In the Air Impact Wrench world the term “MAX” by Ingersoll Rand have been associated with the top performing tools for many years now. The introduction of a brand new “MAX” 3/8” ratchet 1207MAX-D3 ($138, Ohio Power Tool) carried with it some big expectations. We had a chance to demo this tool recently and decided to put it into the hands of someone who could really get some mileage out of it in very short order.
The tool was passed along to one of the repair technicians at Ohio Power Tool who works on hundreds of tools, jacks and other equipment in any given week. It’s their job to take the tool apart, diagnose the problem, replace the bad parts, reassemble and thoroughly test the tools to verify everything is working perfectly before it going back out on the jobsite or garage.
After two weeks on the job the tool had definitely gotten its share of usage. The most liked features of the ratchet were the control of the trigger, placement of forward/reverse switch and quietness compared to other air tools on the bench. The soft trigger control of ratchet made it possible to use tool with more control that most other ratchetsm, giving it a wider range of applications. The forward/reverse switch is very conveniently placed and would be even more ideal for those wearing gloves, as you don’t need to use your fingertips at all. Also a quieter tool is always a welcome benefit as long as it doesn’t cut down the power.
Some suggestions to improve the tool from the repair tech was simply more power, because the trigger allows for such a wide range of control it’s much easier to apply very little force than other ratchets while at the same time going all the way up to 65 ft.lbs torque. The thought was if it had a higher MAX range you would still retain the control on the low end. That being said it’s still one of the most powerful 3/8” ratchets on the market. Perhaps the IR guys did too good of job engineering the MAX control on this tool.
All in all it looks like the 1207MAX-D3 is one of the best performing 3/8” ratchets on the market today with many innovative features you will not find on any other ratchets. There is also a ½” ratchet version the 1207MAX-D4 ($144, Ohio Power Tool). To see more of the 1207MAX ratchet check out this Facebook Album or watch the IR video below.
