Vintage Skil 2238 Battery Ratchet Brought Back To Life... Sort Of

[@BlainesGarage]

These ratchets were great. I had a few of these. Still have one or two laying around in the garage somewhere waiting to be born again. I think many here aren’t aware that these were the first cordless ratchet, at least that i recall. Sure, they weren’t very powerful, but it still made wrenching on your shit go faster when you’re working without a compressor and air tools. At 15:49 after reversing the button at the head, which also actuates linkage that reverses the polarity of the switch at the same time, you’ll notice the motor run briefly but the head does not spin at first. The gearing mechanism inside allows approximately 1 and a 1/2 free turns of normal ratchet function that effectively disconnects the motor during this period, but then locks the head and motor together after that 1-1/2 turns and the head will no longer ratchet unless the button is pressed to re-up the freewheel. So operating it, you would break the fastener loose like a normal ratchet, then push the button. If the fastener was rusted or exceeded the torque that the tool is capable of, you just used it like a normal ratchet occasionally tapping the button to keep the mechanism brought up behind that 1-1/2 turns until the fastener was free enough for the tool to run it. It made a great hammer as well. My second cordless ratchet was a Snap-on 1/4” drive which was just a standard air ratchet head with a battery and motor. Now THAT ratchet WAS a total piece of shit. Still have it too. Lol. Love this channel. Keep it coming.

[@Eddavids2]

I used to have one of these and I can tell you from experience mine probably still looks brand new too because they sucked. Not sure how far you want to take it but you can still buy parts for these

[@uhitskyle]

Dm him a link. I'd like to see it put to work on a small project maybe

[@drewparsons9721]

Where at?

[@inund8]

@@uhitskyle (you can't dm ppl on youtube anymore)

[@Chief-CO]

@@inund8 anymore? You could before?

[@Hellsong89]

@@Chief-CO Yes, but that was ages ago, back when google tried to make social media with google+ if recall its name right. It didnt go so well so they just can the whole thing.. i'm still pissed about that since DM's is just the thing this platform needs.. among other things like new management.

[@mikeycage1587]

I was just at my aunt's house yesterday and was going through her garage because my uncle passed away a few years ago and she is slowly getting rid of his tools. He was an old time mechanic and I came across this and remembered this video. I asked if I could have it and now it's mine. It's just a cool old tool that not many people have anymore. I love nostalgia. Plus just having something my uncle had is worth it's weight in gold. You'd probably have gotten along great with him. He was such a a cool guy.

[@mechntechbeau]

My dad gave me a few of those old monsters that still work. I love using them from time to time because they scare the shit out of people with how loud they can be.

[@brianthompson9729]

Bought a bunch of those when they first came out !! Used most of them to the Extreme ! Ended up combining broken ones over time !! Got hundreds of hours of service out of them !! Probably one of the better thousand of dollars spent on cordless tools !! 🤔👍

[@strawbemily3182]

this guy is actually really soothing. also yeah my dad had one of these, never used it, he threw it out when i was pretty young, if love to get one and replace the electronics with something modern so it's useful.

[@alexmills1329]

This would be a hell of a Frankenstein but I’m willing to bet that Milwaukee motor would fit in there with its electronics and that might be a really cool custom tool.

[@kooshkangaroo]

That is a great idea

[@elguapo1690]

Well, to be fair, all those gears are brand new because they were never expected to have to do any work. You put any real power in that and it would tear itself to pieces.

[@littlejack59]

I'd pay money just for the looks. Dlc tools

[@nemo1716]

It would be cool if this video gains the traction it deserves, I would watch as many of these kind of videos as you're willing to make. You have a good voice for it and the level of experience that actually makes watching these valuable for a tradesman like myself. Keep it up and all the best to you 👍

[@jamesflowers7142]

I agree and the lack of repeating himself to fill the dead air makes this a joy to watch

[@sensibudz]

There is a Canadian guy with a channel called ave it’s pretty good. He takes tools apart. New and old. He is an engineer and talks about the stuff it’s made of and determines if it is a “skookum” (tough af) tool worthy of purchase and using. Buy once, cry once

[@billynomates920]

i'm watching it ten months later in the uk. always late but guess i'm the same age as mr funk because i recognise my dad having all these tools at work when i was starting out.

