If you happened to have a reamer that would give you quite a bit more accurate hole for the pin and that would cut down on the slop some that the spring is taking up.
I made this ratchet about 6 months ago there is a video on it. I used a Pittsburgh Pro head and a wavy washer. It has been very handing to have and works flawless.
Never thought to use harbor freights own brands on each other lol! I did this exact same thing with a pittsburgh pro breaker bar and a matco 88 1/2" ratchet head for around $55, I also had to drill out my matco head but it is also firm and nice to use. Sadly along with others doing this matco picked up on it and increased the ratchet replacement head from $35 to $105, or thats the only reason I could see such a sudden jump happening. I wanted to do a second one when I saw how good it worked the price jump stopped me but this might be a great secondary option! Thanks for the video.
@@andrewkeaton7097 yea the swap works well. I’ve heard of a couple guys going your Matco route. That would make for a solid combo. The icon head seems to be pretty good so I’ll give it a go. 👍🏻
I think you definitely started it 😆 Out of curiosity I went to the Matco web page to see the price and saw that price jump and everyone giving one star in disappointment at the cost increase. I was surprised it only cost 30ish for the replacement 88 head before. That was a top notch hack
I put a die hard flex head on my Pittsburgh ratcheting breaker bar handle. And its honestly perfect. Did the same with a vintage craftsman breaker bar and a Pittsburgh pro flex head.
@billybob845 i did not have to mod the die hard at all I just transferred the prince and I'm not joking when I say it fits perfect. The craftsman a had to put a washer along with a spring. They work great
I swapped the head directly into a master force Menards extra long breaker bar. Didn't have to drill the icon part or modify it whatsoever. The breaker bar though. I had to Sand down the end of it because they put the bolt through off center So the head wouldn't flex all the way. Got to love today's manufacturing tolerances
@@electricblakes glad to see you make it work with a Masterforce breaker. How do you like the fitment? How do you feel about the smaller pin diameter holding up?
@@ThingsMen its just fine so far, and I've removed some insanely tight bolts with it since I made it about a year ago. As far as I know, the bolt is just to keep the head attached to the handle and prevent spreading of the yolk, the steel on the sides is what takes the majority of the twisting torque load. The icon head has turned out to be incredibly strong. I haven't had any issues with skipping teeth, and the head I used was from a well used ratchet that was already broken in. With the way modern ratcheting mechanisms are in terms of strength and durability (and the increasingly common lifetime warranty) plain old breaker bars seem obsolete, however I do still keep two breaker bars on hand one large and one extra large just in case. My extra large breaker bar is the most recent one from Milwaukee, I got to tell you Milwaukee ratchets are surprisingly good. Also they make a compact head 3/8 ratchet and you can swap the head into the long handle quarter inch locking ratchet. (or and 1/4 from their lineup) Makes for a very nice combination. Anyway I love talking about and collecting tools, I better stop myself before this becomes 10 paragraphs long. Hope you're having a wonderful night/day wherever you are in the world.
@BlazingBlakesGarage I think many of us here like talking and collecting tools. 👍🏻 Glad you like your setup and that it’s been holding up. I’ve liked icon so far so I felt I needed to give this a go. So far so good. 🤞🏼
I like my 27 ish snappy but I've gotten used to the head where it's at, I never like for a few months after a rebuild; too tight, yes you can adjust the crush but why. I typically grab one of my 27s, 31s, or 33s in my AJM/Matco, hard or comfort grip depending on the application. I also have tons of modified "frankenstein" snappies from early 40s to current as like this- it's just fun. Neat video. Budget tinkering win 🏆 👏
Thanks for commenting. Always enjoyable seeing others modify tools to meet their needs. I figured Icon needed to join the revolution with a Frankenstein of their own. So far its great. Keep up the handywork! :)
The only reason I could see HF not coming out with these is the amount that would come back for warranty😂 I still think it would be worth it for them to sell some 25” ratchets since I think they would just about go viral and everyone will want one just to have it. You did a real clean job makes me wanna try it.
@@nickshowsstuff435 Im a bit worried myself as you can now get a lot a leverage out of this. 90 teeth is also getting pretty fine so we will see. I wish they would come out with one soon as well. A locking one would be tops. Glad you like the video. It wasn’t that hard to do. 👍🏻
@@ThingsMen Yeah man I didn’t even think about it being a 90t! A 72 would have been perfect I have an 18” I think it is 1/2” Napa Carlyle locking flex head in 72t and it’s a real work horse. As well as it’s 3/8” little brother that I use at work. Handles getting beat up though. Worst part about the soft grips but my fault for dropping off ladders since that’s where I’m always working with them.
