What do you think of Saltus Wrenches?
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Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
had them, never used them, sold them.
Your results may vary. I found i was always using something else like pass through sockets or low profile sockets that ratcheted.
Your results may vary. I found i was always using something else like pass through sockets or low profile sockets that ratcheted.
There are supposedly some jobs that can't be done with any other tool. I have a mutt set, but haven't ever used one. Actually made a SALTUS wrench out of a universal knuckle - now I can pop on a short socket up to about 9/16"/15 mm if I need to.
Which I haven't had to do.
Which I haven't had to do.
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40yrs ago when I wrenched on bikes for a living they were super handy. Now with that advent of ratchet wrenches and super low profile rats/sockets not so much IMO. I still have my set from all those years ago but they never get used.
Interesting. I use mine fairly regularly. Admittedly, when I use them, I could just as easily be using something else. But I go for them because I like them.
They are solid, there is no free play in them like what you get with a ratchet / breaker bar and socket, they handle lots of torque unlike a gear wrench. They can be straightened out and used as a spinner. The socket head has a thin wall and needs minimal clearance, unlike a gear wrench.
You have to admit, they can be rather usefull.
They are solid, there is no free play in them like what you get with a ratchet / breaker bar and socket, they handle lots of torque unlike a gear wrench. They can be straightened out and used as a spinner. The socket head has a thin wall and needs minimal clearance, unlike a gear wrench.
You have to admit, they can be rather usefull.
What brand? Pics?
I don't remember, I can tell you I bought them off the Mac guy since he was the only tool truck that serviced the Honda dealership I was at. But the next time I'm back in my shop (next weekend) I'll take a pic.
Wyoming09
Well-known member
had them, never used them, sold them.
Your results may vary. I found i was always using something else like pass through sockets or low profile sockets that ratcheted.
This. Exactly.
davethorik
Well-known member
I don't have any but I have used them. The ones I used all had floppy joints and I didn't like them for that reason. Like trying to use a floppy flex head ratchet.
tatra
Well-known member
Years ago on oil changes found them handy for drain plugs and such as we had metric and standard sets on the wall . Used the open end to verify it fit then the socket end to remove and install . Other than that never had a want or need really .
There are supposedly some jobs that can't be done with any other tool. I have a mutt set, but haven't ever used one. Actually made a SALTUS wrench out of a universal knuckle - now I can pop on a short socket up to about 9/16"/15 mm if I need to.
Which I haven't had to do.
I have a set and don't see much use . sometimes it the tool that makes all the difference.
slender knuckle bars in 1/4 & 3/8 can be used with sockets making a similar tool to bonneyman innovative universal knuckle mod .
Ign
Well-known member
Yep, just something to clutter the tool box.
Ign
Well-known member
Also I read on here years ago Saltus was just Craftsman's term. Other manufacturers called them something else.
Not that I have a problem with the term...it serves to convey the meaning like Kleenex or Formica
Not that I have a problem with the term...it serves to convey the meaning like Kleenex or Formica
Thanks, I just did it one afternoon after I found the SALTUS wrench missing the socket (and got it for $1) and figured I could alter it into something different.
chrismenke
Well-known member
They're actually my go to for most things. I have primarily non rusty low torque things to maintain, so I can break the torque with the open end, and then flip the wrench around, and use it like a nut driver on the Saltus end.
Both metric and standard in Snap On...I think the metric set may have been my first truck purchase. My poor driver had to take my 8mm to get machined because it was broached incorrectly and I could prove it by showing him a buddy's wrench. I need just that little bit of extra clearance, and he made it good!
Both metric and standard in Snap On...I think the metric set may have been my first truck purchase. My poor driver had to take my 8mm to get machined because it was broached incorrectly and I could prove it by showing him a buddy's wrench. I need just that little bit of extra clearance, and he made it good!
Double-ended versions of these were and still are common in Finland and other Nordic countries. I was born in Finland and returned there recently to spend some time in a summerhouse on the sea. In the otherwise sparsely equipped workshop I found a set of Bahco 4040M wrenches.
What accounts for these geographical differences?
