I tested 10 wrench sets, from the cheapest to the most expensive on the market, and decided which ones are worth your money.
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Choosing a wrench set may seem like a trivial decision. After all, they mostly look the same and maybe they differ only by a wrench or two in terms of the number of wrenches and range of sizes that you get. However, think about the decision like this: once you have a wrench set, you&#;re likely to keep it for a very long time. Basic combination (box end, open end) wrenches rarely wear out, especially at the hobbyist level. You&#;re more likely to lose one or two over the years and replace them. I&#;m about to turn 60 and I can still find wrenches in my toolbox that my father bought for me when I was 17 and he didn&#;t want me borrowing from his toolbox any more.
How I tested the best wrench sets
To perform my tests, I tightened a series of standard SAE fasteners to a standard torque at and above the recommended torque for the fasteners to test each set of wrenches under real-world conditions. Some wrenches are looser than others, and I used a standard set of feeler gauges to determine fit on standard size nut and bolt heads, and did a careful slip-test to gauge if these wrenches are more or less likely to slip off a used fastener.
For the slip test, I overtightened the fasteners past their designed torque spec, but not enough to strip the threads. Similar to the situation faced daily in any automotive shop. Typically the excess torque was about 25% past the recommended torque spec. Then I leaned on each wrench until the fastener came loose. Then I tightened the fasteners again to the same over-spec torque, especially watching for flex on the open-end jaws.
The test wrenches include basic combination wrenches in SAE sizes, and also a selection of ratcheting GearWrench options, which are normal open-end wrenches, but include a ratcheting box-end in a couple different styles. We put the ratchets to the same torque test as the solid steel box ends.
Best wrench set at a glance:
Milwaukee Wrench Set &#; Best Overall
RRP: $120, buy now.
The Milwaukee brand set is one of my favorites from this test. At $120 (£99), this is among the more expensive sets, though not nearly as expensive as some others. This is an 11-piece set that comes in its own storage tray that you can hang on the wall or place in your tool chest. The Milwaukee set features a fullered I-beam cross-section, and the wrench size is highlighted in red paint. The contrast stands out to your eye, which is handy if you&#;ve ever had to squint in a poorly lit area to see what wrench you were picking up. Plus, the paint is in the recess of the numbers, so it won&#;t wear off.
The Milwaukee set goes from 1/4 up to 7/8-inch, which is a good range for most garage work. Milwaukee wrenches are also longer than the others we tested, which is good because you are going to get a little more leverage and a little more control when you&#;re using them.
Another feature of the Milwaukee set to mention is the set of ridges and grooves in the open end wrenches. These features are designed to grip the nut or bolt along the sides and at the corners, but not to round the nut or bolt heads. It&#;s also designed to avoid slipping. This allows a looser fit on the nut, and we were able to get a 0.013 feeler in between the nut and the Milwaukee wrench. However, the Milwaukee set was solid in the torque test and never rounded the nut or slipped.
Verdict
The Milwaukee wrench set is finding a home in my toolbox, and it&#;s my favorite among all the sets we tested because of the features and the way the wrenches feel in my hands.
Check out Jeff&#;s full review of the Milwaukee Wrench Set here.
Kobalt Wrenches &#; Best Value & Best For Amateurs
RRP: $46.
One nice feature with the Kobalt combination Metric/SAE set is that the SAE wrenches are marked with a red band, and metric wrenches have a blue band. This is handy for sorting, which we all have to do from time to time. The problem is that the red and blue bands are not very durable. Ours started to wear off during the workshop testing we did for this article, and wouldn&#;t last long under real-world conditions. That being said, we liked the convenient plastic carrying case that holds all the wrenches in order. A careful mechanic would notice immediately if a wrench was missing.
This set of 24 SAE and metric Kobalt wrenches sells for $46 (£38). On a per-wrench basis, this is the second least-expensive set in the competition. The Kobalt products test well for fit and finish, with a 0.012 gap in the open-end wrench to a standard nut. However, the jaws are smooth, which doesn&#;t yield as good a grip on the nuts as some other brands.
