Custom ergonomic handle wrenches

[rockinacummins]

Hey guys, been a while. Been so busy with work and marriage and work I haven't been around much.

At work this week saw an elderly lady (she volunteered that she is about to turn 60) building loader arms for the mini skid steers we build. I was talking with her for a while and she wanted to show me the ergonomic handle wrenches she had our tooling department make for her. She uses them to backup bolts when tightening lock nuts with an impact. She even made me try her job using a regular wrench and with the ergo wrenches and man what a difference... She said the wregular wrench had caused her pretty severe nerve and tendon damage in her left hand as well as carpel tunnel. Pretty great insight in my opinion.

Wrenches are Proto (as are 80% of out tools) with one end cut off and pipe notched and pressed down over the shaft and welded together. No welding to the wrench, handles look like bicycle handles to me.

 

[bwringer]

Hey, since when is 59/60 years old considered "elderly"?


Anyway, it's a great idea, and probably something they should have had all along. Wonder if anyone makes wrenches like this.

If you're doing anything repetitive, it's always well worth thinking about the potential damage to your body and looking for ways to make it less damaging, more comfortable, etc. Quite often you end up making things faster as well, so it's a win/win.


Even home mechanics can gain from this mindset. For example, you see a lot of people obsessed with having complete sets of sockets, wrenches, etc. and they never think that they can make things easier and faster by having extra tools ready to go.

For example, I keep spare ratchets that have commonly needed sockets (8, 10, 12mm) already attached. My motorcycle tire changing setup is held down with a 3/4" nut, so I have a cheap 3/4" wrench sitting with my tire irons so I don't have to look around. The skid plate on one of my motorcycles requires a T40 and a 13mm to remove (which aren't used on my other vehicles), so I have a cheap HF double-ended ratchet already set up with these sockets so I don't have to fart around with digging them out. No, I'm not on the clock, but the less time I spend wrenching the more I can ride...

 

[gdocktor3]

Those are pretty sweet and not a bad idea. These are the closest things on the market that I could think of. Made by a few others, these are Matco's.

Next best thing would be the soft grip wrenches

 

[R_einan]

I seem to remember seeing an offset box wrench with a hard handle from MAC. Can't place where I saw it, but it stuck out in my mind.

 

[ryan20021982]

I seem to remember seeing an offset box wrench with a hard handle from MAC. Can't place where I saw it, but it stuck out in my mind.

View media item 63684

 

[R_einan]

View media item 63684

Those are the ones!

 

[superautobacs]

This thread reminds me of these custom beauties (not mine):

The last picture is what MAC actually offered, once upon a time.

 

[rockinacummins]

Awesome wrenches! I knew somebody had to make some in a similar fashion. But, she likes the ones she has and as long as they keep her from getting hurt, they are great with me.