I picked up a copy of the four-volume Audels Carpenter's and Builder's Library some years back, because writers I respect argued for it as an essential reference. I haven't been quite as impressed as I thought I'd be, but I was skimming through it in the last couple of days, and found a section on socket wrenches, in which the author compares the workings of the ratchet in a socket set to the workings of a ratcheting corner brace (picture below, for those not familiar with these braces). Many of the Audels books, including, it seems, this one, were written way back long ago, and only fitfully brought up to date*. This section doesn't look to have been updated from the time that auto and other wrench-wielding mechanics did not necessarily have ratchets commonly at hand.
*The edition I have has a 1977 copyright date; by 1977, ratchets in socket sets were thoroughly established, while ratcheting corner braces were uncommon finds in yard sales.
Bill, avoiding cleaning the bathroom in the unheated back entry.
