SIGforum
Destroyed breaker bars
May 22, 2026, 12:58 PM
400mDestroyed breaker bars
I’m in the market for a new 1/2” breaker bar and it got me to thinking: Who here has ever destroyed one, what brand was it, and what the hell were you doing it that caused it to fail?
Or, perhaps you abused the hell out of one and you were impressed how well it held up. Those are good stories too.
May 22, 2026, 01:20 PM
P250UA5I sheared the lug off a 1/2" breaker bar, with a 3ft pipe on it.
Was trying to break loose the 54mm nut on the 'crankshaft' of the 13B I had in my Lotus 7 replica project.
Twisted it clean off with the lug still inside the socket. Craftsman, so they no questions warranty replaced it.
Upgraded to a 3/4" breaker & was able to break it loose. Strapped the engine to a concrete post on the house & with both feet off the ground, bounced on the breaker+cheater.
The Enemy's gate is down. May 22, 2026, 01:32 PM
architectWhen I was doing commercial landscaping, the big mower we used was a 72" Heckendorn. The blade bar nut torque was listed at 250 ft. lbs. and they would get tighter in use, some times much tighter. I routinely put a 4' pipe on the handle of my 1/2" Craftsman breaker, until I ponied up for a 3/4" breaker bar that got the same treatment. Never had either of them bend or break. Still have them both today.
Now I know that Craftsman has dipped a little in quality since the good old days, but there are some stout tools out there.
Just as an aside, almost all of the broken breakers I've seen have snapped one leg of the "U" holding the swivel at the socket attachment end. Maybe look for extra metal at that part of the tool.
May 22, 2026, 01:35 PM
old rugged crossDepending on what you are going to do with it. I would not trust a HD or lowes or Ace hardware type cheap steel. I have ones that are decades old and I would never be able to destroy them compared to the cheap chinese ones. Even if USA made if new I would be hesitant to trust. The new steel is just not made like it once was. ymmv
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
May 22, 2026, 03:22 PM
.38supersigI have a 1/2 inch drive ratchet with a 24" flex handle.
Haven't had much trouble getting anything loose.
A 3/4 inch ratchet with a 48" handle is always close by, but seldom needed.
May 22, 2026, 03:39 PM
bdylanWe would break them all time using cranes and forklifts to turn them on stuck fasteners. I never really found any that seemed any tougher than others. If you put an extension on it and pull it with an overhead crane, something is going to break, or the nut is going to turn. Of course, you should really just move on to other methods and not do silly things if you can't loosen it by hand. Time constraints will often cause poor decisions.
May 22, 2026, 05:27 PM
nhracecraftTake a look at this one from Tekton Tools:
https://www.tekton.com/1-2-inc...breaker-bar-sbh00224It has an external head design, which is made of AISI 4140 steel and heat treated to be stronger & more ductile than the handle. It is available with couple of different lengths & handle designs too...And it's rated for 560 ft-lb Proof Torque!
____________________________________________________________
If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !!
Trump 47....Making America Great Again!
"May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20
Live Free or Die!
May 22, 2026, 05:43 PM
sigmonkeyThe method of pulling the bar in a surging/bouncing motion where you employ your body weight can exceed well over 1000 pounding feets of torque with a dynamic peak force and destroy a breaker bar PDQ.
Adding an additional 2 feet to the moment doubles that to well over a ton.
Use heat and/or penetrating fluid (Kroil or "weasel pee"50/50 ATF and acetone) and/or shock (BMFH).
"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא עוד May 22, 2026, 06:45 PM
400mquote:
Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Take a look at this one from Tekton Tools:
https://www.tekton.com/1-2-inc...breaker-bar-sbh00224It has an external head design, which is made of AISI 4140 steel and heat treated to be stronger & more ductile than the handle. It is available with couple of different lengths & handle designs too...And it's rated for 560 ft-lb Proof Torque!
That was first on my list.
May 22, 2026, 07:19 PM
Sailor1911My secretary's husband was helping his son try to break loose a tire lug nut a few weeks ago. He put a piece of pipe on the breaker bar and in the process it slipped loose, snaped back and hit him below the eye, Broke the bones around the eye and "ruptured" the eye. He's going to lose the eye.
Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.
“If in winning a race, you lose the respect of your fellow competitors, then you have won nothing” - Paul Elvstrom "The Great Dane" 1928 - 2016 May 22, 2026, 07:22 PM
P250UA5quote:
Originally posted by Sailor1911:
My secretary's husband was helping his son try to break loose a tire lug nut a few weeks ago. He put a piece of pipe on the breaker bar and in the process it slipped loose, snaped back and hit him below the eye, Broke the bones around the eye and "ruptured" the eye. He's going to lose the eye.
