Gearwrench recently announced their 120XP ratchets which feature 120 ratcheting positions for a 3° swing that allows for easier access in tight quarters.
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I recently received a 3/8″ ratchet from Gearwrench for review, and so I promptly disassembled it to see how it works.
As previously discussed, Gearwrench’s 120XP ratchets have double-stacked pawls that alternately engage a 60-tooth gear. In the above photo, the top pawl is engaging the main gear, with only the edge of the bottom pawl slightly visible.
In the next photo, the square drive is turned one notch to simulate a short swing of the ratchet. The top pawl disengages the main gear, and the bottom pawl moves to engage it.
In this manner, the top and bottom pawls alternately engage the 60-tooth gear to create a 120-position ratcheting mechanism.
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I made a quick demo video showing the alternating motions. Since the details are small, you might want to watch the video in full-screen mode.
Why not just create a 120-tooth gear? Strength. There’s a limit as to how fine-toothed ratchet gearing can be before you begin to make compromises in strength and durability.
It may be difficult to see, but the teeth of the top and bottom pawls do not align with each other. The top pawl has 10 teeth and the bottom pawl 11, giving them a 1/2-tooth offset. This is why the pawls ratchet alternately.
Two spring-mounted plungers keep the pawls in contact with the gear.
Each pawl fully engages the 60-tooth pawl during their alternating turns. It appears that several teeth at one end of each pawl engages the gear when the other is fully engaged, but it is unclear whether this lends anything to the mechanical strength of the ratchet. In other words, it could be that 1-3 teeth at one end of each pawl is simply in contact with the gear rather than being mechanically engaged whenever the other pawl is fully engaged.
If you have any questions, let me know. A full review is in the works and I have no qualms about disassembling the ratchet again.
James N.
Thanks for the review. I’m in the market for a budget premium ratchet set with the Craftsman set at around $150 being my high end limit. On the other hand there’s a Gearwrench 84 tooth set for about $75, and then this one which will go for $100-$110.
It appears this design doesn’t lose strength since it’s always in contact with one pawl and in fact may have more teeth in contact due to the fact it’s a 60 tooth gear rather than 84, correct?
If you were in my position, what would you (or any experienced tool user) do? I just can’t afford Snap-on’s right now since I’m a young DIY’er, or MAC/SK/Matco (isn’t the Matco model the same as the Gearwrench anyway?).
Thank you for any help to get me leaning towards a solution!
Stuart
Generally strength isn’t an issue when comparing 60T and 80 or 84T ratchets. From the design I don’t think this or any of the other 120XP ratchets have any compromise in strength, but I also don’t think they will be substantially stronger than Gearwrench’s 84T or Danaher’s 80T ratchets.
What it comes down to is whether you need the 3° arc swing of the 120XP ratchet.
It’s hard to make a recommendation since the street prices for the 120XP ratchets won’t be known until they’re available starting next month.
If I were looking for new ratchets, I would go for the 84T ratchets in 1/4″ and 1/2″ sizes, and the 3/8″ 120XP ratchet, unless the 3-piece 120XP set was more economical.
Brian Buehler
Nice that it has an “O” ring to keep lube in and junk out!
Is it just me or are we really in an era with lots of great tools for reasonable prices?
Harry
Thanks for the exploratory disassembly and great pictures!!!
It looks interesting but, I already have various ratchets in 60/72/80/84 and 88 tooth configurations so, I’ll pass for a little while. I really feel anything over 60 teeth is overkill anyway. The only other place I’ve seen that dual pintle set up is on the new Cornwell 3/8 drive 72 tooth ratchets but, the cornwell only has a single pawl gear. Thanks again for the update and photos..
Tom
Any word on when we can expect a full review of these 120xp wrenches. I’m really curious how they hold up to the Craftsman Premium Grade 84T wrenches.
Stuart
I was told November 1st, so they should be available now. I can’t find too many stocking distributors, so maybe give it another few weeks.
They hold up well compared to Craftsman’s premium ratchets, but I have yet to determine which is better as they are both exceptionally well made.
Tom
Thanks for the quick reply Stuart.
James N.
Just an update on my situation in case anyone is interested.
I ordered the 3-ratchet 120XP set from Monstronix.com, and have had them for a week already. They feel pretty good, but were honestly a bit stiff when I got them, but maybe that was due to being nearly frozen. I haven’t been able to actually use them yet due to the whole hurricane situation and being busy.
