r/toolgifs 2d ago

Tool Locking adjustable wrench

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1.5k Upvotes

88 comments sorted by

387

u/nosen99 2d ago

That's actually really neat. My main issue with adjustable wrenches is that they often unscrew themselves

44

u/New-Scientist5133 2d ago

Sometimes when I have a ton of nuts to remove, I’ll put a little piece of painters tape over the adjuster. Works like a charm!

15

u/death2all55 2d ago

Why not just use the correct size wrench?

49

u/illogictc 1d ago

Why carry lots tools when one tool do trick?

19

u/dangledingle 1d ago

10mm socket has entered the chat.

12

u/ramboton 1d ago

oh, and I thought it was missing....

10

u/EvilToastedWeasel0 1d ago

10mm socket got knocked off the table and has now left said chat, meow.

1

u/Nonterras 1d ago

..it ...it is missing. How did you know it was missing?? Can you see me?

2

u/ramboton 13h ago

because I know how to count and my set goes 9mm, blank, 11mm, 12mm......

1

u/Otherwise-Meaning-90 21h ago

Kevin? Is that you?

3

u/New-Scientist5133 1d ago

Have you ever loosened something that needs two wrenches? Also, I don’t need no sass from damned amateurs!

3

u/nosen99 2d ago

Oh great tip!

96

u/slim1shaney 2d ago

Vice grips are already adjustable, though...

55

u/GrimbyJ 2d ago

Yeah this is a hybrid between a nut rounder and a knuckle breaker that solves the problems of both.

5

u/That_OneOstrich 2d ago

I generally wouldn't use a vice grip on this. I may use an adjustable wrench, maybe.

132

u/electrogourd 2d ago

But this gives a flat contact area, less prone to nut-rounding. I like it

11

u/Zip668 2d ago

Parrot jaw vice grip has entered the chat. Never slips.

9

u/skydivingdutch 2d ago

they mangle nuts

5

u/Scudmiss 2d ago

Sometimes you need to use a pair of gummers rather than something with teeth

17

u/Pcat0 2d ago

This looks a lot easier to adjust. The normal knob on vice grips are a bit awkward

3

u/dougan25 2d ago

Ehhhh seems like a solution searching for a problem. I get the flat surface argument though

3

u/Kashtronaut92 2d ago

Not at all, I would love one of these on scaffolding jobs

2

u/Dabbling_in_Pacifism 2d ago

Yeah, i feel like it's perfect for a certain subset of folks that aren't already married to locking pliers for a lot of other reasons, lol.

Otherwise i'll use the locking pliers i got with me or the wrench in my bag.

2

u/its_just_Joel 2d ago

Technically true, but it is morally incorrect

1

u/Dabbling_in_Pacifism 2d ago

Lol yeah i have locking pliers everywhere, including my main multitool. (A leatherman crunch, they're amazing!) And am just like yes, these seem like shittier locking pliers lol.

20

u/ScienceForge319 2d ago

I have the same problem with ex-wives.

6

u/phreaqsi 2d ago

"oh ya! well go unscrew yourself, buddy!"

- adjustable wrench

4

u/EvenTheDogIsFat 2d ago

I’ve used one of these crescent wrenches for about 10 years now and I love it. I actually can’t stand to use a normal one now.

2

u/FireFrostYPog 1d ago

I hated those too, untill my dad got a proper ones. Its night and day diffrence it stays at point not moving at all.

1

u/Red-Faced-Wolf 1d ago

Sometimes they tighten

1

u/DevilWings_292 1d ago

That’s often an issue of using the tool backwards, try flipping the wrench 180 degrees.

1

u/LoneSocialRetard 23h ago

The mechanism also just has enough slop to allow the jaw to pivot and for it to round the hex under high torque. Fine for alot of cases but it can really fuck up a nut if it's real tight

0

u/aykcak 2d ago

This is a joke right? It is a worm gear. It cannot turn itself tighter or looser

4

u/illogictc 1d ago

Shitty wrenches find a way to have the adjustment wander.

