Stanky Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Idiot question but do you need impact sockets for impact wrenches? I'm quite keen on the Clarke mains one for wheelnuts and especially for removing deck bolts from lawnmowers (which tend to corrode into place), but do i need to get special sockets or will normal 1/2" chrome vanadium ones work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Technically, yes. Normal sockets may shatter as they're not designed for that sort of punishment. Impact sockets tend to be much thicker. I've used normal sockets a few times and lived to tell the tale. One off them was the 35mm BX hub nut socket. I took the precaution of wrapping it in tape in case it did explode, but it didn't - and that nut was an absolute sod to get off! Stanky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanky Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Thanks DW, I have found a set of hex ones from 10-22mm for £25 which as you say do look rather sturdier. I'll still probably wrap them in electrical tape though, I'd rather not have to pick bits of shrapnel out of my own face when one shatters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmatt Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I have one of the Clarke ones too, it is good but it failed to remove a couple of wheel nuts that must have been put on by a neanderthal. It5's nowhere near as powerful as my mates cordless Milwaukee but it is a quarter of the price. All in all they are good value for money and will do most jobs you ask of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derskine Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Thanks DW, I have found a set of hex ones from 10-22mm for £25 which as you say do look rather sturdier. I'll still probably wrap them in electrical tape though, I'd rather not have to pick bits of shrapnel out of my own face when one shatters! Generally the black coloured hex ones are fine, no need to wrap them in tape etc.I wouldn't use standard sockets and especially not 12 point sockets personally. 3VOM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 meh, I use normal sockets all the time in mine, and its a fancy-pants SnapOn. (bought second hand - Im not a complete moron) None have exploded, or even slightly cracked yet and thats heavy abuse on hubnuts and crank pulleys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiltox Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 i have a 'clarke type' mains gun and think its brilliant. cant find my version but they all (clarke included) look to be rebadged versions of the same thing. £55 neilson version - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-1010W-Electric-Impact-Wrench-240V-1-2-Dr-In-Case-17-22mm-Sockets-/232181784148?hash=item360f1cde54:g:DfYAAOSwJQdW-9OaClarke is often just rebranded Chinese stuff but the quality control seems better - I bought a compression tester after failing to use a really cheap unbranded one and despite looking the same the Clarke performed flawlessly. Also have the Clarke mains gun and it's excellent. Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiltox Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 meh, I use normal sockets all the time in mine, and its a fancy-pants SnapOn. (bought second hand - Im not a complete moron) None have exploded, or even slightly cracked yet and thats heavy abuse on hubnuts and crank pulleys.Hope you wear safety glasses when working! Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I usually narrow my eyes a bit. drivewaymyway, alf892, Arthur Foxhake and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 meh, I use normal sockets all the time in mine, and its a fancy-pants SnapOn. (bought second hand - Im not a complete moron) None have exploded, or even slightly cracked yet and thats heavy abuse on hubnuts and crank pulleys. Complete moron ? I bought my snap on 18v about ten years ago and has been in constant use every work day since . It's never failed and undoes 90% of hub nuts and big stuff . I'd say that's a good investment for 500 quid . I would say buying cheap machine mart stuff and it not doing wheel nuts etc is the sign of a moron alf892 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Looks like that touched a nerve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Maybe 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeRover Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I think for a non professional to buy a Snap in rattle gun would be best described as extravagant.However if you are going to be using it everyday and making your living with it then it becomes much easier to justify - the same way I have some Festool carpentry gear rather than the Mikita or Dewalt equivalents. Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 My meaning was it would be moronic to buy a brand new one for myself when I am a half-arsed amateur and not using it professionally every day. Man, the snapon fanboys are way too easy to get frothing with indignation Banger Kenny and cort1977 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Not a snap on fanboy at all - far from it . That impact gun has just been a cracker ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiltox Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 TBH I almost get the snap on thing - I'm a Halfords Advanced fanboy and have given my set serious abuse but on the odd occasion I've been lent a Snap On spanner I've noticed the difference as clear as day. No I couldn't afford what they cost but if I could I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Snipes Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 TBH I almost get the snap on thing - I'm a Halfords Advanced fanboy and have given my set serious abuse but on the odd occasion I've been lent a Snap On spanner I've noticed the difference as clear as day. No I couldn't afford what they cost but if I could I would.As it happens, when I was in the trade, I had both Halfords Pro and a set of Snap-On Flank Drive Plus "wrenches". The Snaps were slightly larger, but they were occassionslly too large to get into tight spaces. The flank drive meant they gripped harder but if the fitxure was rusty they'd struggle to fit. So, swings and round abouts I guess. I had no room to store the rollcab when I left the trade so sold the Snap-On but I kept the Halfords for occasional use. Best thing about the Snap-On was having a tool van around every week to replace broken odds 'n' sods. If it had been a Mac or Britool van I'd probably have gotten them instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpi_matrix Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 I've got a Makita impact wrench, only because I already had a drill with batteries & charger so just had to buy the body (I do like this system, its much better then having batteries and chargers for each different cordless tool). I've been happy with it so far, and there are definitely some jobs I would have struggled to do without it. When I was in the trade Snap-on stuff seemed a rip-off compared to Halfords advanced, and the van only came once every 2 weeks, if that, so it was much easier to get Halfords stuff replaced (though I think the only things ive ever broken are 1/2 hex bits). The only thing I was only ever tempted to get was the impact wrench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbaldy Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Since nearly everyone in this thread is singing the praises of the Clark