I shared this on a Harbor Freight Facebook group a long time ago, not long after the Icons hit the market. As far as I know I was the first to do it (not that I really care). I also shared the 3/8” head of the long t-handle bendy thingy on the 1/4” Pittsburgh handle. I’ve started seeing that pop up in several places on the internet this year too. I didn’t drill this model out though. You can retain all of the material on the handle and head if you use a bushing with the smaller crossbolt that comes with the Icon. I just centerdrilled a 10x1.25 (might have been 1.5 I don’t remember exactly) bolt and threaded it internally for the threaded bushing and used a brass ferrule for the non-threaded side. I wouldn’t say it was easier to do by any means, but the weak link is the easily replaceable bolt rather than the handle or head. I still haven’t gotten around to turning the leftover parts from this project into a short 1/2” breaker bar, but it is on the to-do list.
I'd worry that the ratchet will grenade with all that leverage. I know you can get it replaced but you'd have to switch handles back to get it replaced and make the new one fit the long handle again. I think I'd rather use the breaker bar as intended and follow up with the ratchet. That said, it's still a cool idea and you did a nice job.
I LOOOOVE my icon and i haven't even tried it yet. For their prices, you can throw it out the window and buy another and another and another for the price of some competitors, with a lifetime guarantee 👍🏼
they were out of the long one on the 40% deal so i got the short one you got there. my plan is to take some 1/2" pipe and make custom cheater bars for them. Its a good idea what you did but the warranty is dead at that point.
@@ThingsMen actually at the time I did it I got the ratchet head off the website for $36 it’s since gone up to around $105. Don’t know if it was a glitch or what but wish I’d bought more.
Bought the icon breaker bar and a flex head ratchet. Can say trying to drill the 10mm hole in the Icon ratchet head was waaaaaaaay hard. It ate a cobalt bit up, ended up starting with smaller bits, going larger, and eventually using a 10mm grinder bit on a dremel to finish it. Had the same problem with the screw. All in all, super fun project, and an awesome unique ratchet in the toolbox now.
Look at all that money you saved. Surprised you grabbed the icon breaker bar but I guess it all matches now. 👍🏻 Now you have a nice piece of custom work to use when working on those pesky large bolts. 👍🏻
Hello again, Things Men Thank you for another Great Video 👍 Question for you. What are you going to do with ratchet handle? I enjoyed watching today's video 😊
@@georgeferlazzo7936 hello, glad you liked todays video. The old handle I haven’t figured out what I want to do with yet. I have a couple ideas but I’m open to suggestions. 👍🏻
The shorter TONE flex heads of any anvil size are priced competitively with ICON, so when I wanted a long boi, I had to get my 4th which was the RH4FHX. People sleep on TONE unless they watch Subaru guy 😂
When I first looked into it, the Icon breaker bar had a much larger crossbolt than the ratchet. That was before they changed the comfort grip handle color though, so it may have changed. I found it easier to use these same tools and simply use a threaded bushing in the bar with the icon ratchet crossbolt.
Those capri 90 tooth extra long ratchets are pretty decent for the money. They are actually coming out with a flex head version of them later this year!!
@@dw7094 someone doesn't turn wrenches often, or at all... Why would companies like snap on, matco, Cornwell, and dozens of other tool companies sell a ratchet like this if there's no need for it? You ever heard of a breaker bar? Same thing, it just doesn't ratchet.
I would have done the much easier one eith the matco 88t head. Just have to drill it out a bit and that's it. Either way, definitely good to have that 25" nut buster 9000 around when you need it 👍
@@ThingsMen I could have overloaded it but who knows....and those don't advertise a torque limit either. I can't recall if I put a pipe on it but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I was removing an engine mount bolt on a Highlander I believe. Snapped at the 1/2" square drive itself, not the fork or shaft. Just my body weight. I'm 5'10" and 220, unfortunately.
I like the mod I have try it but it’s a pain to drill it out without a drill press and making the hole bigger weaken the head. I wish they make a ratching breaking bar for lug nut
@@thorsaquatics6310 it was easy enough with a fresh drill bit. I preferred the slightly larger hole over the keeping the smaller pin. This should last longer and be stronger. 👍🏻
Rather than drilling, use the Icon crossbolt with a threaded bushing in the breaker bar. If I remember correctly it is a 10x1.25mm bolt. It might have been 1.5 though, so measure twice and cut once as they say.
@thorsaquatics6310 I think they do make a ratcheting breaker bar adapter if u just wanted it for lug nuts (I haven't tried one so I can't vouch for its quality)
But those adapters require a couple more inches in clearance. They make the head stand out, perpendicular, quite a ways from the rachet handle. The franken-rachet shown in this video is much more versatile in close quarters.
@@ThingsMen I'm not sure the part number for the flex head version. I personally would get this version because of the solid construction and the ability to handle more torque. Add swivel socket if needed.
@@ThingsMen Capri tool has the 90 teeth comfort handle 24" for 70$. Don't think it makes that much difference, project farm did a deep dive into the differences teeth and the it's hit or miss depending on brand and manufacturing tolerance. Only way to know if the 90 vs 72 is to test in real world. Gearwrench branded 90 teeth swivel 24" ilsoft grip is around 100.
