Brace Won't Ratchet

[Mark Godlesky]

I picked up a Stanley 813G 12 inch brace for next to nothing. It is in pretty nice shape except that the knurled ring which selects the ratchet direction is frozen. I have tried padding the jaws of vicegrips to grab and turn it, but no dice. I also doused it several times with liquid wrench but that did not loosen it either. Finally I tried tapping the the notch in the ring with a hammer and drift but it won't budge. Since the ring is brass (I think) I do not want to deform it by gripping or tapping it too hard. The brace is pretty clean so I don't thing there is any corrosion of the internals. I guess i can knock out the two pins which hold the ratchet mechanism together.

Does anyone have any ideas for freeing this up? I know I can use it without the ratcheting function but I'd like to get it to operate as designed.

222743222745

[Joe Bailey]

I've got one word for you: "Kroil"
You can screw around with WD-40 and 3-in-1 and whatever else you want, but it's usually a waste of time.
Assuming things are otherwise mechanically sound, Kroil is what you want to use - just buy it!
(those other products have their place; but this sounds like a job for Kroil)

[ray hampton]

Mark, did you try turning the ring both ways ?

[Jeff L Miller]

Mark, here is what I do.

Place the brace in a vise so you have access to the two pins with the palm knob up. You want the vise to hold the two lockning levers so they don't go sproing. There is a spring in there between the two. Tap the pins out from the top toward the bottom, they will come out fairly easy. Once the pins are out, you can get to the two locking spring loaded levers, remove them.

Next I unscrew the chuck and remove the jaws. That rod thats left, the one that held the jaws, can be removed also. There is either a cotter pin, drive pin, screw, or something weird holding it to brace frame. Take it out and then find out where the problem is. Could be a piece of wood, gunk, or damage....I'm betting on gunk. You likely won't be able to remove the part thats stuck but by removing everything else, you will free it up.

Clean it up, oil where appropriate and make sure you clean the inside of the chuck with a 3M pad or similar and oil lightly in there also. Re-assemble and wonder why its so easy. Below is a picture of the internals of a Millers Falls brace.
http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af91/anneandjeffro/P1010003-8.jpg


Jeff

[Shlomo Hoffmann]

Your brace seems to be in general good shape - chances are the some moisture entered the ratchet housing and "froze up" the pins and/or springs in the non-ratcheting position. Been there seen that...

I'd do successively what all the folks suggested but I like to take the easy way out first... I'd start with a simple back and forth twist of the ratchet locking ring first. If no luck with that, I'd move on to good penetrating oil. Kroil is excellent but hard to get. There are some alternatives though, PB Blaster (@ HD) and Liquid Wrench (@ Lowe's) - I have used both in similar circumstances and either one works great. You can get them in a spray can or in an "oiling" applicator.

First, I'd "saturate" the ratchet head and let it stand for a while. Then I'd try to move the ratchet locking ring both ways and watch for the pins popping out to indicate release... It usually worked for me so far.. Try a second "bath" if the first did not make it right...

If still frozen, then I'd take the head apart as suggested by Jeff for a thorough clean-up and lubrication... THAT should definitely work for you...:)

[Joe Bailey]

I'm going to jump back in here, in part to reiterate what I said earlier. I have rehabbed hundreds of tools, and the first rule is to start with the least invasive means available. In this case that would be the introduction of a good penetrating oil. The one I suggested is unequalled in terms of it's abilitly to get into tight spaces. Kroil is readily available on Amazon.

[Mark Godlesky]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've actually hit it with penetrating oil several times (not sure what brand, I think 3-in-1) but the locking ring will not turn or even move the tiniest bit in either direction. May try Kroil if I can find it. Hope I don't have to take it apart (although I do like to do that sort of thing:rolleyes:)

[ray hampton]

Mark, I forgot the name of the part that the ring moves in or out, this happen to me once and I tapped on the part very lightly until it pop back into place , the part were stuck out ,preventing the changing of rotating direction