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Impact Wrench


keychange
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If you are thinking of using the impact gun instead of the two foot pipe you are wasting your time with the cheep gun even an expensive 1/2 inch drive gun will not produce as much torque as you could with the two foot pipe .I have a pro gun and industrial compressor and often have to crack bolts loose first before using the air gun.

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Use your impact to disassemble components that need that much torque , the air rachet for smaller things , and remember that with the speed air tools can spin , nuts and bolts can seize when coming off too , and pull threads from the heat produced . I've been at it for well over 35 years annd beleive me , Impacts have their place , but most motorcycle work I do is done with T handles & 1/4 inch drive stuff ... With time you will develop a feel for air tools , but your stronger than just about any impact gun . And I've got a couple of the best/strongest ones made ...

Glenn

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I was trying to remove a flywheel on my TLR the other day and I could not get it to budge - even with a 2 foot extension. I took it to local workshop and the old guy ie: 8 years older than me - stuck an impact wrench on it with just his hand holding the flywheel and off it came. My immediate reaction was " I have to have one " ... what are people's thoughts on this ie: will I get use out of this?

Cheers

Andrew

Andrew, Supercheap have rattle guns for $20 at the moment I bought one for home a couple of years ago and it hasn't flown apart yet although I don't use it very often.They are great for undoing stubborn nuts but you need the right size 6 cornered sockets as they hammer on more surface area of the nut, normal sockets you run the risk of taking the corners of the nut off. Best to use a good quality torque wrench to do the nuts up though. Bearings for one don't like them and its impossible to get the right torque

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It's not so much the 2 foot bar - it is holding the flywheel (or clutch) while trying to manipulate the bar. I made a jig for my Cota as the flywheel has some threaded holes but the bolts don't last long before they are bent. On the honda there is nothing but a smooth flywheel so very difficult to hold secure. The guy with the wrench just held the flywheel in his left hand the bolt came free in two seconds.

Yes I have a torque wrench and understand the importance of torqueing critical components - I also have some syndrome that causes my hands to lock up on repetitive actions like doing up a screw or peeling potatoes (no kidding) so the thought of a ratchet wrench is very appealing. I have to go to the local large town on Monday and I will have a look around at what is on offer and thanks Ross I will check out Supercheap - BTW how did your ride go last weekend

Edited by keychange
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BTW how did your ride go last weekend

Well, fell off on the Sherco hill track broke the clutch lever perch then because I kept riding without the clutch, the clutch centre key broke so then the M49 was impossible to start, pushed it out of the scrub (jungle) to the nearest main track, Greg went and got his Suzuki tray top and we took it back to his place, got home about 11pm. But yeah apart from all that it was a pretty good ride.

Edited by mrb505
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Use your impact to disassemble components that need that much torque , the air rachet for smaller things , and remember that with the speed air tools can spin , nuts and bolts can seize when coming off too , and pull threads from the heat produced . I've been at it for well over 35 years annd beleive me , Impacts have their place , but most motorcycle work I do is done with T handles & 1/4 inch drive stuff ... With time you will develop a feel for air tools , but your stronger than just about any impact gun . And I've got a couple of the best/strongest ones made ...

Glenn

What he said! The wrong gun and the wrong use on assembly could spell disaster on small parts! They are not a torque wrench, they just hit stuff! And without caution and skill, you are lost!

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I have a large compressor with an air impact wrench, but only use it on really stubborn nuts/bolts these days.

I picked up a 18v DeWalt 1/2" cordless impact wrench a couple of years ago, and absolutely love this tool! It gets all but the most stubborn nuts/bolts off, the trigger is very controllable, so you can easily adjust the speed/torque you want to apply. Lots of times I spin on nuts to just before they start to get tight with the DeWalt, and then finish up with a torque wrench. It's powerful enough to spin off stubborn axle nuts, but controllable enough for smaller stuff. Since I have almost every other 18v cordless tool that DeWalt makes, I have a pool of batteries that I can share amongst all the tools, plus spares, so there are always a few extra fully charged batteries on hand. They make 20v Lithium ones now, but it would be too expensive for me to switch from the 18v stuff I already have.

Not cheap, but a very handy tool, IMO. I use it all the time in my garage, on the trials, dirt and street bikes.

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Yup.

I have much the same deal in Makita, lots of tool bodies that share a smaller stack of batteries. I use the 1/2" impact gun a lot on car work, but not much on my trials bike it has to be said. Although I did use it today to whizz the clutch spring bolts off on my Mont.

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