Thursday, December 16, 2010

Ratcheting ReadyWrench Review

Last month a representative from Black and Decker emailed me and asked if I would like to review their new Ratcheting ReadyWrench.  How could I say no?  With all the stuff we do around here, an extra hand tool is always welcome!  As soon as I got the box, I opened it and then struggled like an idiot to get the thing out of the package. 
Eventually we were able to put our heads together and figure out that the yellow thingy is just holding the wrench in the package and is not, in fact, part of the wrench (insert me yelling "Oh crap, don't break that yellow piece!") and was fine to remove.  Duh.  SO, here it is all out of the package - first hurdle passed!  DIY geniuses here, I tell ya. 
The idea behind this baby is that you have 16 different sizes of sockets, 8 metric on one end and 8 standard on the other.  They spin around until you find the perfect size.  The ratcheting function allows you to keep moving without lifting it up.  I decided to try it out on our dining chair bolts, which probably hadn't been tightened up for awhile. 
I spun the end around until I found the correct size, and went to town.  The only thing I found to be troublesome is that the wrench can slip off the bolt if you aren't holding it just right, and the socket wheel has the ability to move a little while you're working.   
But the ratcheting action was mighty nice considering the awkward position of this bolt...I would give this handly little tool four stars out of five.  And thanks to Black and Decker, you all have a chance to win a wrench of your own!  
***GIVEAWAY DEETS***
1. To enter, leave a comment telling me about a holiday toy or furniture assembly horror story!  Or, something else "wrenchy."
2. Please make sure your email is either in your comment or on your *public* blogger profile/blog - if I can't find your email, I have to pick another winner.   
3. Giveaway closes Monday at midnight, I will pick a winner using Random.org on Tuesday -Good luck!

Please note - Black and Decker provided the Ratcheting ReadyWrench without cost for my review.  

18 comments:

  1. for us, taking things apart usually involves
    losing a critical piece, having the dog run off with a piece, swearing, deterioration of marriage etc....so, anything that helps is welcome!

    Heather.foster@kp.org

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  2. I had a nightmare of a time removing a toilet to install new guts in it... took forever to find the right tool.

    allisona@bigfoot.com

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  3. OH this could be nice! I hate running back and forth to the garage looking for the right size!!

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  4. Here's my horror story:

    I went to Ikea to buy the sideboard I'd been eying for a few months. It was so big that you had to purchase it, then go to a side area to pick it up. The staff brought it out once you bought it. I wait. They bring it out. I load it up and head home.

    When I went to put it together, I realized that they gave me two of "Box #2" instead of one Box #1 and one Box #2. I call them and they say that it's no biggie, that I can just bring it back and swap it out. Unfortunately, I live over two hours from Ikea, so I'm not too keen on that drive. They offered to drive it to me, but it took over a week. When they went to unload it, I almost died because the box had a "#2" sticker on it.

    Fortunately, they had the right box in another part of the truck.

    The parts of the stupid thing were all over my place while I was waiting. It was a mess!

    BTW, you get the best opportunities to review stuff! I just get CSN over and over again.

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  5. OOhhhhhhhh I want that!

    Horror story?
    http://picardyproject.blogspot.com/2010/12/dear-porcher-i-fucking-hate-you.html

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  6. Horror story... horror story... I can't believe it, but my mind is totally blank. Oh, I know- I still haven't fully put back together the patio set I refinished. Does that count? And I agree with Jeannine- you do get the best opportunities for reviews!

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  7. my wife and I are expecting our second child next May. That involves putting a lot of furniture moving, assembly and re-assembly. I'm also converting part of our basement into another bedroom. This tool would save me a lot of time.

    corebox1@msn.com

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  8. How about anything Ikea? Our closet organizing system is still missing a board on the bottom from where my frustrated husband tried to force something to fit and it snapped. We just pretend not to notice :)

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  9. Very cool! You get the best tools to try. Putting together a cheapo desk in college may be the most horrible assembly story ever. It ended up with the top on the bottom and we had to take it apart and start over. This wasn't us, but my parents put up our fence while we were on the honeymoon as a surprise. They got it 100 percent up and then let Franco, who promptly escaped through the pickets. They had to take off every picket and start off. That sucked for them.

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  10. Thanks for the great giveaway!
    My latest horror story was when we went to go hang our new pottery barn photo display shelf we discovered that our walls are not perfectly square...rather they are somewhat "bowed" out which made the 4 foot shelf sit not flush to the wall! Grr!
    rees_bk@hotmail.com

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  11. We tried to put together our West Elm futon and it was a mess! The directions were awful - my husband would love that wrench!

    ourwaldobungie@gmail.com

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  12. I'm lucky, and putting together bizzarre furniture happens to be my main skill set (not very marketable though) so I don't have that many horror stories. Although on a couple of the pieces I built myself, I cut too long a few times!

    dm@lifeallaround.com

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  14. Pfft. Every furniture assembly task turns into a nightmare for me, I am completely incompetent when it comes to tools...

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  15. I can't think of a really bad horror story right now - I've definitely had some, though - but remember the nightmarish endless hours it took to assemble that new bed in our Master Bedroom? There was blood, sweat, and every position of Olympic gymnastics...

    Kelly

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  16. So fun! We have had MANY furniture assembly nightmares - particularly back in our Ikea days :) Who writes those instructions anyway?

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  17. I'm constantly dragging flat-packed things home from IKEA. Okay, maybe not constantly, but enough to where my knuckles end up skinned a lot. And I'm not getting a single tool for Christmas. Pleeeeaaaaaasssssssseeeee?

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  18. Hey...I think anything I attempt is "Wretchy" haha! Great blog! Danielle Smiely424@hotmail.com

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Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara