Talk:Adjustable spanner

December 2005

what are adjustable spanners used for ?

See wrench. --GalFisk 13:32, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

does anybody have a source for the term "AJ" when used in reference to an adjustable spanner? I imagine it comes from AdJustable, but one does wonder — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.44.19.206 (talk • contribs) 09:10, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Removed Cite Request from Moncky claim

I removed the "fact" tag/cite request from the opening, regarding the origin of the term "Monkey Wrench" as being derived from a patent by Charles Moncky. The wiki-linked article on Monkey Wrench in the same sentence contains a cite that should be sufficient.

Note that that article now contains another citation which shows that the usage of the term predates the supposed Moncky patent, and suggests that the Moncky story is apocryphal.--Srleffler (talk) 18:30, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Use of adjustable spanners

I think the spanner should be used with the fixed jaw leading. The force applied to each jaw is the same (equal and opposite forces). However if the fixed jaw leads, then the load on the movable jaw will then be at its' base, which would minimise the bending stress on it. John I

The problem with doing that is the base of the adjustable jaw is the weakest part of the whole assembly, both through minimal material and the fact that it is in an intentionally loose gear arrangement. So lead with the fixed jaw. (69.153.201.14 06:16, 7 November 2007

(UTC))

As an old machinist, I can say that an adjustable wrench, of any design, is only a make-shift to be used when an appropriate open-end, box, or socket wrench is not available. Of these three, the open-end wrench is the weakest, the box wrench the strongest. And, if a box or socket wrench is used on a hexagonal screw-head or nut, a six-face wrench is stronger than a twelve-face one. Stronger still is a square screw head or nut, combined with a box wrench with a square hole. Too Old (talk) 11:01, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Proper use.

I'm removing the contradictory uncited claims about proper use. They should be replaced only if they can be supported by a citation.--Srleffler (talk) 18:33, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Material removed

Torque applied via a crescent wrench

This tool is often misused, causing excess wear or distortion. When the type illustrated is used for heavy loads such as to break loose a nut or bolt, or for final tightening, the movable jaw should always lead the direction of rotation. Failure to do so will cause the movable jaw to become bent and/or loose. (In the illustration the wrench is set up to tighten a right hand thread, using a clockwise motion).

Another school of thought claims that the spanner should always be used with the fixed jaw leading the direction of rotation: This ensures that the force will always be applied to the moveable jaw at its base, minimising the bending stress on it.

Proper use

The adjustable spanner#Proper use section of this article still seems to be self-contradictory.

I found one discussion [1] that has some physics-based arguments that I found pretty persuasive. One commenter says that the preferred way to use a pipe wrench is the opposite direction from the preferred way to use an adjustable wrench, which may explain why so many people disagree on the "proper" direction to turn it.[2]

Norm Abram, in "Adjustable Wrench", implies that (unlike a basin wrench) an adjustable wrench often works adequately even when turned the "wrong way", such as when doing the "flip trick". This may also contribute to why so many people disagree on the "proper" direction to turn it.

What exactly is the advantage of turning it the "right" way versus the "wrong" way? Too often I hear that turning it the "wrong" way is "more likely to round off the corners" without any more details, but I prefer an explanation that would make it possible to work out from first principles which way is the "right" way. (I wouldn't be surprised to discover that there are advantages to each direction). --DavidCary (talk) 23:00, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

I've removed the discussion of the direction, along with the image which contradicts it, but I'd be happy to see it reintroduced with a proper reference. – Smyth\^talk 12:14, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Who makes it?

This wrench, according to the article, is manufactured by both Cooper Hand Tools and the Crescent Tool Company. So which is it? ---Ransom (--71.4.51.150 23:34, 22 January 2007 (UTC))

Cooper Tools makes crescent wrenchs. They must have bought Crescent Tool, although I can't find any reference to this on the internet. Many other companies make adjustable wrenchs, and in the USA "crescent wrench" is now used to refer to any adjustable wrench. John D. 199.64.0.252 20:08, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Who invented the adjustable spanner

For the person who advised it is not sure who invented the adjustable spanner - I can definitely help you with the answer. My Grandfather "Robert Percy Stewart" of Sydney Australia invented the adjustable head of the shifting spanner. He was a brilliant man however uneducated and in 1917 (under advise from a Patent Attorney in Sydney) he caught steerage class on a steamship from Sydney to San Francisco and met with a Layer there who advised him the spanner had very limited use however "being the really nice guy he was" he would take the Patent off his hands for 20 pounds. With no money and little legal knoweldge my grandfather sold the Patent for the spanner to this unscrupulous solicitor and returned steerage class to Australia with about 5 pounds left to his name. We have the original patent for the spanner with all details including specifications and drawings and the original patent number thereon. I wish I had one dolar from each of the spanners my grandfather invented - I would indeed be a wealthy woman. If you would like any further info on this pelase email me at [address removed]- I would be only to happy to relate further info regarding my grandfathers inventions including the 'pipe cutter' which afater patenting this item he gave the patent away to a 'friend'

Have fun and happy inventing!

