Craftsman  3/8 in. Ratchet Wrench

Rebuilding a craftsman pressure washer (gas powered), connecting rod broke. Used this and a 1/4 inch craftsman air ratchet. Got the pressure washer back together, haven't tried the pressure washer out yet (as of the time of writing this review, I live in New England and it's still winter). But, this thing, along with the other ratchet worked great in tear down and reassembly.

This thing is big and durable looking so i expected it to be somewhat powerful. No-sir. It works good for small bolts but anything over a half inch aint breaking free with this thing. Call me picky but i shouldn't have switch to my impact to take off a small brake line retainer nut. I got a 5.0 CFM @ 90 PSI compressor so that wasnt the problem. On the up side the price was really good...

The handle fell off...Not good. I will be returning this item

Great time saver, powerful, I won't work without it.

i had air rachets from snap on for years,,i paid a lot of money for them ,,didnt abuse them oiled them daily ,,they would wear out and cost alot to repair,,i bought this one ,,i couldnt believe how strong it was,,and worked great,,i think as my other air tools wear out or break,,,im not gonna have them repaired ,im just gonna come to Sears and buy new ones,,THANKS AGAIN !!!!!!!!

does the job..the exhaust is not adjustable...other than that..it is ok..i use this tool for home/garage .i also bought a craftsman professional air ratchet wrench.for my work at the car shop

I bought this at the same time I bought my craftsman compressor. It works ok, but I have to admit some disappointment in that it uses more air than it should and when in a tough spot, it does not have as much power as it ought to. Now, it works fine, but I thought it would be a little tougher than it ended up being. When I get into a demanding place, I can still use it as a ratchet by hand to give it a little man power but it does not cut it alone. Sorry.

I work as a mechanic and got this for my growing home collection. I use it to work on my personal car and for the money I think it's a great ratchet. It works very well with the 21 gallon compressor I have and has been an appreciated addition. I have yet to find any downsides other than a slight lack in power, but for the money, I think this would be a great addition to any beginner to serious hobbiest's collection.

The Craftsman 3/8" air ratchet was purchased in a set, combined with the 1/2" impact wrench rated at 340 ft/lbs.  Both are OK tools, but I mainly bought the set (for a markdown price) for the air ratchet.

To me, air tools are a novelty and more of a hassle than regular hand tools.  Sure impact wrenches are fun to use and can shear a stud bolt off in 2 seconds if you're not careful, but an air ratchet is not necessary, IMO.  Convenience for taking things apart, that's about it.  Some assembly can be performed with an air ratchet, but be mindful of the torque requirements of what you're tightening!

This air ratchet works well.  It does a good job at a decent torque rating.  At 45 ft/lbs of torque (unstalled), it is adequate for most jobs.  Stalled torque is only 15 ft/lbs, however.  This may be a characteristic of all air ratchets.

I think one downside is the exhaust port.  Though it blows away from you, it can get oil on your hands.  I have a good habit of stabilizing hand ratchets with my left hand, so I do the same for this tool.  If well oiled, my left hand gets soaked!

For a decent price, I recommend this tool.  It may not be as powerful as some air ratchets, but for the price and for what it's worth, it's a good tool overall.

EDIT (11-5-10):
I did some more tests tonight.  First I would torque a lug nut using a torque wrench and try to loosen it with the air ratchet.  I would also reverse the process and tighten the lug to the point of the air ratchet stalling, then checking the torque on the lug with the torque wrench.  Overall, OK, but not great.  See below:

Lug torque-wrenched to 50 ft/lbs (limit of air ratchet) = air ratchet cannot loosen @ 100 psi.
Lug torque-wrenched to 40 ft/lbs = air ratchet may be able to loosen if you let the socket ride the nut first.
Lug air-racheted to the point of stalling @ 100psi = Torque wrench-checked to be about 45 ft/lbs.

So the Craftsman 3/8" air ratchet is better at tightening than loosening bolts/nuts.  The consistency is not 100%, however.  It's good to use to speed-tighten long bolts, but usually the air ratchet will stop/stall around 25-35 ft/lbs.

Also, if you rest your hand or grip the head of the air ratchet too tightly (over the rubber), you will bog it down! Now I know why Sears put the rubber there!  Underneath is rotating parts, so if you squeeze that area for more stability while using the air ratchet, you will affect its power.  This is foolish.

For this new information, I am subtracting two stars.