Machine Mart have the VAT free offer going on at the moment, at least where I live. Are you not on their mailing list? Defo worth getting on that, you can save some money 3 or 4 times a year if you buy during the VAT free periods.
recommended the clark impact gun to a mate he said it was great but noisy had a go at work with it was not impressed it couldn't undo car wheel nuts torqued to 70 lbs and yes noisy don't know if it was faulty
I've got a Mac tools one, they are pretty good and not quite as expensive as snap on. Although I undo my wheel nut on my own with a torque wrench while pressing the rear brake with my foot and im weaker than fosters haha. Not found the need to use the gun and if you have then I'd say it's been over tightened to start with.
I bought one these earlier in the year. Impact Wrench I usually shy away from tools at the cheaper end of the market, but as I'm a hobby mechanic I really wouldn't use an impact wrench more than 2 - 3 times a year. I have to say it's very good and nicely built for an economy tool.
Hi mate. Be careful undoing nuts with the torque wrench. They should only be used for torquing up. Undoing nuts with the wrench will un calibrate it.
There's absolutely no way I could budge my wheel nut on my own with the brake on and that's with a 26" breaker bar and a 4' tube on the end of it. It was lifting the whole bike off the Abba stand. I'm going to buy the Clarke wrench - I'm going for the 230v because battery life and spares supply is a lottery with cheaper cordless makes. But before I start removing my own wheels I'm taking the bike back to the same fitter who fitted the last rear tyre because I want to make sure he's used the correct torque. I hope he hasn't torqued it to 230 lb/ft instead of 230 nm. 230nm is a lot on a motorcycle but its not that high in general. It shouldn't be that hard to undo.
I had the same problem on my 1098. I used the Ducati paddock stand with the bar through the rear wheel to stop it turning. After failed attempts to loosen the wheel with the bike in gear and the brake on I actually started to bend the bar placed through the spokes. 2 seconds with my impact wrench and it spun loose And yes, I was turning the nut the correct way to loosen it.
I thought........."Hmmmmm, he got that nut off easily, until I saw what he did when he tightened it up" What a bodger, and then the cable tie to top it off. :Woot:
Need to tool up for the new bike so am looking at Impact wrenches. Looks like either the Clarke one or @Robarano linked "budget" cordless. Pro's and cons? Clarke one is cheaper but appears to lack finesse (if there is such a thing with an impact wrench?) however the budget cordless one has only one person recommending it. Any other comments guys?
just caught this, i wont read it all. if you haven't sourced one yet, buy a snappy second hand. a full refurb only costs about £80 best tool you will ever buy. DIY'ing becomes a joy. my original just gave up the ghost last month over ten years old and used full time.
I bought the 240v Clarke some time ago. Fin's right about the Snap-on and I'd have bought one if money was no object but even S/H they're still twice the price of the Clarke. My worry with the Clarke was that it didn't have a progressive trigger. Its on/off and you're straight in with 450 nm so its pretty fierce. But I noticed the Snap-on cordless used by the tyre fitter I go to wasn't progressive either so I thought sod it and bought the Clarke. If it had to be a cordless though I would definitely go with Snap-on. As Fin says they can be serviced and spares are readily available. With a cheap cordless I can see the battery or chuck failing and spares being impossible to find or hideously expensive. Either way you need to spend some money on a good quality socket. The multi-facet wheel nut rules out a proper impact hex socket so get the best you can find. If the socket cracks and rounds the nut you've got trouble.
As above, you need a good quality socket (or preferably a correct impact socket for normal nuts). Never mind the damage to the nut if the socket splits, there will be bits of socket flying everywhere as has happened. Goggles are handy when using an impact wrench, or squinting really hard is nearly as good
ebay prob. if you can get a number for any of the reps they often have good second hand ones that have been traded in.
