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Wayne
10-30-2003 19:56:50
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Re: 3/4 drive in reply to EIL, 10-30-2003 19:02:29
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I wouldn't be too worried about the three skipped sizes. Chances of running into any of them aren't that great, and if you do you can simply buy it as an individual if you need to. I've worked on heavy equipment for alot of years and I don't ever remember running into a 1 9/16. Now the other two you might see on a hydraulic line or an occasional bolt or nut, but don't hold your breath til you do. Some of the odd sizes are for the oversized "barn door" nuts you might see, but their not that common on most equipment. Keep an eye on E-bay for some sets and big individual stuff. I saw a 3" Snap-on impact awhile back that went for less than $50. That's about a $200+ socket off the truck if I remember right. Depending on what types of machines your working on what your talking about getting may not be enough. If your gonna be getting into any of the larger farm equipment or construction equipment then the sizes your getting will be ok for the 3/4 drive. You ought to start looking too for some 1" drive stuff from say 1 up to at least 3 because. Some things like lug nuts for example can be too much for even a good 3/4 impact to handle. Look at your tire repair shops, the Budd nuts on most trucks take a 1" drive to remove them, and they aren't that big. You'll find in a hurry that alot of the bolts on this equipment are even meaner than that, so you need to be ready. Keep an eye on MOLINESTUD on E-bay, he deals in military surplus and often has some great deals. I got a set from him about two years ago. It had 3/4" and 1" drive SWENCH hand operated impacts,a full socket set for both sizes, along with of tubular extensions up to 14" long, several offset wrenches, offset socket drivers, etc to use with the Swenches. All of the stuff was top quality, most of it was made by Curtis Wright Flight Systems, or a division of them anyway. I got a brochure and a price sheet from them before I bought it, and the set from them was over $8000. I got it all for $1000 plus the shipping. The sockets along were worth 90% of that. The Swenches are a super tool too. The 3/4 has 750lb torque, and the 1" had 2000ftlb of torque, both ways on each. Something about the way they hammer when you work them makes them mean. I've tightened bolts that you couldn't get loose with a slugging wrench without alot of work, and loosened others that my 1" IR impact that's rated at 2000ftlb with a supply of 90psi wouldn't touch with 150psi behind it. If you can find a deal like this, it's a very wise investment if your planning to stay in this business. Good luck, and have fun turning wrenches.
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