[@jesseshort8]

Hey, let's go. A little Funk on a Monday morning is always good.

[@rguy2684]

I have a Makita from the early 80's and it still works! I may have turned a wrench or two starting in the early 70's Doing good kid! Thanks for the content!

[@Imliving.1305]

Blue collar AVE. Keep these up, im hooked.

[@josephcutlip2888]

American Ave

[@bmo14lax]

@@josephcutlip2888 mhm

[@creamteam499]

Respect for following through despite the results. Super cool tool lol never seen this before, awesome video as always👌🏻🔥

[@joshuawargo6446]

thats what i was thinking....this LOOKS like a really cool idea and tool....but also like it PROBABLY sucks at what its intended for unfortunately....dont know why just the feeling i get seeing it

[@eagleviewhd]

I have owned one of these for decades! I replaced the batteries in it. It still works.

[@zachrywd]

I'd recommend sending that to The Torque Test Channel, but could their setup even read this? Super cool tool, thx for sharing.

[@codykeith947]

Currently on deployment for the naval construction force and you make the days a hell of a lot more fun man love the content

[@Grovesrussell]

I really liked this video. Would love to see you do more when you find interesting older tools

[@ashtonrouse5638]

You'll probably like AvE. He has a series called BOLTR where he buys all sorts of tools and gadgets often brand new and pulles em apart to see what makes em tick. Highly entertaining.

[@bendeco]

You talk like I do during big corporate meetings. Cheers

[@deathventure]

Next time you meet up with battery corrosion, soak it in vinegar first. Then clean it out in water, and let it dry or use an air compressor to blow it out. The vinegar stops the corrosion and will actually absorb some of the base mixture. Depending on how long the battery has be leaking, should be fairly usable after that. If it's been too long, the corrosion will eat through all the metal though.

[@deathventure]

Also, if I remember right, the polarity doesn't do anything as far as the reverse and forward gears. That's all done mechanically.

[@patr7240]

Soldering is such a low key awesome skill to know. I'm self teaching myself now by Soldering little electronic Christmas trees

[@FunkFPV]

If you haven’t figured it out already. Use 60/40 lead solder. The lead free stuff is hard to work with especially with smaller components.

[@natelax1367]

Sounds dumb but when I started learning I went to the dollar store and bought whatever cheap electronic things I could find. Then I’d desolder the components and reassemble. If it works again then you pass. If not, no big loss and you learn something

[@patr7240]

@@FunkFPV yup I bought 1 roll of the lead free stuff and never again lol. It is much easier with the 60/40 stuff

[@patr7240]

@@natelax1367 that's honestly a good idea. I just dropped like 20 bucks for a 10 pack of little trees from Amazon to start with. Just some basic components and led's so I need something to step up to

[@1pcfred]

The trick with soldering is work clean. If what you're soldering is clean you stand a decent chance of soldering it. If what you're soldering isn't clean you're going to have problems. Even finger oil can screw up a solder joint. Oxides will certainly mess you up. Yeah flux is supposed to carry off contaminants but why push your luck? So get in the habit of cleaning everything before you solder it and life is good.

