Breaker bars are great for heavy duty wrenching, and are typically built to handle serious abuse. They are typically very simply designed and feature a 180° pivoting drive head at the end of a handle.
Proto ratchet adapters, which are available in 3/8″ (J5247), 1/2″ (J5447), and 3/4″ (J5647) sizes, are designed to fit onto the end of breaker bars to improve their versatility and also make it easier to access fasteners.
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One side has a female square drive recess, the other has a male square drive end.
These ratchet adapters can also be attached to other accessories, such as T-handles, and other square drive accessories that might not have built-in ratcheting functionality.
Essentially, they turn non-ratcheting breaker bars and drive tools into ratcheting ones.
Buy Now: 3/8″ adapter, 1/2″ adapter, 3/4″ adapter, via Amazon
Amazon’s pricing on some sizes are great, but the 3/8″ adapter is currently grossly overpriced there. If that’s the size you want (which is the one I bought last month and am currently testing out), get it at Zoro for ~$36. Zoro and Amazon have matching prices for 1/2″ and 3/4″ adapters.
mike says
Aug 15, 2014 at 10:44 amThese are great,althou they are a bit bulky they are so handy for many things.
fred says
Aug 15, 2014 at 12:24 pmThe counterparts from Williams (part No’s B-55 (3/8) and S-55 (1/2) ) are sadly no longer available. The 3/8 inch size was more useful on the end of a speeder than on a breaker bar – but the 1/2 inch size could work with a breaker bar, T-Handle, Spinner, Speeder etc. With a T-Handle and the appropriate deep socket it can be uses to thread rod ends with a ratcheting motion.
fred says
Aug 15, 2014 at 4:09 pmWhen I talked about threading rod – naturally you also need a hex die to fit into the socket.
Allen says
Aug 15, 2014 at 1:03 pmWe had these at the school I retired from. They also work great as a ratchet all to themselves, sort of a thumb wheel ratchet.
Chad klump says
Aug 16, 2014 at 12:31 amI just got these in 3/8 and 1/2. While I have not had a chance to put them to use. They feel much smoother than a snap on. They have 25 teeth and it is a single pawl but two teeth on the pawl with a offset tooth so it is like a 50 tooth design I believe. I have only opened the 3/8 and that is how I assumed they worked. They are very nice I highly recommend but I have not had a chance to put a breaker bar on them and get down to business.
cody says
Aug 16, 2014 at 3:09 amThat price is ridiculous I can buy a 1/2 ratcheting breaker bar on Amazon for under 40 dollars. Bostitch, neiko and many other brands under that price.
SteveR says
Aug 17, 2014 at 5:32 pmI’ve never tried one to determine their usefulness. My recollection, though, is that they are over-sized and bulky, so you need a fair amount of room to use one.
The other restriction was the number of teeth on the ratcheting mechanism, often as low as 20, leaving 18 degrees between clicks. That’s okay for one-time jobs, but if you have a lot of repetitive work or are ratcheting in restricted areas, they can slow you down. You’ll likely need an extension, too, in restricted spaces, owing to their size.
chad says
Aug 18, 2014 at 11:04 amI am 99 % sure that they are 50 teeth so that is a 7.2 degree swing arc.
SteveR says
Aug 18, 2014 at 1:08 pmChad–Good to know about the number of teeth. I had looked in the Snap-on catalogue while writing my comments, so that is not representative of other manufacturers. Thanks.
Chad klump says
Aug 18, 2014 at 11:33 pmYeah, I have a snap on at work right now in my desk. I am not a fan of them they are clunky. The protos are a lot smoother. Like is mentioned in my earlier post. It has 25 teeth but on the pawl it has 2 teeth and one is off set. I can not remeber exatly I could be plus or minus a tooth. My protos are at home and I have snap on at work. The proto is a lot easier to change direction and is a lot smoother. Snap on could have done a lot better.
fred says
Aug 19, 2014 at 7:04 amThe Snap-On variant looks just like the 40 year old Williams ones that I have – and changing direction is a sore point.
Ken says
Aug 27, 2014 at 10:04 pmI have a similar New Britain NS-12 which I bought new in the early 1980s. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but has lain virtually unused in my tool-chest since then. Here’s a beat-up one on eBay for $18.95:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-New-Britain-Model-NS-12-1-2-inch-Drive-Ratchet-Socket-Adapter-/221532670314?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item339460496a
Jacob B says
Aug 8, 2018 at 1:30 pmTo each his own: I recently bought an NS-12 in much better condition for a similar price on eBay and really enjoy it. It works well with a short-handle flex head breaker bar with female broaching in the end so you can stick a T-handle on it.