In article ,
Leon Fisk wrote:

Harbor Freight offers two versions of Universal Impact Joint Sets. The
first style, Item 67986 I am familiar with. Been using that style for
years in my hand sets. The second one, Item 67920 I am not. Any
advantages to the second version. Stronger, work better, horror
stories...

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece...set-67986.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece...set-67920.html

I'm not particularly fond of Universals, but sometimes they save the
day.

I see they have a set of Impact Wobble Socket Extensions too, that
might be a better way to go. I really like my 3/8 standard drive wobble
extensions. Would like something beefier though for use with my 1/2
inch impact wrench.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece...wobble-socket-
extension-set-67066.html

First, very little of what I do involves impacts, and like you, I'm not
crazy about universals in general.

However, even for hand use, I very much prefer the second (ball) type.

I have three;

1) A maybe 15 year old 1/2" drive Snap-On with almost zero use.

2) A 40+ year old 3/8" Craftsman[1] thats had tons of hard (hand only)
use/abuse... at least several times a month since new.

3) Last but not least, a 5 or 7 year old 1/4" Snap-On thats also seeing
moderate to heavy service.

They're great, wouldn't be without them! They don't have nearly as much
propensity to 'wind up' and walk sockets off bolt heads and nuts, and in
my experience don't become nearly as floppy, even after much use.

Like all universals, the straighter you can keep them in use, the better.

Remember, I've been talking hand use here. If your going to do a lot of
impact work, you'll probably be much happier with a set/s of universal
sockets. Yes, I know they cost mega bucks.

Erik

[1] Way back when (and maybe even today for some mfg's) they used to
tack weld the cross pin's of these type universals. I suspect that
cracking at the weld/s was an issue, as most now have swaged collars
retaining the pin.

My 3/8" joint is the older/cheaper welded type, and is much smaller in
diameter than all the collar types I've seen lately. The smaller
diameter has been just the ticket on more than a few occasions through
the years.

So far, it's hasn't cracked... don't know to attribute this to
exclusive hand use, luck of the draw, or both.