[@josephrice2563]

Still a cool piece I love seeing older tools that lasted the times compared to today where once it goes in the trash we throw

[@kennethsouthard6042]

About the same time we bought an electric screwdriver made by Skil. However, the housing of it was plastic. It also had a built-in battery into the handle and a charger that also doubled as a holder that would bolt to the inside of a cabinet. It was versatile for stuff inside the house, but taking it outside to work on things like a car where screws were torqued higher, it was a big fail. I'll bet this had a similar motor and torque, and with that pot metal housing they probably tried to make it have the "look" for more heavy duty use, but probably even a bigger fail due to the lack of torque and a similar weak motor where bolts are generally tighter than screws. I'll bet the drive can handle more torque than the motor can get dish out, but the problem was back then there was just really no electrical tools that could provide decent torque in such a small package. Going back to the time it was built, I guess it may have in theory worked for lightly torqued fasteners, and was supposededly easiler in tight places than a manual ratchet and cheaper and easier to set up than an air ratchet. It ultimately became a solution in search of a problem that didn't really exist.

[@1pcfred]

That old Skil looks like a tool. New Skil tools are worth a look today. I picked up a corded angle grinder model AG242001 Skil made and it's OK. It had features I was looking for. Like a center mount for the side handle. I like to use that when I use cut off discs. Most grinders lack that today. Plus it is reasonably priced for a paddle switch.

[@XantheFIN]

Thanks showing of the free countries scale units as well.

[@Beast97777]

Just find your channel through shorts and I’m glad I did. Very good video.

[@charliemagoo7943]

I had one of them back in the day. The battery would last 2 bolts then it's a heavy ratchet. I'm surprised it took 20 years probably to have a good replacement. Ie Milwaukee

[@mavaddat]

Computer/electical engineer here: Three to five amps draw is huge. That does not seem OK. I would replace that electrical motor. I suspect the windings have lost their insulation or insulation is worn very thin. I would guess most of the amperage is going to create a ghost capacitance or lost as heat in the motor. If you replace the motor with a new equivalent, I would expect to see maybe 1A draw without any load.

[@blulllue4716]

man i fr love you n the content you make i don't know anything about any of the topics you cover but just your personality and voice truly make it a worthwhile experience

[@tzvifeldman]

Great video. It's always good to learn from someone else screwing around.

[@jldwolfe]

I got one of these at a yard sale last year for 1$ with its charger. Looks like new. Battery was trash but didn’t leak. Batteries are available for 10-20$ but I never got around to ordering one.

[@ShamusOGrady2]

I think you've found a niche between this and the shorts. 1mil followers here we come

[@DamagedF0X]

When I saw the batteries, I immediately through... 18650... Then you go and grab one. Fair output and good capacity. I feel there are better recharables out there tho.

[@ReinQuest]

I wasn’t expecting planetary gears in there. That’s cool.

[@socal_expat1856]

I had one of those beauty’s. And they did suck! Great channel, great content

[@acrinsd]

I bought one of these from Sears in 85/86. Expensive, and didn't last long.

[@milesparris4045]

The cells are almost certainly NiCd and not NiMh. They look like full C cells, but a lot of tools back then used Sub-C to get one more cell in the same space and increase the voltage for more power. My dad had one of the earliest cordless screwdrivers, it was about $100, massive, slow, and weak. Harbor Freight has one that's better in every way for $6.

[@ErtsenPlayGames]

Old nicd nimh can output 20-30Amps (most of the time 20A,old bosch 20y+ used 30A ones) yup up to 30 amps New ones can go even up to 50amps

[@tomasjosefvela1]

you could modify the old switch with a micro switch from an old drill. cool tool.

[@HVAC-BDE]

Yes. Worst case, just 3D print a new housing.

[@1pcfred]

That switch has to handle all of the current. An old AC drill would be lower current higher voltage. So the contact arc would be different. What you lose in voltage you have to make up with current.

[@tomasjosefvela1]

@@1pcfred I was thinking more like an older cordless drill or any cordless tool that might have one (I have to admit I have a bit of a hording problem with my old broken tools that "I'm going to fix one day" lol) but i see how I wasn't clear and you make a good point.

[@1pcfred]

@@tomasjosefvela1 maybe. Most drills are VSR drills though. Which means the trigger isn't a simple switch. It's a, "speed control module". I know the old time ones had a switch for full speed. But by then you weren't switching the full load. It was just a bypass for the top speed. Electrical devices have trended to the more complicated over time. A product of entropy I suppose?

