Phil Giboney is a resident of Fife, Florida, and a business graduate of Highline College. He has worked a number of jobs such as technician and papermaker. An experienced business owner, Phil Giboney once owned a Snap-On Tools franchise.
Snap-On sells a vast array of professional tools including different kinds of wrenches. All wrenches have the same basic function: to tighten or loosen screws, bolts, pipes, or nuts. Let’s take a look at the most common kinds of wrenches.
The most basic kind of wrench is the adjustable wrench, and this should be the first wrench to obtain when starting a tool collection. One jaw of this wrench is fixed and the other jaw is moveable or adjustable. The key thing to remember when using this wrench is to put pressure on the fixed jaw instead of the adjustable jaw. This essentially means turning the wrench toward the moveable jaw. The adjustable jaw is weaker and turning the wrench towards that jaw can break the tool.
Open wrenches are fixed size wrenches that typically come in sets. Since these wrenches are made from a single piece of steel, there are no concerns about how to apply pressure. Compared to adjustable wrenches, fixed wrenches are more convenient, since the tool user does not have to bother with adjustments while working and there is less risk of damaging the nut or bolt.
A boxed wrench looks different from other wrenches because it does not have jaws. The box wrench has an enclosed ring, and like the open wrench it comes in sets with fixed sizes. The design of the box wrench is intended to minimize damage to the fastener being tightened or loosened. These wrenches are a good choice for particularly demanding jobs.
