When I was in high school, I didn't know about Snap-On tools, but we had a very good regional equivalent - Herbrand Tools. I bought a 1/2" drive ratchet with an 18" handle. It served me very well in many ways, but Herbrand went out of business in the early '70s. In the late '70s, that ratchet got a bit hinky and really needed a good cleaning and lubrication, so I carefully started taking it apart, noting each part's location. Then suddenly, the detent ball's spring decided to jump out and run for parts unknown. I searched high and low in that room, used a flashlight and a magnet, but never could find that spring. I put the remaining parts in a zip-lock bag in my roll-around. It was about this time that I found out about Herbrand Tools' sad demise. I moved in the late '70s and again in the mid-80s. I was cleaning out the old roll-around one afternoon when I spied that danged spring trying to hide again behind another tool in one of the drawers. Well, I jumped it and tied it down so it couldn't move, then got out the remaining ratchet parts. I finished the cleaning and lubrication job and put everything back together, and that ratchet is still with me and working today, over 50 years later.