Debra StewartCaptainclo 07:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

It was invented by a Swede in 1892 (the way it looks today) http://www.bahco.com/files/Leaflet%20Adjustable%20Wrenches_ijqrefqqkcekocbournjsajpr.pdf

William Barlow, who worked at His Majesty's Dock-Yards in Portsmouth, England, invented an adjustable screw-wrench in 1809. The image of that wrench looks very much like a modern crescent wrench, except that the movable jaw was adjusted by one screw - and held in place by another. Monkey wrenches, with a movable jaw opening perpendicular to the shaft - adjusted by twisting the handle, were known in England, by that name, in the 1820s. Several improvements were made by American inventors during the 1830s and early 1840s. Loring Coes invented the ability to adjust the jaws with the thumb of the hand holding the wrench in the early 1840s; freeing up the other hand, and making the monkey wrench a popular and more useful tool. Svaihingen (talk) 20:27, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

References

Edwin Budding

re who invented the adjustable spanner....

On wikipedia's page for Edwin Budding- it states: "Edwin Beard Budding (1795–1846), an engineer from Stroud, England, was the English inventor of the lawnmower (1830) and adjustable spanner."

The Museum of The Adjustable Spanner website http://www.adjustable.archivist.info/shist.html states:

"Edwin Beard Budding (1795 - 1846) Invented the screw adjustable spanner. Before the Budding spanner, workmen laboured with the old versions, in which the spanner was adjusted and then wedged into place, creating problems when the wedge came loose. The same problem reportedly happened to Budding, and with screw to replace the wedge, the adjustable spanner in its modern version was born."

It may well be that all these claims to who invented the adjustable spanner are correct but with so many versions of a theme they may be referring to different versions of adjustable spanner. Adjustable spanners locked using wedges were it seems available before the screw adjustable spanner was invented, so perhaps the Budding reference should rightly be altered to suit? perhaps: "...the English inventor of the lawnmower (1830) and screw adjustable spanner."? Andywebby (talk) 20:46, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Further to the above, the Made in Britain website ([3]) cites Budding as the original inventor of the adjustable spanner in c1820 with Richard Clyburn (who was a work colleague of Budding) later improving on Budding's design, which he registered in 1843. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Andywebby (talk • contribs) 23:57, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Clyburn was awarded a "Copyright in Design," similar to what is known as a "Design Patent" in the US today; it covers the 'design' - shape or look - but not the functional aspect of it. He did not "invent" or improve on the functionality of the wrench. See, Newton's London journal of arts and sciences. ser.3 v.23 yr.1843, page 229.Svaihingen (talk) 20:33, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

crescent wrench

why do crescent wrenches marked with metric in the u.s. scott —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.2.23.191 (talk) 15:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

"english key"

According to the french wikipedia article, an "english key" is slightly different, whereas an adjustable spanner is called a "clé a mollette". Look at the photos to see the differences. Stevage 23:22, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

Adjustable-face spanner wrench?

I put these words into Google images and found plenty of examples: adjustable face spanner wrench

Also: filter spanner

Also: claw wrench

Also: lens spanner

Another variation is to take a thick board (usually more in practice) and drill two parallel holes into it. Insert two bolts into the holes and use nuts on the opposite side of the board from where you inserted them, to force them to stay in place. This is of course not adjustable. Replace the nuts with two screwdriver tips for example, to use it as a more precise spanner. To make it adjustable, you put two face plates on the the opposite sides of the board and drill one of the holes in the board wide in the length-wise axis. http://benchmark.20m.com/workshop/Jigs_General/Jigs_General.html has an example in the 5th image. This is of course not the intent of that specific implementation - it's to force something to stay between the pair of boards.

I can't seem to find that type of tool on Wikipedia. It's not really a clamp but it's not really a wrench, either. Nor is it a simple pair of pliers.  ;) There needs to be some kind of reference for them on the tools list. I consider them all to be a variation on the same solution to the problem of applying torque to multiple spots on a ring, at once.

JWhiteheadcc (talk) 05:11, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

The wrench article mentions a spanner wrench, but not the adjustable version of it. You can add some info there. Wizard191 (talk) 17:21, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

And the one item that got me interested in this kind of tool but I forgot to mention - fuel tank retainer (lock) ring tool since I'm pulling a fuel pump on my 1999 Ford Escort ZX2. Examples include the WILMAR model #W80669 retainer wrench. I'm sure there's tons of such wrenches for fuel tank lock rings. The simplest way I figured to make one is to take a round board and drill 7 holes in it at 2.6 inches from the center and then fill with screw drivers for a temporary hack. hehe cheap but it worked. You really only need 3 holes but 7 will have a reduced chance of damaging the ring. I've heard of people using a dull screw driver with a rubber mallet but that's not exactly a great idea.

The problem I see is that there's so many names for this style of wrench, that I have no idea what to call it. "Tooth/jaw/peg wrench"? LOL, no idea. Not going to invent a term - that's stupid AND original research and possibly marketing. A subsection under Adjustable_spanner seems sensible but what term? Just show them all with the most common as the head? Wikipedia is frustrating, sometimes! Thanks for your advice. JWhiteheadcc (talk) 19:53, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

In American English the proper term is "spanner wrench" and in British English its "Pin spanner". Wizard191 (talk) 20:09, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

Skiftnyckel Swedish to English translation

To my understanding skiftnyckel literally translates to shift key, if someone with fluent Swedish could confirm this. Christer Nyberg (talk) 00:09, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Swedish is my native language, i would translate it too "turn-key". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.70.208.121 (talk) 22:16, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

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Stop it with the anglophile bullshit

The adjustable spanner used today was invented by Johansson. There are other inferior designs that were useless because they broke very easily but those are not to be confused with the modern day adjustable spanner. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.208.115.111 (talk) 12:54, 22 May 2020 (UTC)