how to make a ratchet float?

[Jameson]

Anyone know how to make a ratchet float? Would a rod builder be able to put enough cork around the handle for the ratchet to still be manageable and float? Any other ideas?

I do some docking work and dropping the occasional ratchet in the drink happens. Currently a magnet on a rope is used for fishing the ratchet off of the bottom. Retrieval is not guaranteed. It sure would be nice if the ratchet just floated.

[Tom7227]

I use a ratchet wrench not a socket and socket wrench. I tied a small rope around it and I also have a small crescent wrench on the other end. I put them around my neck and I haven't lost them in over 15 years.

[Jameson]

After having a near-death choking accident as a kid I'm not putting any rope around my neck. Maybe it's over reacting, but mentally I wouldn't be able to handle it. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

[Macgyver55]

How about just a lanyard to your wrist, sleeve or suspenders on you waders if you use them.

Possibly a bobber tied on to it so if it drops you can retrieve it easier!

[Jameson]

Lanyard to the wrist works, but is a pain. Some of the end of the docks are 20' deep. So, a that long of a string and bobber isn't really feasible. And if it was a short string and big bobber, the bobber would be too big.

[Macgyver55]

20 ft deep at the end.....how long of a dock are you dealing with?

A bobber is more buoyant than cork, so its gonna take a pretty big handle of cork to float a ratchet. How about a retractable key chain to your wrist or belt, or a loop on the string that can attach to or go over a dock post?

[Surface Tension]

IMO the dia needed to float a ratchet might make it too bulky but try foam pipe insulation or swim noddle.

I'd use a tether and one that will break free to prevent a freak accident.

[TooTallTom]

Would a key float (like the one for a boat's ignition) or two displace enough water to float a rachet? You could just tether the wrench to the float.

The chunk o' swim noodle idea is a good one. Just add enough cord to keep the noodle out of the way and if you drop it, the noodle is on the surface to grab and retrieve.

[TruthWalleyes]

Cheaper ratchet, or bigger magnet. I've got some magnets that will pull up any wrench you can throw down an ice hole.

Also, a good tool belt to prevent wrenches from falling out when not in your hand.

[Jameson]

20 ft deep at the end.....how long of a dock are you dealing with?..

Only 32 feet. Lafyette (sp?) Bay, Lake Minnetonka.

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I'll give some of them a try. I was really hoping that the amount of cork needed wouldn't make it too bulky, but those more experienced than I have spoken.

Cheaper ratchets just end up costing more time in the long run. Lost time equals lost money and usually knuckle-busting.

Now to hijack my own thread: A hard to find locally $16 8 point, 3/8" drive, 1/2" socket at the end of an $11 dollar ratchet makes for an expensive oops. 12 sided 15 mm sockets also work, but will round off some set screws. If the muck isn't too bad, and our fishing skills are ok, many get retrieved by the super magnet on a rope. Just if they floated it'd be quicker and more likely to be recovered. And the ratcheting wrenches just aren't as user friendly.

[TruthWalleyes]

I wonder if you couldn't drill a small hole through you tools and as you use them, attach a clip to them, the clip being attached to either flotation, or to yourself.

Same problem happens for those working on ladders, or high up...It's a pain when you drop something, and possible injur someone. I think the best thing they do is to obtain a good tool belt or some container to keep all your tools from falling, except the one in your hand...and sometimes working slower achieves faster results - but i don't need to tell you how to work. GOod luck.

[Down Deep]

When my grandchilden were 4 or 5 years old and started fishing with me I attached wrist lanyards on their rods after watching one of my rods fly into the lake. The lanyards are have slide rings to allow the cinching up on their wrists. I used tape and some gorilla glue to secure a D-ring on the end of each rod and attached a clip on the lanyard for quick attachment and removal. This system should work for your ratchet.

[Big Dave2]

http://www.marineengine.com/products/accessory.php?in=2617802

I'm not sure if this would work for your situation since it is not a ratchet, only a wrench and I don't know if they even make it in the sizes you may need but they do float.

[Jameson]

...a clip on the lanyard for quick attachment and removal. This system should work for your ratchet.

I'm thinking this has some potential. Couple it with a good clip on a belt or something. Most often the tools are dropped simply out of hand, but occasionally they slip out of back pocket while we are climbing a boathouse. We don't need the ratchets while removing canopies just forget to take them out of our pockets.

Thanks for the link BigDave2. They don't look like they would work, but it does offer me a little hope of finding or having some built. I did do searches for "ratchet that floats" and "floating ratchet" and most of what came up was for a Ratchet and Clank video game.

Every job I've had I seem to look for ways to improve the tools or procedure. Get some grief for it once and awhile, but when I do figure something out the pats on the back are nice.

