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I pulled one of those double enders out of a tire when I was working at a service station. It may have been a 4/6 inch, but the big end had gone through the tread. I couldn't tell it was a double until I got the tire off the rim!
Amazingly all adjustables are not equal...some are quite robust...I remember loosening a very tight trailer hitch ball nut with an offshore adjustable and I even fit a pipe over the wrench for more leverage...it worked, no damage to the wrench or the nut... I guess it depends on the situation at play...
...after a hard day of wrenching in the shop...it's time to sit down and have a wobbly pop...beats a screw driver...
I quit with bottles many years ago, cans are easier to pick up, instead of broken glass. But that opener would be described as “on steroids”. Lol.
Again they have limitations as all tools do...once they're damaged this will definately be a factor... I have also seen adjustables that have jaws out of alignment...as in when you close the jaws there is a tapered gap widening toward the end...hence it won't sit true on the nut. Also any slack in the sliding part of the jaws can invite failure... Heck you can injure yourself when that happens...not good...
My crescent wrench had magical powers. When I bought it, it said Blue Point. When I looked at it years later, it had turned into some other brand.
Let’s face it, an adjustable wrench is not the “go to tool”, but they do come in handy when needed. I mean if they were so good, everyone would carry just two of them, what else would you need?
This is the universal quality test. Take a tool, and put it to a task that it is not quite meant for. Put an appropriate length of cheater bar on the end, and lean on it. If the job gets done, or the tool only lightly deforms, then you have a quality piece of equipment worthy of handing down to the grandchildren. Knowing just how far to abuse a tool, and when not to, is the mark of a craftsman. The universal quality test is also the mark of a good quality toolmaker. When you return a busted socket, many will ask if you had a cheater bar or impact gun (assault ratchet) on the end of it. The answer is always a straight-faced "No... of course not". A quality toolmaker rolls his eyes and replaces the tool. He is annoyed that his work was not quite up to the task (or abuse) thrown at it. Cheers, Harv
My adjustable wrench story. And who invented it. When I was a new hire on the Penn Central railroad back in the last century {1975} hired into the signal department one important job we did monthly was testing every powered switch track in the railroad interlocking. I was working in New Haven terminal at the time and there was a lot of switches to test. It took two weeks worth of work every monthly just testing and adjusting switch's. So on my very first day I was in the New Haven terminal I had to help adjust a switch's the old timer I'm working with Charlie said to me kid get the Westcott out of the tool bag. The Westcott I'm thinking WTF don't know what he wants. Now I understood all types of tools and certainly knew how to use them. Used plenty to build my Deuce roadster in a rented one car garage in New Haven which in the good weather way back then was my daily driver to the rail yards. So that day I learned on the railroad the adjustable wrench was called the Westcott by the railroad men. To this day I still call it a Westcott. The attached tells the history of the adjustable wrench invented by Mr. Bey Westcott. Ronnieroadster https://www.sswda.org/archive/westcott-wrench/
Well there ya go. I think I might go and have a dig and see what I've got lurking in a rarely opened tool box.
I have seen several variations of the Westcott over the years and still have a few hanging on my wall of antiquated tools display. In the pics the Gray version also is labeled with the Ford script. Other than the names stamped on the forgings, they are all identical, which leads me to believe they were built by the same manufacturer. I am intrigued by the history and variations of the Eifel geared "PlieRench" and have a few good examples along with the exchangeable components/accessories. Anyone else have these?
I have double end in 6 and 8 in and 8 and 10 in , used them daily on pipeline flanges , once snug , switch to end wrenches , then to slugging wrenches
i found a 10" crescent wrench at the dump that was very rusted. i put it in a bucket of pool acid and it ate the thumb wheel off. i would like to fix it. anybody know where i could get the wheel and the screw that goes through it? thanks
They are without a doubt in most serious tool collections...I'm actually surprised at how old they are and how long ago the look of the modern wrenches came about...
We have junk/second hand recycle shops this way and they have quite a sizable tool graveyard...brand is Cresent?... Surprised only the adjuster disappeared...I suspect the rust was evenly distributed... Did you visit Cresent? Perhaps they have replacement parts... The other thing is if you find a 10" adjustable it may be in good condition and better tan your original... Share some pics with wrench and the handle info...I'll have a look when I go next time...never know...I can understand the wanting to fix it... I've also read of molasses, vinegar, acid and metal here...gotta watch it...or it might...disappear...
The Jalopy Journal