Anyway, they’re an expensive way to cover a range of sizes. They can go where ratcheting socket wrenches or ring spanners cannot, while at the same time being kinder to fasteners than open-ended spanners and working as a nut driver in places where you can straighten the handle after breaking the fastener free. They tend to be slow to use where you have to engage and disengage the fastener repeatedly, since the angle of the head is never the same and will also change if you nudge the head against something. The joint is spring-loaded to maintain constant resistance as parts wear over the life of the tool. They can take pretty high torque.
I don’t own any but I’ve been tempted many times, most recently while at that summerhouse. If I got a set, I’d try using them for many jobs for a while before pronouncing judgement. If you’ve spent decades using something else you’re unlikely to reach for these first just because you now have them. But those old habits are not a sound basis for judging their usefulness.
What accounts for these geographical differences?
Anyway, they’re an expensive way to cover a range of sizes. They can go where ratcheting socket wrenches or ring spanners cannot, while at the same time being kinder to fasteners than open-ended spanners and working as a nut driver in places where you can straighten the handle after breaking the fastener free. They tend to be slow to use where you have to engage and disengage the fastener repeatedly, since the angle of the head is never the same and will also change if you nudge the head against something. The joint is spring-loaded to maintain constant resistance as parts wear over the life of the tool. They can take pretty high torque.
I don’t own any but I’ve been tempted many times, most recently while at that summerhouse. If I got a set, I’d try using them for many jobs for a while before pronouncing judgement. If you’ve spent decades using something else you’re unlikely to reach for these first just because you now have them. But those old habits are not a sound basis for judging their usefulness.
JeffBama
Member
In the 80's when I was a mechanic at Sears, I used the 1/2" one everyday for the upper bolts on GM rear shocks. Put the socket end on the end of the bolt and then used a impact with a 2' extension and a 1/2" socket on the nut. Zipped them right off. Never used any other size than that 1/2" one. Since then, I think it just sits in my toolbox.
seber
Well-known member
Just use a breaker bar and socket.
A breaker bar and socket cannot go everywhere a flex-head socket wrench can go, especially when you have to add a universal joint. A dedicated universal joint socket is taller too, since it needs room for the square drive.
I still see uses for these.
I still see uses for these.
Ganymedes
Well-known member
I don´t like SALTUS anymore since they are unwilling to send me a paper catalogue, I asked for, for more than 2 years; due to my age (76) I have some problems when searching in a downloaded cat.
SALTUS, now part of ATLAS-COPCO, was famous , in the past,for their range of torque-wrenches
toptul GAAT0702
will have buy online get a good price and probably uk/europe seller .
yes a slim style 1/4 and 3/8 knuckle bar and slim shallow/stubby sockets like koken can replace these for a lot of scenarios and sometimes even offer better configuration options . like everything it not always the working answer and more options = more work completed in less time .
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crewchief888
Well-known member
I use them once in a while, usually for very specific nuts/bolts.
my most used ones are 1/2" 13mm & 15mm
my most used ones are 1/2" 13mm & 15mm
What brand? Pics?
Um surprised I didn’t remember the name. Who could forget True ****...oops Craft.
Um surprised I didn’t remember the name. Who could forget True ****...oops Craft.
Thanks.
My mutt set is nice in one respect: I get to try a bunch of different brands and see how they feel. Truecraft, S-K, Bonney, Proto, Mac are among the lot. I don't use them but if I could grab a set of decent Bonney's I'd jump on it.
BarryWells
Well-known member
One thing about Truecraft Japan. Those 1/2" drive round ratchets they made are flat out slick.....tough as hell too
Thanks.
My mutt set is nice in one respect: I get to try a bunch of different brands and see how they feel. Truecraft, S-K, Bonney, Proto, Mac are among the lot. I don't use them but if I could grab a set of decent Bonney's I'd jump on it.
I’ll add this. It’s been years since I used them which is why their resting place is the “ya never know what might need to be modified to work” drawer.