[@goofylookingmofo]

You tried, it died, no lies... Awesome tinkering with the tools...

[@kris-english]

Great video brother, I really enjoyed seeing a relic in action.

[@Bareass172]

When you get corrosion on contacts from old batteries like that, a soak in white vinegar will clean it up. It reacts and removes it quite well.

[@amc8313]

Nice video....you should definitely do more like this .....BRAVO SIR 👏👏👏

[@-Tyreal_Awesome-112-]

was cool to see it work, enjoyed watching

[@loginavoidence12]

reminds me of this super duper japanese made impact ratchet i bought 15 years ago. was so excited not to turn the handle so repetitively anymore, until you got sick of it screaming in your ear after the third time you've used it. then it gets put in a drawer and forgotten

[@Iowa599]

I bet a brushless motor for an RC thing will fit with an upgraded battery! (car/truck/boat/plane?)

[@FunkFPV]

I might even have a brushed motor ESC laying around somewhere‘s 🤔

[@Spoderman5000]

We need to help come up with an outro catch phrase for this dude. Like “keep your forks greased” or something like that. 😁

[@FunkFPV]

I need to come up with something if I ever want to sell merch 🤣🤣

[@chriswatson7488]

What I'd like to see is modern workings installed into this. Maybe when the Milfukee breaks you can swap bits over into the Skil.

[@narancs5]

18:03 Thats what Stalin said when he spotted a young Gypsy in gulag.

[@bassiclymike]

I bought my dad one of those like 40+years ago!

[@KaaiHawaiianDeathMetal]

This beats the shit out of the life hacks

[@ashhgetdatcashh]

😂

[@MacMashPotato]

Your short about this tool brought me here.

[@Mygfisawesone]

It took me longer than I’d care to admit to understand that watch joke in the beginning of the video.

[@mineown1861]

Maybe a lipo battery, kind used in RC cars and drones , they'd be capable of higher output currents and hence bumping up the available torque . Five amps just won't cut it , as an example 1000mAh 20c lipo can push out 20 amps ( multiply capacity by the C rating ). Just a matter of finding one that'll fit. Add some electronics to handle the current and you could possibly hide a smaller switch inside the original. Interesting project , shame to dump it especially when it seems in near new mechanical condition. Happy tinkering.

[@taimaishu-nao1922]

Hey Wes, i know this is an old video but maybe one day you can revisit this project and make a Frankenstein Skil ratchet. I know that a lot of Nerf modders use Omron micro switches so maybe you could find one and 3D print an adapter to fit in the actual switch hole of the Skil. Would be interesting to see you put in a brushless 550 motor where the original sat. I don’t know about you but i think she deserves to live again.

[@CeeJayThe13th]

The cool thing about recording shit like this is that if you forget where something goes you can always look back at your footage lol

[@aaronknutson4836]

You should get in contact with My Mechanics and let him do his magic on this tool

[@AlexanderTzalumen]

Get yourself a spuger like bigclive has 😆

[@bobsponge1877]

I've felt a little apprehensive about buying a cordless ratchet. To me, it's like a socket version of a lightly powered, 90 degree drill. Things I already know about cordless ratchets: you can still use them as a normal ratchet, spins the nut faster than by hand/normal ratchet, and the torque for many brands is on par with those small 1/4" cordless impacts. Unless you're constantly having to remove nuts longer than 3/4" (19 mm to you fancy metric cats), they seem kinda like a frivolous expense to me, when they are 150 used and around 200 new now. Maybe they would be nice in manufacturing/production jobs? But for field work or in the shop, maybe not. I'd be curious to hear Funk's pros of this type of tool.

