Since not everyone has used a ratchet handle before This section is strictly on general usage tips, Ratchet wrenches are a staple of all mechanics. With a good set of sockets, you can handle any bolt or nut on any vehicle. The handle has three positions, fully closed and locked, fully open which allows the center slot to rotate thus releasing any tension stored and in the midway section where you would be working it back and forth that creates the tension.
When you use a ratchet, you are able to tighten or loosen a bolt with minimal effort and often in a tight space where a regular wrench would have to be removed and replaced many times to get the same effect as a few swings of the ratchet handle. When pulling the slack out of the free end, the proper way is to thread the free end through the slot on the take up spool then pass it back over the spool (under the handle) and pull back in the direction of the free end. Pulling the slack out in this fashion will have the effect of tensioning the entire assembly, the fixed and free end of the strap. This will allow for effective operation of the ratchet handle in quickly tightening the strap. Some people fail to thread the free end back between the handle and the bale in the direction of the free end. Instead they may thread it straight through the bale and pull the slack out towards the fixed end. This will leave the fixed end and the ratchet mechanism loose making it difficult to tighten socket wrench This is where you slide the webbing you want to tighten through. Just slide the slack end through, pull tight and your ready to tighten. It is the center of the take up spool.When the desired strap tension is achieved the handle should be left in the locked closed position which provides a means of assuring strap tension and preventing any possibility of the slot “free-wheeling” out slack