"Incident" ratchet modification

[bonneyman]

Skip was kind enough to give me a ratchet he had nabbed that appeared to be shortened. I originally thought to use it for an indexable ratchet, but decided a shorty 3/8" would be more useful to me.
So, I set out to make a nice grippy handle for this little buggar.

I use this 2-part epoxy that sets in about 10 minutes, figured it'd be perfect for this job. First part was to remove the guts, clean the inside head out, and apply masking tape to the rough shape I was after.

[bonneyman]

Next step was mix up a batch of epoxy, and "pour" it into my makeshift cup.
After hardening, this is what came out. Now it'll take some filling and snading.

[lbgradwell]

Now it'll take some filling and snading.

Or filing and sanding!

Looking forward to the "reveal"...

[OilyRascal]

A ratchet wrapped in Epoxy!  You don't see this everyday.  I'm with LB on the reveal.  Good to see the attention on a nice old tool that may well have otherwise been given up on.

[lauver]

The B-man has reinvented the hard handled ratchet.  And has reinvented history by attaching it to a vintage Crafty ratchet.

Do you suppose he can hoist a 3-ton tractor with his epoxy handle?

[bonneyman]

The B-man has reinvented the hard handled ratchet.  And has reinvented history by attaching it to a vintage Crafty ratchet.

Do you suppose he can hoist a 3-ton tractor with his epoxy handle?

Sure!
So long as the B-man isn't under it! lol

[bonneyman]

Here is the project handle after some shaping and sanding.

[bonneyman]

After a good wipe down to remove dust, I applied some poor mans "non-slip" coating.

[bonneyman]

Here's the final tool.
Lubed the insides, and installed 2 new screws from the local hardware store. (#2-56 for those who must know). Works great, will become my stubby 3/8" drive rat for the work tools.