Ratcheting Wrenches for Dummies

ratcheting wrench set

We'll be honest: we know absolutely nothing about subjects such as propagating orchids and editing wheat genes. If forced to write some sort of post about such topics, we'd be damned certain to do our research. Not so with many of the hacks who contributed to eHow.com, however: if you want proof, all you need do is look at the Hunker.com article written by Heath Wright. Just look for "How to Reverse Ratcheting Wrenches."

Right up front, here's how: to reverse a ratcheting wrench (such as the GearWrench® brand), all you do is flip it over. Wright, however, didn't know that. In fact, he seemed pretty much unaware of what a ratcheting wrench is, which is certainly why his "instructions" include bogosity such as,

1. "Grip the ratcheting wrench and put the socket on the ratchet head." 
2. "Position the ratchet wrench with the wrench head on the bolt." 
3. "Slide the direction control to the left."
4. "When your [sic] run out of space. [sic] Remove the wrench and slide it over the nut again from where you started. Twist the ratcheting wrench again until you run out of space. Repeat this process until the the nut has come off."

The local tool guy's comments on Heath's work? Read on:

1. There are no sockets on a ratcheting wrench. In fact, there's no "head."
2. That's more like it... although it's probably a nut instead of a bolt.
3. Nope, there's no "direction control," either.
4. Even without the crappy writing, this would be utter bull. The whole point of a ratcheting wrench is that you don't need to take it off, you just swing it back in the opposite direction. The pawl in the head grabs again, and it continues to act as a wrench.

In other words, Heath probably should have stuck to things he knows... like theater. Perhaps if he wrote about blocking or running lines, he wouldn't be the latest Dumbass of the Day. But he didn't, so he is.

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