On the good side, when you get to the smallest wrenches in the set, the Kobalts have a little more metal around the box end, which will help them keep their shape over time.
Verdict
The Kobalt set gives you a nice well-finished wrench. Not a bad deal at all for the price.
GearWrench 90 Reversible Wrench Set &#; Best Professional Ratcheting Wrenches
RRP: $179, buy now.
The top of the GearWrench product line is the 90-tooth reversible 14-piece wrench set. For $179 (£147), this set includes wrenches from 1/4 to 1-inch, and offers the ability to reverse the direction of the ratcheting box end with a switch, like a socket wrench. This set comes in a convenient tool roll suitable for mobile use.
Like the other 90T GearWrenches, the ratcheting mechanism is nice and tight on this set. The switch works very well and you can really put some torque on these wrenches with confidence. Also like the single-direction 90T GearWrenches, the open ends have shape to grab ahold of the fasteners to avoid slippage.
In my estimation, a set of GearWrenches is not a substitute for a good set of combination wrenches, but rather an essential additional set of tools. If you have a set of 90T GearWrenches, you can safely buy a less expensive set of basic combo wrenches and be ready for anything.
One point to make is that you should buy the brand-name GearWrench or other quality brand instead of a lower-cost ratcheting wrench that might be an off brand of dubious quality, because the consequences of having one of these things strip out or come apart while you&#;re working can be dire for your knuckles.
Verdict
When shopping for GearWrench sets, insist on the 90-tooth varieties and pay the extra money for them.
Read Jeff&#;s full review of the GearWrench 90-point Reversible Wrench Set here.
Craftsman Standard Raised Panel
RRP: $36, buy now. £49.99, buy now.
An 11-piece wrench set of the standard &#;raised panel&#; Craftsman combination wrenches are chrome-plated and offer 1/4 through 7/8 SAE or 8mm though 19mm in Metric. Notably, the metric set does not include 7mm, which correlates to a 1/4-inch wrench and is often used on automotive applications. Both SAE and Metric sets are priced at about $36 (£45) for an 11-wrench set. The set we tested is one I&#;ve relied upon for well over a decade, and Craftsman hasn&#;t changed a thing.
Craftsman used to enjoy a reputation as a top maker of tools. Sadly, that&#;s fallen off over time, mainly in the realm of socket wrenches, which used to be among the best and now are among the worst. When it comes to basic wrenches, the feel and finish of the basic Craftsman set is not up to the standards of other brands, just a step above the lowest-priced Pittsburgh. The finish is commensurate with the price, however. One other concern was the design of the box end, which is a series of angles, compared to the machined spline design on other, more expensive brands.
However, the Craftsman wrench scored the tightest in our open-end fitment test, where we had trouble getting even a .008 feeler between the jaws and the nut. On the torque test, the Craftsman showed a slight tendency to round the nut, but not more than other smooth-jawed brands
Verdict
With Craftsman, you&#;re really not getting a whole lot more than you got with the Pittsburgh tools from Harbor Freight at half the price.
Craftsman Professional Short &#; Best Stubby Wrenches
RRP: $60, buy now.
They&#;re hard to find, but the Craftsman Professional 7-piece short combination wrench set can fill an important role in your tool box. When you need to get a wrench into a small space, the short or &#;stubby&#; wrenches have room to move. The downside is that you can&#;t get much torque on them because of the short handle length. Still, when you need a short wrench, your choices are to have a set of these, or to cut a cheap wrench in half. If you can find a set of these, they&#;ll run you about $60 (£50). The seven wrenches in the set include the most often-used sizes between 3/8 and 3/4 inches.
One thing to note about these wrenches is that they&#;re part of Craftsman&#;s upmarket &#;Professional&#; series. That means these wrenches have the kind of polished finish generally associated with premium tools, and they feel a bit nicer and better in your hands. The Craftsman Professional short wrenches are made to a tight tolerance, with just 0.010 in (0.25 mm) of space between the open end jaws and a standard size fastener.
