Did A Small Plastic Disk Come With Your Ratchet And Socket Set? Here's What It's For

For those who regularly deal with nuts and bolts on the job or in the home garage, few things are more vital to the work at hand than a good ratchet and socket set. As such, virtually every major tool manufacturer in the game offers its own socket kit. Whichever set or brand you select when you're hunting for a socket set in the retail wilderness, there's a pretty good chance that there will be a little plastic disk tucked away amid all the shiny steel inside. There may be just as good a chance that you won't use the item, as many people may not have the faintest idea of what it's supposed to be used for. Yet this item, commonly referred to as a spin disk, does in fact have a pretty useful purpose.

The spin disk is an accessory that allows you to spin, tighten, or loosen a socket on a nut without cranking the ratchet head. Don't worry if you were unaware of what the spin disk is designed for, as you are not alone in that oversight. During a recent Reddit thread discussing its purpose, even a few garage professionals well-versed in ratchet hand tools and socket wrenches admitted to not knowing what the spin disk was intended for. For many in the know, however, this item has become a time-saving and game-changer accessory to have in their ratchet and socket set.

Whether your ratchet and socket set is manufactured in America or elsewhere, not all of them will include a spin disk. Some ratchet heads have a spin disk built into their head, while the accessory can also be purchased for as little as $6 through sellers like Amazon. If you want to utilize one of those little plastic disks, you should know they are pretty easy to use. Follow these steps to attach and use a spin disk with your socket wrench:

1. Remove the ratchet from its storage case.
2. Do not attach any sockets and remove any that may already be in place.
3. Take the spin disk and slide it onto the ratchet head, lining up the square hole as you would with a socket.
4. Secure the socket you need to the head, pinning the spin disk in between.
5. With the socket secured over a nut, use the thumb and pointer finger from either hand to spin the disk.

This process can be used to either tighten or loosen a nut. You will, however, first need to adjust the settings on the head of your socket wrench to reverse those functions as need. Yes, you can achieve the same functionality without the use of a spin disk by simply affixing your socket to a nut and using one of your hands to spin the socket itself. If you've used that method in the past, however, you can no doubt see the benefit of using the spin disk instead.