Tool Talk - Big Wrench

What's the biggest open end wrench you've used? Any dimension. Nut size, length, or wrench weight.

Reply to
Vic Smith
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Probably a Heyco 36mm back in the day when I had a really crappy job for a while as a machine setup guy. I'm sure that's not a record though.

I really did like those Heyco wrenches, for the record. They looked just like scaled-up versions of the wrenches that used to come in the BMW factory toolkits (also made by Heyco) but black oxide rather than chromed. They looked really thin and flimsy, but stood up to lots of use and abuse (slugging with an engineer's hammer to break loose stuck nuts etc.) without any failures at all, but were still much lighter than a comparable e.g. Craftsman wrench.

If I didn't already have most of the wrenches that I could reasonably see myself needing, I might seek some of them out. It's a shame that I wasn't more affluent when I left that job, I'd have been tempted to just roll my whole toolbox into my car on the way out the door, and told them to keep the deposit. (would have been wrong of me to do that though, so I still probably wouldn't have.)

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Special Snap On 1-1/4 open end, other end is a 1-3/16 flare.

16" overall, 1lb 12oz. It fits a specific application, not an every day tool.

About 8:00 on this wall:

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Mine's 40+ years old.

Reply to
AMuzi

Love old tools that still work. Looks like you got some nice ones hanging there. Looks like I'm seeing a lot of reamers or seat tools, but don't know. Reminds me of the "This Old House" section where one of the guys shows a tool and the others try to figure out what it is. Best part of the show, usually.

I just took apart a washing machine, and the tub nut is 1 11/16. Didn't have that wrench, and probably wouldn't have mattered. Had to dremel 2 sides almost all the way through and we still couldn't budge it. Big channel locks got a good grip and could be hammered, but no go. Finally shattered it with a hammer. Corroded solid to the trans shaft. I ordered a cheap "special" wrench for that nut that should work when I put it back together with new parts. But a deep socket with an impact wrench would be best. We'll see. I know I'm going to use anti-seize on the shaft threads.

My kid told me the biggest he uses is an 1 1/2 for Chevy trucks. Inner tie rod. Think my first Craftsman wrench set went that big, but maybe it was 1 1/4. The set I have now only goes to 7/8.

I was a boilerman in the Navy and beat on slugging wrenches a lot. Handhole plugs on headers and manhole dogs on drums. Those were 3 or 3 1/2" nuts. Specialty wrench. Navy probably had them made up, but maybe not. Lots of boilers outside of the Navy.

But the wrench I remember most was another "specialty" wrench. A gland nut wrench for blast furnace gas powered generators we put back in service at U.S. Steel in '68. They were ancient, probably dating back to the teens or 20's. Electric rates spiked and management decided to get them going again. Those gland nuts were about 2 feet across. Wrench weighed about

500 pounds. No big deal. The hammer was much heavier, and swinging it wore you out.
Reply to
Vic Smith

where the heck's your campy wheel dishing tool dude?

Reply to
jim beam

They are above the truing stands (out of photo) with the Wheelsmith, Park, Var and Minoura dish gauges, nipple drivers tensiometers and a host of spoke keys for normal and Martian wheel systems.

p.s. Do you know the application for that Snap On wrench?

Reply to
AMuzi

oooh, aaah... i like var and campy. hate park - many of their tools are great, but wheel dishing tool sucks. it's unfortunate one is such a necessity with their ts2's total inability to consistently center.

tell me master...

Reply to
jim beam

Quite an elegant tool for Chicago-built Schwinn OPC cranks and headsets. A 15" adjustable wrench works, but this one just feels good in the hand (the price only hurt once and briefly)

Reply to
AMuzi

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