[@myotherbrotherdarrel4495]

Got my black and decker pecker wrecker auto adjustable wrench. Been nailed to the wall since 04

[@kosti_lustr]

"That was fun Hope you enjoyed it, i certainly did" *eyebrows eyebrows eyebrows*

[@kadinabc123]

You ought to send it to the torque test channel

[@davemason6501]

It will be interesting to see how you make out putting the li-pol battery in. Motor sounds like it could use a drop or 2 of oil on the bushings. I've been enjoying your videos.

[@jessetaylor9255]

Great work as always, hope you can find the switch.

[@GG64du02]

I changed a switch mechanism on a old grinder because the spare part do not exist anymore. I still use the grinder to this day. :)

[@Tomcat71]

I had one of these growing up ...Really turned me off to battery powered tools for a long time.

[@truracer20]

I bought one of these new back in the day and it didn't have the battery capacity to do any useful work. It would probably work great on brand new nuts, bolts, threaded holes etc. Any tightness in the threads just drained it.

[@truracer20]

And the video bears out my experience. 2 amp no load draw, over 5 amp draw with a load. These things are no different than EV's of the time, a proof of concept that their battery technology was very poor. But it begs the question, Why didn't they develop corded models? A corded 12v ratchet would have been and still would be a viable option for people without air compressors capable of the volume required to operate air tools. Like many people in this same boat my go to impact gun is a corded electric. I own 5 air compressors for nail guns, they can handle 2 coil nailers continuously but not air ratchets, impacts, air hammers or DA sanders.

[@Hellsong89]

You could have easily put in micro switch and mosfet to control the power and lithium battery, modified charger that has Esmoke charger mod inside and couple diodes preventing charge coming out to those points possibly shorting it, or just plug to have it work on bench top from transformer, though finding transformer that can do several amps these things pull is bit difficult. I have multitude of 12v cordless drills with dead batteries modified to use car battery since i have several locations where i need to work and i sometimes forget to take with my my cordless, so i have one of those modded ones in each location and can still work with those in a pinch i forgot, or forgot to charge the battery on my main drill. Jobs usually do not take fraction of the battery so i leave charger at home. Two main locations i have also those combi machines that have different attachments so i can have little multitool or sander there with same setup. Sure its not as mobile, but works fine for what i need it. Usually to drill few holes or put in some screws. Batteries even the most expensive ones die eventually and its nice to have drills around that i wont need to worry for that anymore and still have mobility of my main drill when i need it.

[@sleektoneofficial]

That was pretty cool man

[@GerrytheArtist]

I have one of these Lol. Bought it somewhere. Cant remember. Someone may have given it to me with a whole ratchet set. It was inside the dual compartment Craftsman plastic ratchet case. Never tried to use it. Lol. But now I know exactly what I've got thanks to your detailed autopsy. Lol I will test it to see if she still cranks up. If not. Could youvsend me your address and I'd be glad to have you take mine apart and clean it all up. Lol. I'd pay you of course. (As long as you romise not to switch out my switch. BUAHAHAHA!!! 🤣😂😅

[@MiguelTyson]

It was no suffering watching this. You could have something goin with this idea.

[@insertnamehere313]

I almost thought that was a Conooter valve removal tool.... Still looking tho...😆

[@remingtonlewis2000]

Would 120 rpm not be 120x the rotation of a watch

[@thelastengineer2315]

🤣The second hand of a watch does one revolution every 60 seconds so this tool does 2 x the rpm of a watch.

[@jacobmiller7175]

​@thelastengineer2315 well.. I don't wanna be that guy. But the second hand goes around one revolution per minute. So if the ratchet is twice as fast then it would make one revolution in 30 seconds. I hope you can see in the video, it moves much faster that that.

[@lhmmhl1]

This is a great vid! Make more

[@jonathanwright5550]

Damn it now I want one to go with my milwaukee one

[@jankcitycustoms]

I'll send you the switch from mine. same one, great shape. I wired mine up different so I'll never need the original. I dont mind paying shipping the thing weighs like 3 grams.

