Can tools stretch out over time?

[bchee]

I have some combo wrenches that are a few years old. I've used them some, not a lot.

Last time I used them the box end was really loose. There was a lot of play. I really don't remember them being that loose, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bought them. I don't know how I would quantify the amount of play, maybe like 10-15 degrees of movement of the wrench.

It's not an issue of putting mm on sae, I've been using them on the same car, with the same fasteners. The fasteners don't look rounded or anything like that, either.

Am I crazy, or can sockets or box ends stretch out??

 

[64merc]

And you're sure that the "teeth" on the box end are not slightly worn/stripped? I'm the farthest thing from being an engineer, but I didn't think it was easy to stretch out tools like you're suggesting. Hmm....

 

[Chris Adams]

My 50 plus year old wrenches seem fine.
What brand?

Was just using a super flat (like are sometimes called tappet) wrenches this week. Wafer thin, my dad bought them in the 50's or low 60's. Still fit as well as any new wrench, even though he used them, I used them, my friends use them.

 

[Stuey]

I cannot imagine what could "stretch" them out like that.

At about what temperature weer the tools and fasteners at when they were being used?

 

[r6_cannibal]

I cannot imagine what could "stretch" them out like that.

At about what temperature weer the tools and fasteners at when they were being used?

I was thinking along the lines of thermal expansion as well.
This is very strange!

Where are the tools stored and are they maybe near a water heater or something that would subject it to constant temperature fluctuation?

 

[bchee]

These are Husky brand, I think about 8 years old. They're not old enough to be the US ones, I think they're Taiwan made.
The box end has the more rounded flank type teeth, so it's hard to tell if there is any wear. (if you can appreciate the difference in the picts, then you know what I'm talking about)

They are not OBVIOUSLY deformed to the naked eye, and I don't have a way to measure them. I have never stripped or rounded a fastener with them. They have never been exposed to heat that's hot enough to deform them. I never used a torch to modify them in any way.

To loosen stubborn nuts, I have pounded on them with a mallet, if that makes a difference.

 

[bchee]

maybe I can pose the question a different way. Let's say you use the open end on a fastener, and the jaws just spread and round the fastener. If this happened over many cycles, isn't the steel elastic enough to be permanently deformed? Even a spring can be stretched, no?
I'm not an engineer either, obviously.

 

[rhandwor]

Are you sure your not using SAE on metric bolts.

 

[Stuey]

Yes, it could be possible to spread the jaws of an open end wrench. But a box end?

It might help if we can see, or if you can describe, the appearance of the box end a bit better. The naked eye is a pretty capable measuring device, and I suspect that a dimensional discrepancy large enough to cause 10-15° of play should also be large enough to be visually discernible.

Unless I am mistaken, good wrenches are supposed to be hard to resist plastic deformation. In such cases, a wrench will fracture or break in case of material failure, rather than bend or deform.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards thinking that the steel was rather soft and compressed a bit each time you whacked the wrench with a mallet.

Reduce the sides of the points in a 12pt wrench might be enough to introduce a bit more play. But again, such a deformation should be noticeable upon visual inspection.

 

[jerryW]

Manufacturing tolerances of the bolt heads is not as close as it used to be. Could be chiwan bolts?


jerry

 

[senlow]

If the wrenches were as soft as a typical impact socket, I could buy into some plastic deformation happening when the wrenches were used as slugging wrenches. A poorly engineered Flank Drive style wrench could deform more due to stress being concentrated on the rounded section.

As 64merc said, it's almost impossible to stretch the box end.

Of course, cheap asian fasteners are often undersize.

 

[autoace]

I have had some wrenches that seem to do that. Put a fastener in a vise, and put the right size wrench on it. If you look, you might see some rotation until the wrench points, align with the flats of the fastener. Some manufacturers have a very deep and contoured "surface drive" on their box ends. Probably not a problem......I think some of the cheaper tool maufacturers cheat...meaning the use the same basic forge for say 14, and 9/16.........19 and 3/4.........16 and 5/8........22 and 7/8..etc... The reason I say this is I was playing around one day, observing the surface drive.....flank drive...etc. and both sae and mm sizes fit about the same. The wrenches in question were some high polished, Northern tool,generics. Now Snap-on, Cornwell, and Hazet, on the other hand, are VERY snug

 

[Merkava_4]

Now Snap-on, Cornwell, and Hazet, on the other hand, are VERY snug

That's because those are REAL wrenches.

 

[eschoendorff]

The issue is more than likely with the fastener than the wrench. Folks will spend $50 on a wrench to turn a $0.03 nut, and then ***** about the wrench. Sheesh...

 

[autoace]

The issue is more than likely with the fastener than the wrench. Folks will spend $50 on a wrench to turn a $0.03 nut, and then ***** about the wrench. Sheesh...

He said he was working on his car. Unless the fasteners are rusty, automobiles have very good metric 8.8 to 10.9 grade fasteners, in metric and grade 5 to 8 for SAE.

 

[Major Ramifications]

I've been trying to stretch my tool for years, and it still seems the same size. I'll let you know if I make any progress in this area.

 

[speed bump]

Have you tried a different tool on the fastener or measured the fastener to check that?


Also yes tools can stretch and wear over time its called fatigue wear and it is based on x amount of cyclic loading cycles at x amount for x conditions.

 

[ddrewyor]

I've been trying to stretch my tool for years, and it still seems the same size. I'll let you know if I make any progress in this area.

You need to pound on it with a mallet like bchee was doing or just get a Snap On Tool
________
Ford F-4Eat Transmission Picture

 

[cruiser808]

The issue is more than likely with the fastener than the wrench. Folks will spend $50 on a wrench to turn a $0.03 nut, and then ***** about the wrench. Sheesh...

Very well said.

 

[bchee]

The issue is more than likely with the fastener than the wrench. Folks will spend $50 on a wrench to turn a $0.03 nut, and then ***** about the wrench. Sheesh...

He said he was working on his car. Unless the fasteners are rusty, automobiles have very good metric 8.8 to 10.9 grade fasteners, in metric and grade 5 to 8 for SAE.

yes autoace, as you've figured out, some folks like to run their mouths without actually reading first. The car is a 92 Nissan, which I've owned and worked on for 10 years. I'm guessing the **** used high quality fasteners in the early 90's. Since I've owned it, it has used the same size fasteners, and I could get a lot done with mm 10-12-14-17-19. At the time I was working on one of the brake calipers. I wasn't assembling a bookshelf from Target with questionable nuts and bolts. I have used the same wrenches to work on this car before.
There was nothing grossly obvious, like the fasteners being rounded/rusted, or something weird about the wrench itself, otherwise it would have been obvious to me and I wouldn't be asking this stupid question. Because of the slop, I distinctly remembered thinking that I had grabbed the wrong wrench, so I tried a few wrenches in adjacent sizes but they fit no better. I don't recall that it ever fit that poorly before, so I thought something subtle had changed, that was not visible to my naked eye.
I won't have the wrenches or car with me for several weeks, but I'm going to check again when I do (the fasteners as well as the wrenches). It could very well be the fastener is rounded, a combination of wrench/nut problem, or I could just be delusional and totally exaggerated how sloppy the fit was.

 

[HolisticPerformance]

I've been trying to stretch my tool for years, and it still seems the same size. I'll let you know if I make any progress in this area.

Maybe now my girlfriend will understand why I am always talking about Snap-On being the best.