Box End Wrenches

[the tractor vet]

Ah yea. Metric is my weak point . Ran into needing a metric crows foot flare wrench while replacing the brake lines on the old 2005 Chrysler Sebring. and a couple other special wrenches while working on that car.. When i went to work as a new mechanic at a Chrysler Plymouth dealer i had a good collection of tools somewhat , i had Craftsman and S & K , everything you could get from both at the time . BUT it was not long before ya needed something new that came from Mac , Snap On as they were the two that had what ya needed . The old mac tool guy who i new before going into the car dealerships tried to get me to buy the MAC Master supreme set . back then that set was one of everything in the book plus the big box at the time and the price was back in 68 just under three grand , this set went up to 2 1/2 inch socket and wrench sizes and sockets from 1/4 to 3/4 drive . But back then my new car with trade only cost me 1250 bucks . And three grand wow that was a lot of money . As for metric i had NONE till one of my customers i did a lot of contract work for handed me a job on a little Jap tractor to rebuild the engine and a few other things needing repair . I did not want to turn him down as he gave me lots of work and his money was good. So i ran to sears and bought wrenches and sockets up to like 34 MM along with metric allen wrenches and been steadly adding to the Metric line . When i left the Chrysler dealer i went to Ford and all was well there till they hired a NEW guy , i was asked to come to work there to work on performance cars and to take care of the two cars they ran on the drag strip and drive one of them. This dealership also was a Ford heavy Duty truck dealer . Then one day a wrecker drug ina Two story Falcon semi tractor with a Cummins . The service manger was asking everyone but me if they knew anything about Cummins and the NEW GUY Opened his big mouth and said no he did not BUT Dan over there knows how to work on GM CAT AND CUMMINS . And i got saddled with BIG truck work also and with BIG truck work ya need BIGGER TOOLS . And everything gets heavier and dirtier . And yes ya need box end wrenches with some off set for those places your combination wrenches won't get you on that hard to get bolt or nut. For the most part of what i work on now 1 and 5/16th is usually as big as it gets BUT sometimes ya run into a job that even with all that i have i have to go buy a 1 inch drive socket and drag out my 1 inch impact . That was bought out of need when i had the semi as the 3/4 drive would not cut it .

 

[Leroy]

I had all box end, open end and combination in farily straight , hevy offset and medium offset in all shortm medium asnd long versions also the ratchiting heads and the crow foot wrenches plus 1/4inch, 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch and had to but 3/4 inch adapter with bigger sockets and I bought a set of half inch in square opening for square headed bolts. Then both end opening and side opening adjustable wrenches plus the old monkey wrenches, than alan head and some others for whn I was on the farm. Cannot remember arr, also special starter wrenches, points set and thin in flat open end. I probably had a thousand different wrenches. And some with a square hole or 2 in the handle. Also pipe wrenches.

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

Use box end 10:1 more often compared to open end unless you count wedging another box end into the open end to get more leverage.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 17:12:39 01/23/23) Oh, I do use the box end on the combination wrench.

So then you DO know the advantage to a box end wrench.

You just don't carry strictly box end-only wrenches. You carry combination wrenches.

Regular old combination wrenches are good for 99.9% of jobs, but there are occasional jobs where certain styles of box end-only wrenches are handy.

 

[Stephen Newell]

The box end you can get more torque on it. I think most of us purchase a wrench which has an open end because there are times you can't get the box end into. What I like about the box end wrenches I have is they have a different size on each end. You aren't sure which size you need and one or the other will work.

 

[David from Kansas]

Reading this discussion brought back some memories of when I was a youngster in the mid '50s. Dad did most repair work on the normal farm implements; i.e., tractors, combines, balers and haying equipment, tillage equipment and combines, trucks, and combines without a socket set. Finally got a 1/2 set from Western Auto, I think the brand name was Wizard. They were pretty good tools as I don't remember breaking anything. That socket set sure made life easier on the farm.

 

[John Deere D]

Good day John Garner:
Our Jet Shop and Test Cell used Milk of Magnesia on the bolts / fasteners in the HOT SECTIONS of the J-79 (Lm1500) (LM2500's) and Rolls Royce Spey Gas Turbines.
Milk of Magnesia is non conductive for electricity,however,I have used Milk of Magnesia on the IGNITER PLUGS on Gas Turbines,as the High Voltage Electrical Energy from the Igniter Box's carries several conductors,one is a Ground conductor back to the Igniter Box.
I can not Imagine using Milk of Magnesia on Spark Plug Threads.
I never used Milk of Magnesia on any Gas Turbine INLET COMPRESSORcases,as low ambient temperature,with water suspended,is a recipe for a headache. Water and Milk of Magnesia In contact can cause rusting on hardware that runs at lower operating temperatures.

We had our best results when Milk of Magnesia was applied to both the Female Thread as well as the Male Thread.
Assemble,and once the operating temperatures reached 1100 + Deg F the water was expelled,and the dry powder left over allowed the components to be easily removed.

As for Quote:
My experience with spline-type wrench openings is that hex and 12-point fasteners get stuck in the wrench openings when high torques are applied. Is your experience similar?

As for spline-type wrenches, tending to have a characteristic of the 12 POINT NUTS getting stuck in the box end of a spline-type wrenches when high torques are applied,this was overcome, by always applying ample KROILpenetrating fluid eight hours before any fasteners were removed to the NUTSfrom all HOT SECTIONS of the GAS Turbines.

Bob..

 

[kencombs]

I use combination wrenches more than any other, except ratchets and impacts.

But, double box end and offset double box end are there when I might need them for either access or leverage, as they are all longer than combos.

I also have a set of open end only, different size each end, like the box ends, but shorter.

Also a set of angle open end mostly for hydraulic fittings.

Socket sets in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4.


they all have there place. All purchased over the last 60some years only as the need arose. Some seldom used, but when needed, priceless as the ad says.

 

[John Garner]

Thank you, Sir. I appreciate the time and effort you put into answering my questions.

My question about milk of magnesia (MOM) has been on my mind since college (let's say fifty years ago), when two of my classmates had a serious disagreement on the wet-or-dry question.

Both were retired GIs that had spent most of their military careers taking care of turbines or boilers. One was absolutely adamant that the MOM should be fully dry before installing the fastener; the other was equally convinced that the fastener should be installed right after being coated with MOM.

Since then, I've used MOM on fasteners in engine exhaust systems and furnaces, and haven't seen any significant differences other than that the finished job looks neater when the MOM is allowed to dry before the fasteners are installed.

Thanks again for your reply.