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Swapped from impact driver to hand ratchet for interior trim and now I get it
Honestly, I used to grab my impact driver for everything, even pulling interior door panels. Last week I stripped a clip on a 2012 Civic and spent 20 minutes cursing until my neighbor came over with a hand ratchet and fixed it in 2 minutes. Ngl, he convinced me that speed ain't everything when you're working on delicate plastic pieces. Now I keep a small 1/4 inch ratchet set in my glovebox for any interior stuff. Has anyone else found themselves reaching for the hand tools more after a similar facepalm moment?
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hayden1442mo ago
...and that's exactly what I used to think too, until I dropped a door panel screw inside the trim and had to take the whole dang door apart because my impact driver zipped it into a blind pocket. I mean, I still use the impact for like, heavy suspension bolts and stuff, but for anything that clips into plastic, the hand ratchet is basically my new best friend. It's almost meditative honestly, just taking my time and not panicking about stripping anything. Now I just keep a little folding ratchet in my center console and feel like a pro while everyone else is cussing out their impact driver.
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alex3071mo ago
Respectfully, @webb.ben, I used to think that way too until a stripped screw cost me an hour on a Mercedes door panel that required a special order clip. Time saved per job is nice, but time lost fixing mistakes adds up way faster than people realize. A hand ratchet might take 3 extra minutes per screw, but it never makes me dig a magnet out of the bottom of a door cavity or drive across town for a $8 clip at the dealer. Speed is great until you're paying for it twice.
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