Old timer at the hall told me to ditch my cheater bar for a sledge hammer on that job up in Gary

I was working on a big drum repair at the mill in Gary last month. Been using a cheater bar on the socket wrench for years on those rusted bolts. This old guy, must have been 70, walked over and just said "put that thing down and get the 8 pound sledge." I thought he was crazy. But he showed me how to hit the bolt head square a few times to break the rust loose, then it came right off with a regular ratchet. Took me half the time I usually spend fighting with a cheater. Anyone else ever get told to switch up your approach on stuck fasteners and it actually worked better?

2 comments

2 Comments

milesrobinson21d agoMost Upvoted

That old timer knows his stuff, sledge works way better for breaking rust loose.

amymason21d ago

That "sledge works way better" line hit home for me. I was stuck on a 20 year old trailer hitch last summer and a 10 pound sledge broke it loose in maybe three solid hits. Penetrating oil never did a thing for it, but that one good swing did the job.