[@FunkFPV]

I might have a line on getting one 👍🏻

[@jankcitycustoms]

right on

[@scottl8137]

Well its the first pioneer of the cordless ratchet word... compare to like a 66 Ford mustang grocery getter and 22 Ford Mustang Cobra. Or a Dodge "K" car and a scat pack Challenger 😁😁😁

[@paultrimble9390]

Charge for 5 days works for 5 seconds. Work fast.

[@gypsydildopunks7083]

No incessant pointing and zero Naughty naughty finger

[@billh308]

One thing those NiCad cells can do is dump a lot of current, unlike that new 18650 cell

[@bendoverson3385]

Maan, your humor is priceless) I need more funny stuff, coz you're making it sooooooo fucking gooood) Sorry, for being annoying. Serious stuff is good too, but your jokes just pure gold)

[@Tomcat71]

If I recall it was around the 87-88 time frame cause i got one during Christmas when i was in high school.

[@trimrug9310]

Loving the content keep up the awesome work😁

[@invadervim9037]

The new electric ratchets are pretty cool, but you can't club someone over the head with them like you can with the old ones.

[@ChuckWood]

wait, 120 rpms is not twice as fast as the second hand on a watch. its 120x faster.

[@nader31]

I used to have this same set.

[@mtrltoolman]

You need a high drain lithium battery for more power . You can clean up the corrosion in the switch with acdelco carburetor cleaner let it soak a few seconds then clean it with a contact cleaner it will renew the contact points and remove the corrosion. Nice tool by the way.

[@FunkFPV]

I cut it out because the video was going too long but the actual internals of the switch were completely wasted.

[@mtrltoolman]

@@FunkFPV Ok, use a tow way switch like the one in kids car there is some switches like that can hold 16 amps easily more than enough for this. Maybe you find an original switche in ebay. Good luck.

[@wes_azdrummer93]

No one cares what you think...

[@wes_azdrummer93]

@@mtrltoolman shut up don't try and sound like you know more, start your own channel idiot

[@R.S.R.S.]

Thanks for the grams.

[@bmo14lax]

Looks pretty scoocum. I'd recommended maybe a closer look if possible, If you're a channel picks up steam definitely get a tripod and a decent camera maybe 🤷 just love your videos already.

[@BerzerkaDurk]

0:42 - ummmm.... the second hand on _most_ people's watches revolves at approximately *one* RPM, so that tool (at one time) turned at 120x the speed of the second hand on a watch. 😉😉

[@mitchelpomo2045]

Hey funk can you do more videos on FPV drones/gear? Also can you show your setup and what you fly 🪰? Thanks man!!!!

[@ashhgetdatcashh]

You should do tool reviews and stupid tools review like on tiktok love your videos bro

[@FunkFPV]

I was thinking about buying some of those cheap Chinese tools and reenacting their videos 😁

[@littlejack59]

He got the harbor freight scale

[@carsandcomputers5765]

Just got a working one at goodwill same model

[@deeeyewhy5949]

Forgive me if I’m wrong but isn’t 120 rpm 120 times the speed of the second hand on a watch since. A second hand on a watch makes one full Revolution per minute?

[@JaredGti07]

Just cleaned a toyota hyro cap today lol thanks

[@FunkFPV]

Nice 👍🏻

[@tripolarmdisorder7696]

120 RPM is 120 times the second hand on your watch. I almost missed it but it hurt my brain and I had to say something.

[@mikemitchell9157]

Even that switch was built strong bud just the thing about it it won't hold up to the battery acid.... nothing will.

[@kevinragsdale6256]

I want one of these so bad

[@KingBobBobBob]

I like using 20700s for such applications but a 18650 would do in a pinch since I vape I got a lot of both kicking around so its useful lol

[@Kremlins]

that was a cool video, man

[@johnmaynard8884]

1 have one of these ratchets and thinking about getting a new battery for it.