TIMELESS AIR TOOLS FROM INGERSOLL-RAND

I was recently approached by a friend’s son who is interested in collecting his own set of tools to begin his career in the automo- tive world. When he asked me for a list of tools he should purchase, a ½-inch drive air wrench and a 3⁄ – inch drive air ratchet were high on the list.

While writing the list, I was reminded of when I got my first set of air tools. I’d been working out of my mom’s garage throughout high school while I saved up enough money to buy an air compressor and an impact wrench/air ratchet combo from Ingersoll Rand (IR).

My world changed the day I made the purchase, turning wrenches took on a whole other meaning. Not only were these two tools real time savers, they also allowed me to perform a much wider vari ety of useful tasks. It’s hard to believe that all of this happened more than 20 years ago. Both tools have been the corner stones of my toolbox, assisting me with all of my projects throughout the past two decades.

To my surprise, Ingersoll Rand now offers a combo pack that is similar to the one I bought so long ago. Today’s version is part of IR’s Edge Series and contains all of the great performance features from my original set, with a few modern refine ments to improve the ergonomics of both tools. What didn’t come as a surprise was the fact that both of these tools are still bar none perfect. Both tools have been a big part of IR’s lineup for more than 75 of the 140 plus years of the company’s exis tence, so I guess I should have expected nothing less.

The set includes IR’s 231G ½ inch drive air impact wrench paired with the 170G 3⁄8 inch drive air ratchet wrench, plus a five piece socket set. The impact wrench deliv ers up to 500 ft lbs of torque, and the air ratchet is rated up to 55 pounds. Both tools feature a new ergonomic grip, plus the handy storage case makes them easy to carry around with you.

Removing tires, busting tough chassis bolts and turning hard to reach fasteners will seem like child’s play with this set; you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it. ST

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