On the torque test, the Craftsman Professional short was able to get a good grip on the fastener, but lacked leverage because of its length. You&#;ll never round off a nut with one of these. The box end fits well, and the Professional series has all the hallmarks of a quality tool.
Verdict:
If you want a set of Stubby wrenches, the Craftsman Professional series costs more, but they&#;re a nice set of tools.
Klein Tools &#; Best Set For Large Wrenches
RRP: $289, buy now. 14-pc set not available in the UK, however the 12-pc set is at £186, buy now.
Klein tools is a brand aimed at professional users. Wrenches are only a small part of their product line, and these are among the most expensive sets we tested at $289 (£237) for the 14-piece set that ranges from 3/8 to 1 1/4 inches. However, you can get essentially the same set through 3/4-inch for $99.99 (£83). The Klein wrenches are chrome-plated, which is nice provided you keep them in smooth condition and away from salt.
The 12-point box end is a machined spline style, and among the best at gripping a nut or bolt head. The open jaws are smooth and mirror-bright, which is handy for tightening anodized aluminum hose fittings such as Aeroquip without scarring the anodized finish. One nice point for mechanics on the go is that the Klein set comes in a convenient roll-pack. This makes it handy for off-road kits, racing setups for the track, and other mobile applications.
On the standard tests, fitment was reasonably tight, at 0.010 inches. The Klein wrenches are big with a long handle, so they perform well on the torque test. One point to Klein&#;s credit is that their wrench set offers tools up to 1 1/4-inch, and getting those larger wrenches can be very expensive if you buy them individually. If you need a larger wrench set, the Klein tools can be a bargain.
Verdict:
Klein tools are professional grade, but you can probably be just as happy with a less expensive set that fits most automotive applications.
Pittsburgh (Harbor Freight) Wrench Set &#; Best Wrench Set For Teens
RRP: $20
The Pittsburgh brand from Harbor Freight Tools is the least expensive set in our test group at $20 (£17) for a 22-wrench set with both SAE and metric sizes. In SAE, the wrenches span from 1/4-inch to 7/8-inch, and in metric from 7mm to 19mm.
The Pittsburgh set is another with a convenient plastic carrying case, which is a definite plus. Finish is comparable to the Craftsman line, though you can see where this is a less expensive set compared to options like Milwaukee and even Kobalt. You can see that less effort goes into the aesthetics, but at the price it&#;s hard to go wrong.
The Pittsburgh wrenches are smooth-jawed, and among the tightest fits in our test at 0.008 inches by the feeler gauges. The box end is about the same tightness as all other brands, with a basic 12-point design. The wrenches are standard length, not long. Time will tell if the chrome plating will hold up or give in quickly to rust.
Verdict
Overall, the Pittsburgh is not at all a bad choice for the beginner mechanic. At the price, you cannot go wrong. You can always replace these with a better set later.
Snap On &#; Best For Professionals
RRP: $488 / £521, buy now.
Snap On tools are near-legendary, and certainly don&#;t need my endorsement. However, I use Snap On Flank Drive wrenches in my own workshop and they have never disappointed me. In fact, that goes for any Snap On product. This set is the most expensive one I tested, priced at $488 (£400) for a 10-wrench set. However, Snap On also offers a lower-priced Blue Point line for $312 (£256).
The Snap On Flank Drive open end wrenches have ridges to help grip the fasteners, and do not slip. They are also among the tightest fitting wrenches at 0.008 gap. The box end is equally tight and delivers a confident grip on any nut.
Verdict
Snap On is still the first choice of professional mechanics, however, lower-priced brands have raised their quality to the point that an amateur can be perfectly happy while spending a fraction of the money. By all means aspire to Snap On, but if you&#;re on a budget, there are other good choices.
GearWrench 72
RRP: $80, buy now.
GearWrench offers a number of options. The open end wrenches are not different in application from other brands, but the box ends include a ratcheting mechanism that allows you to work conveniently in tight spaces. This 10-wrench set, in the most popular SAE and metric measurements, retails for $80 (£65), making it one of GearWrench&#;s lower-cost options. This set offers 72 teeth in its ratcheting function, for a 5-degree minimum swing to catch the next tooth. (This matters in tight spaces.) With this set, the gear direction is not reversible, and you have to flip the wrench over to change direction.
