Some days we wish our fingers were shaped liked wrenches. The humble combination wrench (with both open and box ends) is a mandate in any toolbox and a must-have on many projects. Sometimes, you breaker-bar torque without a tall breaker-bar and socket combo — enter the double wrench.
Yeah — we know this is one of the first tricks in the book; but we still come across guys and gals just starting out who run into one of those pitfall bolts and are struggling to get something long enough on that bolthead. By hooking the open end of your first wench on the box end of another (preferably as long as you have room for), you can carefully lock them together, increasing your leverage.
That said, there’s a quick warning: Be sure to do a dry run by making sure the second wrench won’t roll off the jaws of the open-end. Depending on the exact shape of your wrench, you may have to try flipping one or both wrenches to get a solid lock between them. It also helps having a straight end on your first wrench so that you’re pushing on the same axis as the bolthead’s rotation.
Take your time and slowly add force, and be ready for them to slip apart (introducing your knuckles to the sharpest thing under the hood). But hey, it’s blood, sweat, and tears for a reason! And now that over-torqued bracket bolt is loose!
Wrenchin’ Wednesday is a weekly garage-hackamajig, wrenching smarter-not-harder with small tips that make working on your project easier, cheaper, and maybe even a bit faster. We’re probably not the first with any of these ideas, but you won’t be the last to know every Wednesday!
Last week, we talked about how to keep track of those chuck keys and grinding wrenches!
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