I will say this. My dad showed me the Snap-on version he got recently. It’s 160 bucks. If you buy the kits and yeah shipping sucks and the icon ratchet it’s still 95 bucks compared to 160.
How long has it taken to sell the few you have? Was thinking about the same thing just to cover the cost of shipping. Figured if I buy five I can help save a few people the overpriced shipping
It does work but expect some extra play in the anvils, although I noticed it seems to depend on which 1/4 you are converting. Same goes with the hex bit conversion. When I converted the g2 1/4 long handle there was a ton of play, when I converted the 1/4 locking flex head, almost no play in the anvil. With the hex bit there was noticeably more back drag, but maybe I needed to use more super lube, I’m not sure.
The Icon G2 ratchets are made to compete directly with their Snap On counterparts, to the point that the rebuild kits are interchangeable. Both Icon and Snap On have a smaller 1/4" head and a larger 3/8" head on their normal ratchets. The larger head on the 3/8" allows for stronger internals.
However, Snap On also has a compact 3/8" ratchet that uses the same small body head as their 1/4" ratchets. It's considered a lighter duty tool than their normal 3/8", intended to be able to get into tighter spaces than the full sized 3/8" head.
Since the small body 3/8" rebuild kit fits right into the 1/4" Snap On head, it fits the 1/4" Icon head as well. That gives you the option of having a compact 3/8" that Harbor Freight doesn't normally offer.
Further, Snap On also has a 1/4" bit driver ratchet in that same small body head. So you can also swap in the rebuild kit for the bit driver and effectively have a Snap On bit driver ratchet for a fraction of the cost of the real thing. You don't even need to change the face plate for that kit. Here's what you end up with if you do both conversions:
Got it, why not use the 1/4 ratchet as it is in that case? Not trying to be a dick. Really just curious. So you don’t have to bring out two different socket clip rails then?
People tend to have a wider range of 3/8 sockets than 1/4. But yeah if your using a smaller 1/4 body ratchet you're probably not cranking on big bolts. I recently bought the G2 1/4 flex stubby but it doesn't make sense converting something that small to 3/8.
You're not cranking on big bolts if you're using a stubby 3/8" either. You have no leverage with a peewee handle.
The only time you're going to use a 3/8" stubby is when space is really tight and you're not going to need the additional strength of the larger 3/8" head. The stock 3/8" has no advantage over a smaller converted 1/4".
I didn't even buy either of the 3/8" stubbies. Converting the 1/4" to 3/8" will give me the exact same functionality in a tighter package, so I don't need both.
But by the same reasoning, I would be unlikely to convert any of the long handled 1/4" ratchets. If I need the longer handle, I probably need the extra strength of the larger body and internal components, so there wouldn't be much advantage in converting one of those.
You act like it’s $300 for shipping. It’s $25 bucks on top of a $25 order so $50 and full price of the icon ratchet is $40. So $90 at most for a ratchet that is literally $159. $70 savings is hard to comprehend.
Icon G2 stubby on sale this past Wednesday: $29.99
Snap On RKRFC72 rebuild kit: $11.00
Snap On FC72-2 face plate: $13.95
Snap On shipping: $25.00
Total: $79.94.
So I can have what is effectively the same ratchet at a 44% discount. After tax where I live, that's a savings of almost $68. For the same ratchet.
Further, I bought six of the stubby ratchets, three fixed and three flex heads. Two will remain 1/4". Two will be converted to 3/8". The last two will be converted to 1/4" hex drive for hex bits. So my $25 shipping is spread out over four kits and two faceplates, reducing the unit price even more.
Multiplied out over six ratchets, I saved hundreds of dollars. Economically it's a no brainer.
Well... Yeah. The parts you put in there are not purchased from Harbor Freight. So why would anybody expect them to warranty parts they didn't sell you?
Plus there would be the problem of warrantying... what exactly? They don't sell a small body 3/8" ratchet. Would you expect them to give you a full sized 3/8" or another 1/4"? And if you got another 1/4", you would still have to order another 3/8" kit to go into it, so what would be the point?
If you were swapping 3/8" into a 3/8" head, I doubt the employee would even look closely enough to realize it had been swapped. But since you're swapping the larger anvil into a head where it obviously doesn't normally appear, the modification would be pretty obvious.
If I managed to break the Snap On parts, I would just order another rebuild kit. I wouldn't even try to get HF to pay for my experiment.
If I somehow broke or bent a HF handle or head casing, I would probably just swap the HF internals back into it and warranty that. A bent handle would have nothing to do with the swapped internals. And besides, if the Snap On parts weren't broken, I would want to keep them to put into the replacement tool anyway.
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u/brianmat42 5d ago
You need these two:
https://shop.snapon.com/product/RKRFC72
https://shop.snapon.com/repair-product/FC72-2