Note that this set comes in a nice plastic tray that can keep your GearWrenches organized in your tool chest.
On the open end, the 72-tooth wrench offers smooth jaws, and a clearance of 0.013 inches to a standard nut or bolt head. It&#;s a decent wrench, but does not inspire great confidence. That extends to the ratcheting box end, which is useful for light duty but showed stress on our torque test. If you really press hard on these wrenches, the ratcheting mechanism will stick. If you flip the wrench and apply pressure the other way, it unsticks but we&#;re not sure how many times you can do that before the mechanism locks up or fails. The ratcheting mechanism also feels a little loose.
Verdict
This set is handy enough for light-duty household use, but we wouldn&#;t use it in an automotive shop. Luckily, GearWrench also offers better models.
Check out Jeff&#;s full review of the GearWrench 72-point Ratcheting Wrench Set here.
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GearWrench 90
RRP: $109, buy now. £90, buy now.
GearWrench offers a set of wrenches with a 90-tooth ratcheting system. Using 90 teeth rather than 72 means you can work in tighter spaces with just a 4-degree swing. These wrenches are still single-direction, meaning you have to flip them over to switch between tightening and loosening, but that&#;s easy. The 90-tooth set has &#;90T&#; stamped into the handle, so you know what to look for. A 10-piece SAE set of 90-tooth GearWrenches sells for a bit more at $109 (£90).
However, you definitely get more value for your money, because the 90T wrenches are a lot better in every way. The ratcheting mechanism is sturdy and has less wobble, and it will take more torque. The open end has shape in the jaws to grip the fastener, so it&#;s better in that way as well. The gap on the open end side of the wrenches is 0.010 for a nice snug fit.
Verdict
The GearWrench 90-tooth options are much better for automotive work than the 72-tooth option. It&#;s a much nicer set of wrenches and well worth the extra price.
Cheap vs Expensive Wrenches
Here&#;s one true thing about wrenches. The cost difference between low-price and high-price tools is effectively zero if you think in terms of using a wrench for decades, but the quality difference remains very high for the same length of time. To adapt the old proverb, the annoyance of a crappy wrench persists long after you&#;ve forgotten what you paid for it. The late, great John Muir, author of &#;How to Keep your Volkswagen Alive&#; said that your wrenches should feel good in your hands, which will inspire you to do good, careful work.
On the other hand, I bought wrench sets for this test that are far from the highest price, and found them to be generally as functional as the most expensive sets on the market. The test will be how they look in 20-30 years after some hard use, long after you&#;ve stopped wiping them down and placing them back in careful order in your wrench drawer. Cheap tools will start to see the open-end jaws bending and the chrome flaking off, while quality wrenches really will last a lifetime.
How To Buy The Best Wrench Set
When you decide to buy your first wrench set, chances are good that you need that set immediately, and you&#;ll go to the nearest hardware store, tool store, or home improvement store for it. Often, that means buying the most affordable set. Then later you&#;ll see other sets and wish you had something different. Don&#;t worry about that, everyone does it.
When you have a little more time to spend, like now when you&#;re reading reviews, you can think a bit more about your own personal wrenching situation and what features you want in a wrench set. Do you need unusual sizes, or do you need a short-handle set? Do you need a ratcheting wrench set, or do you want a set that you can carry into the field? Above all, you can comparison-shop among online and brick-and-mortar retailers for the best pricing.
How Are You Using The Wrenches?
When making a choice, any of the wrench sets that I reviewed can be the right choice, if your selection is based on your needs. If you think you&#;re likely to lose wrenches or need to lend them out, the least expensive sets from Craftsman, Kobalt, and Harbor Freight are good choices. If you know that your wrenches will never leave your garage, then consider Milwaukee, Klein, and Snap On.
Ratcheting wrenches like GearWrench (and many other brands including Snap On, Milwaukee, and others) tend to be an addition to the tool chest, rather than a primary set of standard wrenches. This is also a great choice because in the real world, you need more than one 1/2-inch or 13mm wrench, because the fasteners are the same size on both ends of a bolt. A set of GearWrenches allows you to put a wrench on both ends at once.
