets come in both SAE and metric measurements.
Sockets come in different depths as well.
deep sockets can be used to tighten/loosen bolts and nuts that extend upward into the socket.
The drawback is that the size of a deep socket can make it hard to use in tight places, such as under the hood of a car.
Sockets are made of materials like chrome vandium that are strong enough to maintain their shape under pressure.
It should be noted that there are special sockets for impact tools, and you should never use standard sockets in their place for air tools.
Standard tools are made of harder metals that are more prone to breaking under the high pressure of an impact wrench.
They may shatter and this can be extremely dangerous.