Husky 800 ft./lb. impact driver (air)

Harbor Freight has this one "on Sale"

Thanks Greg,

I notice a 90 day risk free trial.......?

The Husky Impact driver that came in the Husky kit I hastily bought at HD when I got the compressor would not take off lug bolts I had tightened with a 4-way. So I researched the matter some and bought an Ingersol Rand 231HA Super which works. 

My Impact driver is something like 350-400 ft. lbs. which I bought at a garage auction, and I think it's a MAC.  It is usually NOT enough to remove the rear hub castle nut.  Part of the problem might be lack of air volume as Chris has one similar with a compressor tank three times bigger and he doesn't seem to have any problems.

Anyway, Lug nuts come off OK with it, and I use a 5-foot piece of pipe on my 18" breaker bar for the hub nuts.  All is good.

I would probably pass on a Harbor Freight air tool as in my experience they don't last.  Ingersol Rand and Chicago Pneumatic are both pretty good.  I-R makes pneumatic tools for Snap-on and MAC, C-P does the same for Lowe's and HD.

Chicago Pneumatic is Harbor Freight's old brand I think. I-R is a good brand.

I've got a Campbell Hausfeld from a long time ago, like 20 years I think. It works fine on everything except some axle and all gland nuts. Sometimes it will loosen axle nuts. I have a 2hp 240v 20 gallon compressor from Sears in the 80s. Use air tool oil, that's how mine has survived so long methinks.

Ed, Gordon, Danny;

All really great points.  Duly noted. I think I'll go to HD and get a 6' piece of pipe and hope for the best. My compressor is an entry level Porter-Cable it has worked well for fence building, hardwood floor installs and cabinetry work.  Nothing like a stuck axle nut.

Thanks !!

Some actually list the PSI consumption required.  I still like that strange "da vinci" geared tool for really torqued nuts.  It used to be $75 but suspect over $100 now?  I actually have one of the flat wack it with big hammer tools (<$10).

A good quality breaker bar is essential - prefer 3/4' drive.  Until Sears sells of CRAFTSMAN you can return a broken one!  (Not so with their Companion brand).

Thanks Greg, I got a Craftsman 18".  The Di Vinci (love that name) is $75 at CIP1. The Husky says 95 PSI.

WOLFGANG posted:

A good quality breaker bar is essential - prefer 3/4' drive.  Until Sears sells of CRAFTSMAN you can return a broken one!  (Not so with their Companion brand).

i heard sears sold the crafstman line, not sure if warranty is still applicable

It's not the pressure so much as the CFM at a certain pressure. You've got to have the volume besides the pressure to get more "work" done.

Inside diameter of all fittings/hoses and length are a factor as well.

Black and Decker owns craftsman now,,,rumors are the Home Depot will be selling Craftsman soon/...

5 foot pipe, 1/2" breaker bar.      Thanks guys, a winner.

Art:  If you go buy a pipe, they usually have shorter pieces already cut, but get a galvanized length so it won't rust over time, and you can write on it with a permanent marker.  You can leave the PVC end caps on if it is already threaded, just measure the width of your Bat handle or 1/2" ratchet so you'll know what ID pipe to buy.  5 feet is good, 6 feet becomes unwieldy (and would give you about 900 ft. lbs. at a body weight of 150)  

Once home, slide your 1/2" drive bat handle into the end of the pipe until it bottoms on the joint flare, then measure and mark the pipe every inch for 24".  Then, by figuring out your weight the day you're using it, you can also use it for reasonably accurate torque of the rear hub nuts by standing on the pipe "X" number of inches from the pivot point, by your weight, to get the torque you want.  Easy-Peasey.

So 150 pounds 12" from the pivot point is 150 foot lbs.  Move out to 24" and you get 300 ft. lbs. and so on.  Your "Gonculator 5000" pocket calculator will help with where to stand.  You can even do dual simultaneous equations, but then you might need a Gonculator 10,000.

Gordon,

The 5' worked great. At first I thought I had bent the 1/2" bat handle it was so smooth. So 760  foot lbs. 

Boy $20 fixed, what I was willing to pay for $150 a impact driver.  And now taking off the lug nuts, as it seems so many projects are wheel off, is now easier also.

Thanks Gordon.

Art's got it right that's the way I did axle nuts for decades.

My brother and I were trying, once, to get a rusted lug nut off of a school bus rear dual wheel setup (standard truck dual wheel assy) .  Tried a lot of heat, impact gun, you name it and couldn't get it to break loose.  Finally, we put a 3/4" drive bat handle on it with an 8' piece of pipe with my 235# brother bouncing up and down on the pipe as I heated the snot out of the nut.

Suddenly, "BANG!" and we thought it had finally let go, which it just started to, when the 2" socket broke into three pieces. $#!#!!  Took the socket back to Sears for a free replacement and had to explain how we broke it.....(" Well, I've got this beefy brother, see?......And the nut was really rusted, and.........)

Never liked impact drivers. I agree with the 3/4" drive and length of pipe. And, as suggested, you can use weight and length to get what you want. When all else fails I get out the torch. Screw Atlas and his fulcrum, heat moves the world. And when you're done, make a couple acetylene bombs to pi$$ off the neighbors. 

I'm sure the old guys out here (wait we're all old guys) know this. You take a neutral flame and put it out. Fill a plastic bag. Tie it off. Stand back and throw a match at it. A REALLY violent explosion. You can get fancy and use a light bulb. I had a co-worker in my teens. Older fella who just loved to give me crap. One day I took a small plastic bag, filled. I placed on the shop floor. He came out and looked at it. I told him to stand back. He thought I was crazy. I threw a match at it and lit up the shop. Well, then the owner came out. "You can't blow up your co-workers...." Of course I thought that was hilarious. He spent the afternoon screaming about me to the owner (turned out to be the predecessor of my married years). Poor guy had ringing ears for 2 weeks I guess. Luckily no eye damage from the flash. Fond memories...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V61ExUc9kYg

Just warms the heart...

Alan might need this in West by God VA

Just get the Torque Meister shown in Wolfgang's left-hand photo. It is a wonderful tool and you can precisely set the torque when you put the nut back on.

Torque Meister is a great tool. Lets me use the little torque wrench to set the big rear axle nut. The five-foot attitude adjustment bar is also awesome for doing that.

But the IR impact wrench is best for bripping them off. 

Stan's tool philosophy:

If you use it 2-3x/yr, a cheap tool will generally do. I put an 800 ft/lb impact driver in that camp.

It wouldn't be my only impact however. I've got a nice Chicago Pneumatic 1/2" impact and 3/8" drive air-ratchet I bought in high-school. I've also got a 3/4" drive 500 ft/lb something or other I got to put on/take off gland and axle nuts.

The compressor to drive these tools, however needs to be the best thing you can afford. I've worked my way up the food-chain to a 2-stage Quincy compressor with an 80 gal tank. It isn't pressure lubricated, however, and is therefore not the do-all and end-all.

It drives everything, and is therefore something that needs to be a "good" tool.