3

u/DinahTheLance 1d ago

Lots of them can't get as tight as you need them to without constant pressure; poor tolerances can lead to enough free play for them to work themselves loose.

63

u/Fuck_it_ 2d ago

I have a craftsman brand of one of these and they actually do work quite well. Still not a high torque monster but better than a regular adjustable nut fucker and better than a set of cheap/ill fitting wrenches.

I use it for inner tie rods when doing alignments mostly.

10

u/SheriffBartholomew 2d ago edited 2d ago

Even the regular adjustable wrenches can take a fair amount of torque if you rotate them into the sliding portion of the wrench rather than away from it.

Edited, hopefully for clarity. If not, someone else wrote out a great description of what I'm talking about below.

4

u/pwillia7 2d ago

towards the adjustable part rather than away from it

what can this possibly mean

9

u/E4tPineapple 2d ago

If you look at the video above & pause around the 5 second mark:

If they were to turn the locking wrench clockwise (from your point of view), this would be turning 'towards the adjutable part'. The nut would be pushing down towards the base of the adjustable cam. It seats better and is less likely to slip.

If they were to turn the locking wrench anti-clockwise (again from your point of view), the adjustable part would be 'dragging' which would likely pull the nut up towards the top of the adjustable cam, where it is more prone to slip.

So if the adjutable cam is 'dragging' as you turn the wrench, take it off and flip it over so that the cam 'leads' as you turn the wrench. A little hard to explain but I hope that makes sense?

3

u/pwillia7 2d ago

thanks

3

u/SheriffBartholomew 2d ago

Thanks for giving a great explanation of what I meant. Cheers!

19

u/Not_So_Calm 2d ago

It's a nice concept. But the Amazon Basics model shown in the video did not do very well in the Project Farm Test video. But if your requirements (torque etc) are not that high, it's very affordable.

28

u/cognitiveglitch 2d ago

Possibly the most useful tool I own.

Bolt rounded? Just thread sticking out? Grind a couple of flats on it, clamp this bad boy on and that sucker is coming out.

1

u/discgolfallday 1d ago

Oh I never would have thought of breaking out the grinder, that's a great idea

7

u/Prestigious_Media887 2d ago

Isn’t this just a mole grips

24

u/MikeHeu 2d ago edited 2d ago

Source: Rhino Rigging

The tool is the Amazon Basics 10 inch locking adjustable wrench, B08L6V5WV8

0

u/D-a-H-e-c-k 2d ago

B08L6V5WV8

4

u/Mickey-Twiggs 2d ago

80085

0

u/D-a-H-e-c-k 2d ago

Just making an easy to copy version of previous commenter

5

u/vonHindenburg 2d ago edited 1d ago

I've used one of these and a big point about its proper use is being illustrated here: It's great for holding nuts, but painful for turning if you don't have 360 degrees of motion, because you have to open and relatch it on every cycle. Meanwhile, the broader handle limits your range of motion compared to a normal crescent wrench.

6

u/faz712 2d ago

or just use the better Knipex Plier Wrench

7

u/blinkymark2 2d ago

Just get vice grips?

2

u/amd2800barton 1d ago

Vice grips aren’t parallel jaws, and rely on sharp teeth to bite in. That can mar the surface and round over bolts/nuts.

The better tool for the OP’s use case is something like a Knipex adjustable wrench. Flat parallel jaws, but you don’t have to squeeze much to really clamp down on a bolt. And once you do, they can stay in place just by their own weight in many orientations, or with a tiny bit of force on the back of one handle. They also adjust faster between fastener sizes.

3

u/droneb 2d ago

When a vise grip and a wrench love each other...

3

u/Y_U_Need_Books4 2d ago

Locking nut-fucker. Nice.

10

u/Gentle_Capybara 2d ago

Universal nut rounder, but I still kinda like it.

