The Types of Wrenches
Wrenches are among the most popular tools to tighten nuts and bolts. They can be found at home improvement retailers as well as specialty tool outlets. They vary wildly in price, depending on size and brand. High quality wrenches lessen the chances of stripping or other damage to threaded parts when applying torque. Generally, wrenches come in one of two measurement capacities: American standard inch and metric measurements.
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Adjustable Wrenches
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Adjustable wrenches are made up of five different types: hydrokinetic, mole, pipe, shifting spanner and tap wrenches. The hydrokinetic wrench can adjust to fit 23 different size nut and bolt heads, no matter whether the head is standard or metric. This particular tool received high remarks by Popular Science and Tool Snob as "one of the 12 must-have products of 2009."
Mole wrenches, more commonly known as vise-grips, are adjustable pliers with a locking mechanism. The handles have a lever that releases the locking position and a bolt for adjusting the spacing of the jaws.
Pipe wrench types include the monkey wrench and the plumber wrench. The monkey wrench is an F-shaped tool with smooth adjustable jaws. The plumber wrench has ridged teeth on the jaws for more grip.
Shifting spanner wrenches are also known as fit-all, crescent and adjustable-angle head wrenches. Tap wrenches come in two types: double-end adjustable wrenches and T-handle wrenches. These tools are used to turn taps, hand reamers and screw extractors.
Socket Wrenches
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There are four kinds of socket wrenches: socket sets, lug wrenches, tube wrenches and tuning wrenches. Socket sets include multiple sockets in both standard and metric sizes that attach to a ratchet mechanism. The ratchet lets you tighten or loosen nuts and bolts without removing the tool from the head.
Lug wrenches are used to remove and replace lug nuts found commonly on automobiles.
Tube wrenches are commonly used in plumbing to turn and hold pipes. These tools slide over tubes to reach the desired nut, turning it with minimal damage.
Tuning wrenches are designed to tune string instruments such as pianos, harps and hammer dulcimers.
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Torque Wrenches
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Torque wrenches come in four types: beam, deflecting beam, click and no-hub.
Beam torque wrenches are made up of a bendable long lever attached to a smaller bar. This smaller wrench wields a head that measures the amount of torque applied. The deflecting beam wrench is used by applying torque to a deflecting beam. It is also called a dual-signal deflecting beam wrench because a signal is seen and heard when the desired amount of torque is reached.
Click wrenches include a clutch mechanism, which allows the user to preset the amount of desired torque, preventing over-tightening.
No-hub wrenches are a form of T-handled wrenches containing a ratchet mechanism primarily used in plumbing to tighten or loosen soil pipe couplings.
Impact Wrenches
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Impact wrenches are powered-up socket set wrenches. They are powered by electricity, hydraulics or air compressor. Of the three, the impact wrench powered by an air compressor is the most common, used extensively in the automotive industry.
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