gun I will therefore sell mine at half price to any of you, that's if you want a bloody huge heavy shit impact gun that is.Only used half a dozen times too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonbennet Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 I have a cordless jobbie i bought about 6 or 7 years ago, wasn't cheap but wasn't professional use price either, the times i've needed it the thing has always done what i asked of it. The first time i ever came across a Snap On product was about 30 years ago when i'm removing the gearbox from a Supra, top bell housing 14mm bolt head was too shallow by far, sod that, almost impossible to get to and tight as hell, no chance of getting a socket on and the only spanner that would fit there was an angled combi and that started to round off the bolt head, bollocks. Anyway, i happened to have one single Snap On six sided socket which i had genuinely found and it was 14mm 3/8th drive, very slim which was needed.By lowering the gearbox down still connected to engine i managed with about 4 extensions to get purchase with that socket over the top of the box from behind, crack, it undid the bolt, i'd have been buggered without it and would have had to take engine and box out complete and cut the bolt head off. No i didn't buy a Snap On set (i still have that 14mm Snap On), but i do have a decent set of Britool 6 siders for general use and a full set of impact sockets for those stubborn buggers and that one experience alone confirmed if needed that quality shines it when the going gets tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 I've the Clarke mains operated impact gun. Tremendously powerful. The times I have used it in the 6 months I've had it it has been invaluable, first time was to whip off the locking nuts I'd supposedly lost the key for. The only bugbear is it's fairly bulky so this impedes its use sometimes, but on the other hand it's opened up the potential to tackle jobs I wouldn't have fancied before, as I say it does also speed up work as well on stuff like suspension. Wouldn't fuck about with the cordeless stuff unless you are buying something top end and you need cordless - no good getting 2/3 through a job and the bastards given out cause the batteries flat. If you are buying this sort of stuff you want out and out power, not sure those things where you attach to the car battery would work well in anything other than an absolute emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formula Autos Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Bought a mains powered one from Netto years back and it's been pretty good. It looked the same as the one in the Machine Mart catalogue of the time, but was in a black casing instead of red. It came with non-impact bits that predictably broke into several bits the first time they were used, but used with the correct black ones it's given sterling service ever since, and has tightened wheel nuts/ taken the nuts off lawnmower blades/ been lent to a builder to bolt together RSJs ever since. Probably about ten years old now, and I think it cost about £30. Plastic box with it was crap, mind - the clasps broke off the first winter - so it now lives in an old Quality Street tin that has a few sachets of silica gel taped to the underside of the lid. Dry and mouse proof FTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanky Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Just to resurrect this thread, I got the Clarke mains-powered one for my birthday last month and a set of impact sockets (the black hex ones), over the weekend while fettling some mowers I thought I'd give it a go. It managed to undo two blade bolts (which are usually a sod as you have to lock the rotation of the blade or the whole lot just turns) and six very seized engine mount bolts (which weize as they are steel bolts into an ally baseplate) with no fuss at all. This process used to be a complete horror-show of a job with a ratchet slipping everywhere, swearing, tetanus, manky old oil everywhere. The nut runner was an absolute gamechanger. Appreciate this is not quite up there with some of the hardcore shiters jobs but it was what it was bought for and did a sterling job. As others have said it is quite heavy but not unusably so, and no worse than having to hold a mower up at 45 degrees with one hand while you furkle underneath with a ratchet to undo the bolts one handed. I'll see how things go as some people seem to say it improves with use. M'coli, Banger Kenny and Skizzer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigmund Fraud Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I also have the 240v Clarke gun, and it's been very helpful for over-tightened crank pulley bolts, rusty wishbone bolts etc. As others have said, it is quite large and heavy, so getting to the bolt you want to remove can be a problem. I also doubt that it produces anywhere near the advertised torque, so for really tight/stuck bolts you have to hold on tight and rely on the hammering action to chew snap undo the bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Something to bear in mind with these.....Undoing stuff by hand, you get a feel for the state of the bolt....is it seized, is the shank twisting? just a little more force.....etc, but with a gun you just press the button and it instantly snaps off the bolt flush with whatever its bolted into.Be careful, especially with smaller bolts. Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierraman Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Undid some exhaust bolts last week with mine. I'd be careful undoing less than say 13mm nuts with it. As people say it'd very easily shear the bolts. FOr suspension bolts etc it's very good. Makes for easier work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaughant Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 The dewalt cordless one i bought has an adjustable torque setting and on full whack will undo pretty much anything (no failures so far).Downsides are the gun itself isn't too silly, £140 i think but you need to buy a battery and charger separately which is another £130, wank. I bought a cordless drill/driver which included the charger and battery so it didn't feel so bad but i didn't REALLY need the drill so a false economy. Yes i could have sold the drill for £60/70 or so bare but i really, couldn't be arsed 😂😂😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Another vote for Dewalt but invest in a 5ah battery some of the kits come with a four. Re chrome sockets, if the chrome is flaky and you hold it on, as you gun it, it do hurt a tadge. drivewaymyway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeRover Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 The dewalt cordless one i bought has an adjustable torque setting and on full whack will undo pretty much anything (no failures so far).Downsides are the gun itself isn't too silly, £140 i think but you need to buy a battery and charger separately which is another £130, wank. I bought a cordless drill/driver which included the charger and battery so it didn't feel so bad but i didn't REALLY need the drill so a false economy. Yes i could have sold the drill for £60/70 or so bare but i really, couldn't be arsed 😂😂😂Have a look for Floreon batteries when you need more a couple of people I work with have them and they say they are just as good as the dewalt ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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