Since the set was only around $100, I spent another $40 on a Gear Wrench 2-ratchet set, this time in 1/4″ and 3/8″ varieties, 84 teeth, flex heads. So, for the price of one Craftsman Premium set, I received three 120XP ratchets and two 84-tooth flex head ratchets. Great outcome in my opinion.
Thanks.
jesse
GW sell sheet: http://www.gearwrench.com/catalog/GW_120XP_SellSheet.pdf
Brandon
Hey guys,
I love working on vehicles and using various ratchets for different uses.
However, I got a tool kit (not sure what it was) but when I was taking tires off my truck to access the drum brakes, my ratchet broke free and the paw was not engaging to the main gear.
Brandon
Hey Guys,
I love working on vehicles and using various ratchets for various uses. I find them to be very helpful in working in tight spaces and what not.
However, I was using a ratchet to take off the tires on my truck to access my drum brakes, as I was taking off one of the lugs my ratchet broke. The swtiching mechanism popped out a little bit and from this article I saw that what looks to be the pawl or springs holding the pawl to the main gear might of broke.
I am in an engineering class for school and am trying to find a way to re-engineer the ratchet so that it can withstand an amount of pressure without breaking like mine did.
I was wondering if ya’ll might be able to help me out with telling me some ideas as to go about doing this and maybe telling me what the most common engineer flaws are and maybe how it happens.
You’r help will be much appreciated. Thank you.
George
Now that you mention it, I was using the 1/2 in wrench to remove some sway bar end link bolts and at times you could feel the wrench lose grip. It felt like it would grind over a couple of the teeth on the gear or maybe the pawls would loose grip.
Brandon
Thank you,
I am looking for some better ways of making the pawls and main drive gear able to uphold this amount of pressure we typically need them too. I am thinking about designing a way so that the main gears are either bigger and the same with the pawls or completely re-designing the mechanism to a different point and make it better then what we have now.
George
One suggestion would be to really check to see if all the teeth on the pawls are gripping the gear.
As said in the review above “Each pawl fully engages the 60-tooth pawl during their alternating turns. It appears that several teeth at one end of each pawl engages the gear when the other is fully engaged, but it is unclear whether this lends anything to the mechanical strength of the ratchet. In other words, it could be that 1-3 teeth at one end of each pawl is simply in contact with the gear rather than being mechanically engaged whenever the other pawl is fully engaged.”
It would be interesting to find out if all the teeth are in contact with the gear when the wrench is under torque
Stuart
There are different ways to improve the strength of a ratchet. The strongest I’ve used is the Koloss, which has very strong engagement but is not reversed via a selector switch.
I believe the most common problem is worn pawls that tend to skip. But like most tools, ratchets do wear, which is why rebuild kits are typically readily available.
Brandon
The ratchet I used was brand new when I went to go take off the lugs on my truck and I still managed to break it.
George
Same with me actually. First time I used the 1/2″ ratchet and it started skipping gears.
I wonder if anyone else is also experiencing this. If so it may be a quality issue??
Mike
Is the head the same profile as the 84t gearwrench or is it slighly taller making room for the double paw? How does it compare to other ratchets in regaurds to low profile head. (thiner or thinker than the Craftsman 84t)
Mike P
How do you put these ratchets back together after you take them apart.
Stuart
Very carefully. This one wasn’t easy to get back together. I typically make my own shims from thin-wall brass tubing that I flatten, but some brands also make tools that help depress ball and pin detents.
Sergey
Hi, I have sidchrome ratchet set and they are 15° ones and I was looking for something like 3-5° because most of the times I use the 1/4 and 3/8 drive in narrow spaces and 15° is really difficult to use sometimes. I was going to buy those gear wrench 120XP but looks like from this article is not a real fine tooth so is it worth it or it’s better to get an alternative?
glenn
Have a look at this one. I have one and it works really well in tight spaces. It is dual action, it operates as a normal ratchet and also the handle has a twist action that rotates the head so you can undo a bolt without swinging the tool.
http://www.sidchrome.com.au/products/38-drive-rotator-dual-function
Sergey
Nice but too expensive compared to either 84T or 120XP BY GEARWRENCH where I get both drives for $60. I was just torn between the 84T gear or 120 where 60T with double pawl is making it up.
Lafe Sturdevant
Can I buy the 120XP Flex Ratchet with the position lock, If so, what is the Part Number? THANK YOU;
Alan
Gearwrench 120xp internals are the same as the Duralast 100 tooth ratchet. Almost identical ratchet body as well.