Ray Gun

Ray Gun

Somebody took an old impact wrench and repurposed it as a very cool movie prop. You may recognize the logo as Ingersoll Rand, maker of high quality, industrial strength tools and equipment. Google identifies the tool that formed the basis for this most excellent movie prop as a 5/8" drive, electric impact wrench, likely from the mid-20th century. Back in 1970s when I was getting started in the mechanic business, Ingersoll Rand tools were like from another planet. You couldn't just walk into your local hardware store or auto parts store and buy one, you had to go, shoot, I don't actually know where you could get one. Probably from an industrial supplier, and you probably needed an big business account there to even talk to someone about buying one.

This was likely due to the price. More from Google:

A new, high-quality impact wrench from a reputable brand like Ingersoll Rand likely cost between $100 and $300 in 1950.

It's important to consider the value of the dollar in 1950. An average annual salary was around $3,000. Therefore, a $100-$300 tool represented a significant investment for many people. 

The value of the dollar has fallen so far it is now worth the equivalent of about one cent from 1950, so buying a wrench like that back then would mean forking out like $20,000 now. But then Nixon opened China and 20 years later I could buy an air driven impact wrench out of my spare change. I still have it, but it's dang near useless. It might be able to take the lug nuts off of a car as long as they aren't too tight.

I found one of these Ingersoll Rand electric impact wrenches on Ebay for $135:

Ingersoll Rand 5/8" Square Drive Universal Impact Tool Wrench Corded Electric

5/8" square drive seems to have gone away, I didn't see any. I did find a couple of battery powered 3/4" drive wrenches:

Dovaman X9 3/4'' Cordless Impact Wrench 1650 FT-LBS Torque

You can buy this beast from Amazon for $270. I never heard of Dovaman, probably made in China.

Ingersoll Rand 3/4" Cordless Impact Wrench 2000 ft-lb Torque

Ingersoll Rand is apparently still making hand tools, I kind of thought they were only making big stuff like diesel powered air compressors. You can buy this one from Amazon for $640. Ingersoll Rand still makes some tools in the USA, but some are imported.

I wonder what kind of movie props these current tools will be repurposed for in 2100.