But the instant I picked that one up I remembered why I liked them at the time. Other then Mac they were the only long pattern wrenches I could get my hands on. They were great for getting to valve cover bolts and breaking loose tappet jam nuts on motorcycles. And in 20yrs of using those until their retirement I never broke one or damaged the socket but all of them got sloppy at the pivot. In reality they were actually a decent tool.
Back when I was buying quit a bit of toptul stuff I damn near bought that set shown above. I had them in my cart a few times but reality set in that why, I never use the ones I already have anymore.
3baygarage
Well-known member
I think they’re really neat. Not a must have though.
I’ll share my famous Craftsman story again. I’d been putting together a set of the older ones piece by piece. One day I stopped at Sears Hardware during the closing sale and picked up a nice new 3/4 Saltus for like 7 bucks.
Used it on my bench grinder, and it fell from the bench about 3 feet to the floor. When I picked it up, the socket wall was cracked through on two opposite sides. Strange as it was brand new.
I’ll share my famous Craftsman story again. I’d been putting together a set of the older ones piece by piece. One day I stopped at Sears Hardware during the closing sale and picked up a nice new 3/4 Saltus for like 7 bucks.
Used it on my bench grinder, and it fell from the bench about 3 feet to the floor. When I picked it up, the socket wall was cracked through on two opposite sides. Strange as it was brand new.
crewchief888
Well-known member
"if I have to explain, you wouldn't understand"
I have a couple places that you could get a socket or comb wrench onto a nut/bolt with some effort. stick a saltus on it and it's done.
Funny how some tools are popular in some parts of the world but not others.
Here in France you see a somewhat similar wrench type, the clé à pipe (words meaning pipe wrench), just about everywhere. Facom calls this an angled socket wrench in the current English catalogue and open socket wrench on the box of a set bought a few years ago, but I don’t know if anyone else uses those labels. Google “Facom 76” to see what they look like. Quite short but usually stoutly built.
Available in any hardware store. Seen in every mechanic’s toolbox and even non-DIY people’s homes. And yet almost unknown across the channel in the UK, where people work on similar cars, machines, etc., in broadly similar conditions. Why? Beats me!
Here in France you see a somewhat similar wrench type, the clé à pipe (words meaning pipe wrench), just about everywhere. Facom calls this an angled socket wrench in the current English catalogue and open socket wrench on the box of a set bought a few years ago, but I don’t know if anyone else uses those labels. Google “Facom 76” to see what they look like. Quite short but usually stoutly built.
Available in any hardware store. Seen in every mechanic’s toolbox and even non-DIY people’s homes. And yet almost unknown across the channel in the UK, where people work on similar cars, machines, etc., in broadly similar conditions. Why? Beats me!
He responded the way he did because you asked him a dumb question.
The saltus head is much thinner, handles much more torque than a ratcheting wrench. The saltus wrench can also be straightened out and used like a speeder. The saltus wrench can go places a socket and breaker bar can't. It is smaller, lighter and has less free play.
So, had he considered your question worthy of a response that's probably what he would have said.
"if I have to explain, you wouldn't understand"
I have a couple places that you could get a socket or comb wrench onto a nut/bolt with some effort. stick a saltus on it and it's done.
And I always thought there were no stupid questions.
Stooge
Well-known member
Not worth it to me with my own money, I have a few sae ones that I've acquired over the years, but we use them, (Proto) at work as dedicated fixture wrenches for certain jobs, and include them in certain equipment kits that we send out to our field service guys. I like them, but for personal use, I don't have a need for them that I cant cover with other tools.
That’s a reasonable stance, but couldn’t you turn it around and say that you wouldn’t need some other tools if you had these? I presume that’s the view taken in countries where these wrenches are popular.
Jeremy77
Well-known member
I’ve got 2. A Snap On 1/2” and an SK 11/16. Picked the both up used at a yard sale or Flea market, can’t remember. Never used either one.
usdemt
Well-known member
I carry a 7/16 SK Saltus wrench on me every day at work. The mounts I put in need an open end for some nuts and a socket end for others. I use an electric ratchet to drive them and the wrench holds the nut. It is a specialty tool any more but not a must have...unless you are me.