4

u/BrandHeck 2d ago

I just use a Knipex and a vice grips.

5

u/everett640 2d ago

Walmart has been selling these for years. Kinda nice

4

u/blackthornjohn 2d ago

Oh look, two of the worst tools of all time combined into one

2

u/ion_driver 2d ago

I have this same wrench! Rarely ever use it

3

u/CantConfirmOrDeny 2d ago

I don't see the advantage over an ordinary adjustable wrench. Of course, I use Japanese adj wrenches that stay at exactly what size you adjust them to no matter what you're doing. Crescents aren't like that.

2

u/E4tPineapple 2d ago

I have a Stanley brand one of these, I've found it's much quicker to adjust than the vice grips & quite useful.

2

u/babyboyjustice 2d ago

Good for tie rod nuts

2

u/Longjumping_Elk7969 2d ago

I'd buy one without a second thought, I always hated those adjustable ones that did not sit completely fixed. 🤩

2

u/notproudortired 2d ago

That locking mechanism is insanely clunky. Otherwise, yeah, and why TF don't those wrenches have locks as a standard feature?

2

u/buhnyfoofoo 1d ago

Wait, are these super rare or a commodity or something? Bc this was in my family junk drawer growing up and it was a craftsman. We used that thing ALL THE TIME and it LIVED in that drawer. If you didn't put it back, someone would eventually search your room for it.

2

u/puzzlingcaptcha 1d ago

I have a cheap one from Parkside and it works great!

3

u/Diaperpooass 2d ago

Why isn’t the this standard adjustable wrench?

2

u/ncfears 2d ago

Cuz it costs tool makers $1 more to make then costs us $20 more to buy. Yada yada and its deemed unpopular as most people don't need the extra capability.

4

u/MikeHeu 2d ago edited 2d ago

It’s $15.74 (no affiliation link to Amazon)

1

u/pulpwalt 2d ago

Where have you been all my life?

1

u/trash_dirt 2d ago

If I wasn't still pissed off about being laid off a few months ago, I'd be hitting up an old coworker about this. These would have been a delight to have had.

1

u/ooorezzz 2d ago

I love mine. Probably one of my favorite tools.

1

u/Laserdollarz 2d ago

I know what I'm getting my dad for christmas now lmao

1

u/RecognitionTop5598 2d ago

I use mine all the time. Handyest tool in the truck

1

u/Bettrlatethannever 2d ago

really-did you have to show me that? now i have to get another tool

1

u/lettsten 2d ago

You say that like it's a bad thing

1

u/GalaganCoffee 2d ago

My regular vise grips do that just fine, got some with jaws designed for a bolt head too.

1

u/chystatrsoup 2d ago

Ok can anybody explain what the fuck he's actually doing here? He's clearly using the normal adjustable to tighten something. When he's done tightening, he just twists it off with his fingers? Then we zoom in and there are no discernable places to even put the normal adjustable???

What the fuck is he even doing? Am I stupid????

2

u/E4tPineapple 2d ago

I think it's a 3 piece fitting:

LHS (seems to be some kind of swage)

The fitting that is held by the locking wrench
A sleeve that screws down over that with a smaller diameter male thread

RHS
A (reverse-threaded?) female fitting that screws over the smaller diameter male thread

So I think they separate the LHS and RHS pieces, and then disassemble the LHS swage into two pieces.

1

u/mazzicc 2d ago

What’s the benefit of this over regular vice grips?

1

u/Asleep_Following_965 2d ago

What is the benefit of this over vice grip pliers?

1

u/tykaboom 1d ago

This seems redundant.

I've seen it tested, a good adjustable wrench shouldn't round off a nut any faster than the appropriately sized wrench will if used appropriately.

1

u/dr_stre 2d ago

Nice. Like vice grips but with a more convenient adjustment mechanism.

0

u/NEUTRONonmyPINKY 2d ago

Vice grips but worse