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I still pick hand tools over air tools for interior work

I spent last Wednesday pulling a dash out of a 2017 Civic and my buddy kept saying I was crazy for using ratchets and screwdrivers instead of his air ratchet. Thing is, I cracked two trim pieces with my hands but he cracked three with his tool because he couldn't feel the resistance. Am I the only one who thinks you can control things better with hand tools in tight spots?

2 comments

2 Comments

calebrivera19d ago

Appreciate you sharing your experience but I gotta push back on this one. An air ratchet with a proper trigger lets you feather the speed just as well as your wrist if you take the time to learn it. Your buddy cracking three trim pieces sounds like an operator problem not a tool problem, same as you cracking two with hand tools. In tight spots like under a dash, a right angle air ratchet actually gives you more control since you're not fighting your own arm angle and can focus one hand on guiding the socket. Hand tools have their place but saying they're always better for interior work is like saying a manual screwdriver is better than a drill for putting together furniture.

coleman.christopher19d ago

Figured out the hard way that "operator problem" is just a fancy way of saying "I'm the operator and I'm the problem." I've snapped more trim clips with an air ratchet in one afternoon than I did in three years of hand tools, and I'd love to blame the tool but it was totally me getting cocky. My buddy swears by his right angle ratchet for dash work though, says it saves his wrists from looking like he's been arm wrestling a gorilla. I still grab hand tools for anything near plastic because my depth perception with a power tool is about as reliable as a weather forecast. Different strokes I guess, just depends if you'd rather explain cracked panels to your wife or explain a sore wrist to yourself.