The Enemy's gate is down. May 22, 2026, 08:56 PM
400mThat’s horrible. Sorry to hear that.
May 22, 2026, 09:10 PM
David LeeI've never broke one as I'm not strong enough. I have a new 25" Icon and youtubers show it breaks at 650 foot pounds. Doubt I will ever hurt it and it's a nice tool. Comfort grip Icon.
May 23, 2026, 01:52 AM
slosigMy son broke the hub on a 1/2” harbor freight breaker bar. Not even any cheater on it. I suspect it may have been weakened from prior abuse with cheater pipes though…
May 23, 2026, 01:55 AM
ArtieSI have put some serious ass on the 1/2 harbor freight 24 inch bar and was unable to break it. I honestly thought I would destroy it but no. Coupled with the HF impact deep sockets it broke seriously rusted nuts free.
"I vowed to myself to fight against evil more completely and more wholeheartedly than I ever did before. . . . That’s the only way to pay back part of that vast debt, to live up to and try to fulfill that tremendous obligation."
Alfred Hornik, Sunday, December 2, 1945 to his family, on his continuing duty to others for surviving WW II.
May 23, 2026, 06:37 AM
gjgalliganI bent a 1/2" Snap-on bar back in high school.
Trying to break the harmonic balancer nut loose. I was sitting on the radiator support bar with both feet placed on the frame pulling up on handle, no cheater.
Nut brook loose but the breaker bar also bent.
Auto shop teacher was standing right there watching other wise he would have accused me of using a cheater. A few days later there was a new breaker bar in cabinet. Don't know if Snap-on replaced it free or not.
That was probably in 1967 or 68.
As I got older and learned more about metallurgy I figured that heat treat of the tool was lacking.
Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking.
May 23, 2026, 07:42 AM
trapper189quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
The method of pulling the bar in a surging/bouncing motion where you employ your body weight can exceed well over 1000 pounding feets of torque with a dynamic peak force and destroy a breaker bar PDQ.
Adding an additional 2 feet to the moment doubles that to well over a ton.
Use heat and/or penetrating fluid (Kroil or "weasel pee"50/50 ATF and acetone) and/or shock (BMFH).
^^^This is the right approach.
I use a breaker bar to break things loose to save wear and tear on my ratchets. In 25 years of living in Florida with no road salt, I’ve been fortunate to only break 1 bolt. That was on the jet pump of our 15 year old Sea-Doo PWC that had been use in saltwater.
May 26, 2026, 10:43 AM
ShouldBFishinSomeone who should remain nameless was working on my Dodge 3500 and needed to get the axle nut off.
I found a 3/4" drive socket that fit, then used a 1/2" to 3/4" adapter on my 1/2" breaker bar. That nut would not budge with a 3-foot cheater pipe.
After a little internet searching, I found that the local Northern Tool had a beefier, relatively inexpensive 3/4" breaker bar with a lifetime warranty. Surely this would do the trick.
It did not. I could not get enough leverage.
Then I had one of those brilliant ideas: the breaker bar was long enough that I could brace it against the driveway and gently ease the pickup backward a tiny bit. Let the truck do the work, right?
Well, I got the nut loose, but it mangled the drive head of the breaker bar pretty good as well.
I took it back the next day and the gal behind the counter looked at it and said, “I don’t think anyone has ever broken one of these before...”
Then she handed me a replacement.
So yes, I broke a 3/4" breaker bar with a temporary lapse in judgment.
Oh - and the other side wasn't nearly as tight.
May 26, 2026, 11:00 AM
slosigquote:
Originally posted by old rugged cross:
The new steel is just not made like it once was. ymmv
You are correct in what I think you mean, but I can’t help splitting hairs. There are better steels available now, materials science has made progress. Unfortunately, most tool manufacturers take advantage of that progress by using cheaper shit^H^H^H^Huh, I mean steel rather than equal or better steel. Sigh…
May 26, 2026, 11:01 AM
HRKHave a 4 foot long breaker bar in the form of a metal tube, slips right over the 3/4 beefy socket head. Never bounce on it, just constant pressure and it's not failed but I'm concerned it might tear up the inside of the large heavy socket wrench.
Going to have to go to HF and pickup a 3/4 breaker bar.
About the only thing I use it for is to loosen up the compensator bolt on a Harley when working in the Primary, that's been once in 10 years on the current bike.