[Jameson]

hmmm...anyone think that if I were to cut a ratchet handle down to say 2" than take a piece of say 6" by 3/4" thin wall pipe, weld the ends shut on the pipe, weld 2" ratchet handle to the enclosed pipe that it would float, and be strong enough?

[Big Dave2]

hmmm...anyone think that if I were to cut a ratchet handle down to say 2" than take a piece of say 6" by 3/4" thin wall pipe, weld the ends shut on the pipe, weld 2" ratchet handle to the enclosed pipe that it would float, and be strong enough?

Maybe you could try filling the pipe with spray foam and see if that would help.

[CAMAN]

Maybe you could try filling the pipe with spray foam and see if that would help.

It would have to be closed cell foam, and most found in the big box stores is open cell, and turns into a sponge. But I highly doubt it will float anyway.

I would personally go with the lanyard idea, maybe use one of those stainless steel retractible chains janitors use to store keys on their belt. There are a few companies that make a ratchet with a hole in the handle and most of them have a rubber cushion grip. Harbor Freight sells what they call a "Composite Ratchet" that has a rubber coated platic handle with chrome vanadium ratchet head, I haven't personally used one but the reviews I've seen are favorable and it has a hole in the handle to tie onto and some claim the weight is less than a standard ratchet.

[Jameson]

A good gripping handle is a necessity. So, those rubber handles are the norm. I'm currently trying out a crescent wrench that has a ratchet built into the handle. It makes for a good grip, too. We use that one socket 80%+ of the time, and having the crescent wrench on the other end of my ratchet has saved a few trips back to the truck to grab a tool we weren't expecting to use.

I tried building an enclosed pipe handle ratchet last night...didn't have the time to do it right and my welds leaked. I'll keep an eye out for the foam, and try again when I have the proper time to do so. Today a lanyard to the wrist will be in play.

Thanks guys.

[pulsar_nx]

Pig tail telephone cord or ESD wrist strap would be my choice. That way you aren't fighting it all the time. I'm not sure how to attach it to the wrench though.

[Jameson]

Wrist strap was too much of a hassle today. Switching ratchet from right to left hand while trying to also wedge a 20'+ down-pipe in bracket to keep it from sliding back down while crouching to tighten set screw to remove a mud-plate. Ratchet slipped out of hand and into the drink. My fishing skills were inept and at the bottom is where my $27 combo sits. Come ice season I know where I'm drilling some holes. Hopefully the camera will show where she sits and I'll be able to magnet it out than. It's a good walleye spot close to shore, so might get one of those, too.

Still in need of a floating ratchet.

[delcecchi]

I just weighed a 3/8 drive ratchet with a socket. 276 grams or 9 3/4 oz. Craftsman quick release to be exact.

So you need about 17 cubic inches or 276 cubic centimeters of foam to make it float. I will let you figure out the best shape but a cylinder 2 inches in diameter about 5.5 inches long would do it, according to my calculations. Maybe 6 for a safety factor. That doesn't cover extensions or deep sockets.

Hope this helps. Attaching it to the wrench is a different question.

[Surface Tension]

I'd be using a cheap ratchet till you get one to float.

[Jameson]

Thanks for the calculations. I did try the pipe insulating foam the other night on two different ratchets and sockets, el cheapo and not so cheapo. Couldn't get either to float. About 6" of foam would fit on the handle. Even if it did float it would have been unusable as the handle would be too fat.

I also tried just having a somewhat loose ring of foam around the socket, attached foam to ratchet with fishing line, so that when ratchet hit the water it would have a bobber. But couldn't get the 'bobber' to stay on good enough and still slip off good enough.

Now when it's a short walk to a deep dock the el cheapo is used. A long walk or shallow hard surfaced dock I bust out the super ratchet combo. $3 vs $27.

I've pulled around 15 docks this fall and only have had the one ratchet loss. So, it's not that common to loose one. Fished it out two other times.

[Jameson]

...2 inches in diameter about 5.5 inches long would do it, according to my calculations. Maybe 6 for a safety factor....

I'm filing this away in the memory bank. This winter I'll make a 7-8" by 2" diameter pipe handle with foam inside to attach to a ratchet head and give it a try.

Thanks

[delcecchi]

I figured some 80 pound power pro to a chunk of house insulation foam, the pink stuff, would do as a bobber without being too much in the way. If the ratchet has a hole in the handle or a skinny place to tie it you would be good to go.

Just have to figure out what works for you for sure.

[EBass]

It needs a mini life jacket like one of those hit the water and self inflate with a CO2 cartridge. I don't know how that would work, but that would fit the bill and be pretty cool.