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I got a couple of air tools ( ratchet and a gun) when my father in law moved to assisted living. They're IR, so they are basically of good quality, but they've been well used.
Any thoughts on some things that I should check on them? My compressor should be up to driving them, and they do spin. I suspect that they may need some attention, but I'd like to know if they're too far gone to be worth it.
I'd squirt a little oil in the inlet and apply some air. If they run without vibrating I'd go ahead and try to torque a fastener down and then take a wrench and see how tight the impact wrench made it.
Be careful with the ratchet because it will try to twist you once the bolt is tight. If you dont have room to turn it will run your hand into whatever is in the way. It can hurt. Also, the reversing mechanism is in the back head. If you run a nut up a long fastener and the back of the ratchet hits a casting, how do you change directions to get the wrench off again.