As a rule, you will always be happier with new tools, because people only tend to sell used tools once they already show signs of wearing out. However, there&#;s a special piece of satisfaction when you find a quality tool in good condition at a swap meet or estate sale, so use your best judgment.
Since we&#;ve reviewed literally hundreds of wrenches. The best of these tighten and loosen nuts, bolts, and other threaded items easily and with minimal hassle. Often, you have to use these tools in tight areas where you also need a lot of torque. With that said&#;having a source for the best wrench reviews can hopefully help point you to the best products&#;regardless of your trade or focus. Of course, many different types of wrenches exist. We included our top recommendations below.
Best Wrench Set Overall
Gearwrench 28-Pc Full Polish SAE/Metric Combination Wrench Set
We love this Gearwrench 28 Pc. 6-point combination SAE/Metric wrench set for a variety of reasons. First, we find it an incredible value for what you get. You can get an entire 28-piece set for less than $100. Plus, when starting out, picking up a set that covers a large array of both SAE and metric sizes makes good sense.
These wrenches give you a nice 15° offset for better access in tight spaces. That means you don&#;t approach the nut or bolt completely &#;flat&#; but have a bit of leverage to get some torque on the fastener. It also gives you a nice 6-point set which we actually prefer since it grips better on the box-end of the wrench with less chance of rounding off nuts or bolt heads. Finally, the bright, full polish chrome cleans easily. We like it when our wrenches look new even after years of use!
Additional Options
- Sunex Tools 25-Piece Metric Master Wrench Set &#; $134.99
- DeWalt DWMT 10pc Metric Wrench Set &#; $39
Best Ratcheting Wrench Set
GearWrench 120XP Spline Ratcheting Wrench Set (SAE and/or Metric)
When Gearwrench came out with these 120XP ratcheting wrenches, we immediately got them in for review. The best ratcheting wrench set has to work flawlessly. It also has to deliver a small enough adjustment arc so you can get into tight spaces. The GearWrench 120XP Spline ratcheting wrenches do that in spades. And they come in various kit sizes as well as individual wrenches in case you lose one. We specifically recommend the 16-pc kits as they offer a great value.
Not only do these ratcheting wrenches feel good in the hand, the blue (metric) and red (SAE) markings help you easily identify them. You can go cheaper, but do you want to? You only want to buy an SAE and metric set like this once&#;make it a good one.
More Ratcheting Wrench Options
- Husky Ratcheting Wrench 20-Piece Set &#; $80
- Crescent X6 (Manual) Ratcheting Wrenches &#; $33
Best Adjustable Wrench
Pictured alongside some slim jaw models, Klein reverse jaw adjustable wrenches provide solid performance and great ergonomics. The dipped handles, easy adjustment, secure positioning, and accurate scale just work. As a bonus, the Klein 2-in-1 Reversible Jaw Adjustable Pipe Wrench gives you some added functionality&#;one side of the jaw is knurled when using it that way.
Klein&#;s premium hand tools do come at a cost. Prices run between $28 and $45. Compare that to something like Milwaukee adjustable wrenches that compare in performance, but without the dipped handles. Those run between $15 and $20 each. While not made in the USA like many Klein hand tools, we still like them for their versatility.
Another Great Adjustable Wrench Option
- Milwaukee adjustable wrenches &#; $15 to $20
Best Torque Wrench
OK, we said this is the best torque wrench&#;not the cheapest. The thing is, most people need a torque wrench to drive a fastener snug and then finish off to 20 foot-pounds or whatever the torque specs states. With two drive sizes to choose from, the Milwaukee M12 FUEL Ratcheting Digital Torque Wrench covers the basics while combining two tools into one. It really revolutionizes what&#;s possible in a torque wrench&#;and it amps up your productivity by giving you a cordless ratchet in the process.
You can get this wrench in a 3/8-inch drive or 1/2-inch. The 1/2-inch model maxes out at 150 ft-lbs, so you may need to supplement with a higher-capacity tool if you work on larger vehicles. This tool, however, covers a majority of torque tasks&#;and does it with a single tool. We do acknowledge the bulk on this tool, however. If you want a smaller, more manual solution, see our next recommendation below.
Best Torque Wrench &#; Manual
Sunex 1/2 in. 10 to 150 lbs. Torque Wrench
I think the simplicity of this Sunex 1/2-inch torque wrench makes it our favorite manual solution. You can get fancier solutions, but the scale on this tool gives you both metric and SAE readings, and it just works. No-fuss, no-muss, and Sunex gives you a 90-day calibration warranty on the tool to boot. The fact that you can grab a tool like this for under $43 that covers 10-150 ft-lbs of torque measurements is amazing. You&#;ll pay more for the same capacity from Kobalt Tools or Craftsman!
Best Digital Torque Wrench Option
- Gearwrench Flex Head Electronic Torque Wrench &#; $199
Best Pipe Wrench
We like everything about the Milwaukee aluminum pipe wrench, having tested out the 18-inch model. We enjoyed the super light weight and the dual coil springs. The handle length seems perfect and gives you a comfortable grip. Once it bites, the force of the overbite jaws does its work easily without slipping. We can easily recommend it to other Pros. Be aware, however, you have to be mindful that this wrench creates a lot of torque. We actually had one degraded pipe collapse under the Milwaukee wrench&#;s strength during our review. You can pick these up for anywhere from $30-$300 depending on the size you need.
Other Best Pipe Wrench Options
- Milwaukee Cheater Adaptable pipe wrench &#; $199
- Crescent Aluminum pipe wrenches &#; $30&#;$95
Tips on Buying the Best Wrenches
When buying a set of wrenches or even a single tool, many things play a part in coming away with a great tool. We go into some of this below and then continue on to the various types of wrenches you may need to have in your tool kit.
A number of different types of wrenches exist&#;each with its own special use. When shopping for the best wrench, look at the manufacturing method. The best hand wrenches used a forged carbon alloy steel process. They often bear the marking of &#;Cr-V&#;. This stands for the alloying materials of Chromium for corrosion resistance and Vanadium for added strength. Additionally, many wrenches will also have chrome-nickel plating to give greater corrosion resistance. You can also find aluminum-handled products that drop weight. Good wrenches will be clearly and permanently labeled with the measurement.
On the handle side&#;you want something comfortable but also sturdy. For most tools, we prefer polished steel. It cleans up easily and gives you a nice, comfortable grip. Dipped handles also help tools not to slip out of your hands as easily&#;they clean up easily as well.
Making Your First Purchase
Initially, the best way to purchase these tools is in sets. For open-end, box, combination, and ratcheting wrenches make sure that you have both metric and standard (SAE) sizes in the kit you buy. There&#;s no telling what kind of fasteners you will encounter. The increments of the measurements are usually in millimeters for metric and in 1/16 of an inch for the standard (SAE).
Getting a Good Fit
When using wrenches, make sure that they fit snuggly on the fastener. If you are not sure of the exact size of the fastener, try several tools until you find the one that fits the tightest. You want to have a snug fit to avoid rounding off the edges of the fastener. This happens when the tool is loose or too big. Most of these hand tools fall into a few major categories.
Where&#;s Snap-on?
You might ask: Where&#;s Snap-on? The short answer: Not here. Snap-on makes some great hand tools. More and more, however, those tools seem very expensive compared to others that provide (as far as we can ascertain) the same level of quality and performance. We find smarter mechanics shopping online where they can get better deals&#;made even better when not financing tools over the long term. If you work at a place that has a Snap-on truck coming by every day then perhaps it makes sense to go that route. For most folks, however, the alternatives (and savings) are too great to ignore.
Types of Wrenches
Open Ended Wrench
The open-ended wrench is the most basic type. With U-shaped openings on the ends, the two opposite faces of the opening grip the fastener. Nowadays, most have different sized open-end wrenches on each end of the handle. They can also feature both an open-end and box-end on the same handle. We refer to the latter as combination wrenches.
Box Wrenches
The box or box-ended wrench is another very common tool. These surround, or &#;box&#; the fastener completely with the end of the tool. Box end wrenches normally have 6 or 12 corners or points.
We find 6 point box wrenches the most stable. They work best for high torque applications and apply an equal amount of force to all edges of the fastener. 12 point tools double the amount of positions that you can fit the box end on the fastener. This becomes especially helpful in very tight spaces where there is a limited amount of space to swing an arc. The trouble with using a 12 point box end for high torque applications is you have more opportunity for roundover. They more easily strip the heads of fasteners.
More recently ratcheting box wrenches have become popular. They operate much like a ratchet and socket combo. With these tools, you don&#;t have to reposition the box end at the end of a turn. It really speeds up the job. Look for models with a higher tooth count and a smaller swing arc. They will get you better results in narrow or hard-to-reach areas.
Tube or Flare Wrenches
Tube or flare wrenches serve a special purpose. They look very much like a 6 point box end wrench except for a missing section. This opening lets the tool slip over a bolt or tubing, making it possible to easily place it over the fastener.
Typically the nuts used to secure copper tubing are somewhat delicate or made of soft materials like brass or plastic. The use of a regular open-end wrench can lead to rounding off the corners of the nut since it doesn&#;t contact all sides of the softer material.
Flare wrenches or tube wrenches work really well when working on car brake line systems or compression fittings on copper piping for dishwashers, water filters, or ice machines.
Adjustable Wrench
The adjustable wrench functions just like an open-ended wrench. With a mechanism to adjust the parallel distance between the jaws, they fit a variety of nut or bolt sizes. This tool works great when you don&#;t have the right size wrench and don&#;t need a lot of torque. The only negative is that the jaws tend to &#;drift&#;. They often move slightly on each use, causing you to slip off and possibly round off the edges of the nut or bolt. When using an adjustable wrench, you have to keep checking that the adjustment keeps the tool snug on the fastener.
We often see these tools called Crescent wrenches. That trademarked name actually dates back to Cooper Tool Company and is now owned by Apex Tool Group. You can pick them up in various sizes to better accommodate the different sizes of fasteners encountered.
Pipe Wrench
Another common, yet specialized type of adjustable wrench is the pipe wrench. These heavy-duty tools have a fixed upper jaw and a movable lower jaw. The jaws are heavily serrated so that they can bite into galvanized or steel pipe. The jaws are usually pinned into place so they can be replaced when they wear out. Smooth jaws are also available so they don&#;t damage the surface that is being turned for certain applications.
Typically, these rugged plumbing tools come with steel handles. For those wanting to save some weight, lightweight aluminum handle models come at a much higher price.
Ratchets and Sockets
Ratchets and Sockets are a great substitute for regular wrenches. The advantage is that a ratchet can be fitted with numerous sockets. These snugly fit varying sizes of nuts and bolts.
Sockets are cylindrical. One end features a square hole that matches one of the common ratchet sizes. The other end of the socket is sized to fit the fasteners. They can use either a 6 or 12 point configuration. You can also find sockets with multi-point, Allen, Torx, and other configurations. The size of the socket is usually permanently stamped into the side of the socket for quick identification.
Ratchets work on the same principle as wrenches. They have a long handle that lets you put a lot of torque on the fastener. The main difference is how securely the socket fits the fastener from above.
This facilitates quicker fastener turning. You don&#;t have to remove and reset the head position every time you make a turn as with a wrench. The most common drive sizes for ratchets are 1/4&#;, 3/8&#;, and 1/2&#;. 3/4&#; and 1&#; sizes are available for certain industrial uses. Ratchets work with both metric and standard (SAE) sockets as long as the socket drive size matches the ratchet drive.
Conclusion
When starting your collection of wrenches, look for quality sets to get the best start-up value. The good thing is that the set sizes range greatly and the variety included also varies. There should be sets on the market for just about any budget. Some manufactures like Craftsman and Snap-On offer lifetime warrantees that will replace broken tools as long as they were used in the way they were designed.
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