Double Open End Wrench Set Uses?

[JDon99]

Kinda a silly question, but what are you guys using them on? The only thing I can see would be for hydraulics, and the every day stuff where you can't get a boxed end or socket on. Reason for asking is, I recently bought some stuff from a local guy and he had a nice large oe wrench set, he threw it in for a great price so I took it. I am debating on keeping it, or selling. I aready have combo sets in every size this oe set covers. Thanks fellas!

 

[Infinia]

yup air lines and hydraulics perhaps some automotive tie rods and steering / alignment stuff

 

[nine4gmc]

I keep a few on my lathe with common sizes, one stays up top with the two most used sizes.

 

[Al Borland]

Open ends are great for finding out what size box end you need.
Actually good for nuts/locknuts on strut rod (allthread), anything you can't get a box end on, pretty much anywhere you would use a crescent wrench, but thinner.

 

[carcajou]

I use them often on the farm, like you said 7/8 x 15/16, 3/4 x 13/16, on hyds and 1/2 x 9/16 whenever i need to just hold a bolts' head. Every tool box i have has a 1/2 x 9/16 for a second wrench.

 

[Sco Deac]

OE combo wrenches do two things very well compared to other types of wrenches. Save space and lower the purchase expense. Otherwise they are pretty old fashioned and harken back to a time when people cared more about space in smaller boxes and acquisition costs.

Edit: three things--reduce weight

 

[dnschmidt]

I've got them and never use them. Just don't, not even sure why.

 

[T45]

Open ends are great for finding out what size box end you need.

Dometimes DOEs have a critical dimension that is unique or a given brand---eg thin jaws, thick jaws, or a uniqe length in-btween long and short patterns.

The classical case tho is for space/weight savings. Eg, Stahlwille "Motor" series DOEs I always pictured in portable roadside toolkits.

Today's applications tend to benefit from having box ends instead for obstruction/recess fasteners however.

 

[M6erfan]

suspension work. thats pretty much all I use them for. Oh yeah, and jam nuts. I have a complete set of metric Heyco DOE's, they don't see a lot of action but I'm glad I have them when I need them. They are thinner than any combo wrench I've seen, which is pretty much why I have them.

The reality is that with my sets of DOE's and DBE's, my combo wrenches are pretty much gathering dust.

 

[2oolhound]

A lot of equipment requires open ends due to the fastener being tight against a casting or cooling fins above them like my motorcycle cylinders. You have to loosen all the cylinder base nuts till they hit the fins, then crack the cylinder loose and continue raising the cylinder while turning all the nuts a little at a time till they are off the studs. Open ends can go in-between the cooling fins to reach fasteners you can't get sockets or box ends on. Although combo wrenches can do this work they are often not thin enough. I use doe's a lot on motorcycles.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Jam nuts. I have some tappet wrenches that are particularly thin that work good for them,

 

[PFSard]

I carry them for bicycle riding. I have them at home (rarely use them), but mainly use combination wrenches or ratcheting box wrenches. I won't sell mine as they take up so little space.

 

[ryan20021982]

I have normal DOE wrenches but the tappet wrenches are the only ones I use

 

[OutsideMachinist]

Use them all the time. You use them when a box end wrench or socket wont fit. On What? Pumps, valves, motors, air and hydraulic fittings etc., pipe flanges, quite a few things really. Depends what you work on. Automotive applications? Probably pretty limited aside from some suspension components.

 

[four.cycle]

Use them all the time. You use them when a box end wrench or socket wont fit.

Same here. Lots of nuts and bolts on lawnmowers that aren't accessible with a box end or socket - only way to get at them is with an open-end.

 

[gigamel]

With one set of DBE and one set of DOE wrenches you will have two wrenches of each size

 

[dnschmidt]

Here's a weird one for you. TOPTUL, has just started making what I call tappet wrenches. I've asked them to make about thirty tools I know are useful and could sell and they start making tappet wrenches. Fricking unbelievable. Here's a link to this insanity: http://www.toptul.com/s/2/product-522673/Double-Open-End-Slimline-Wrench.html

Even dumber is the fact that they don't offer these as a set for the one in a million person who might want a set of these.

I would like to remind the posters that the question wasn't what do you use an open end wrench for it was what do you need a DOUBLE OPEN END WRENCH FOR. A lot of the situations in the comments can easily be accomplished by a combination wrench which last I checked had an open end on one side.

 

[kblee27]

And I was thinking of buying some of these lightools

 

[M6erfan]

I would like to remind the posters that the question wasn't what do you use an open end wrench for it was what do you need a DOUBLE OPEN END WRENCH FOR. A lot of the situations in the comments can easily be accomplished by a combination wrench which last I checked had an open end on one side.

Except for the thinness of a DOE, that's where they shine and most tappet wrenches are thinner (if designed correctly) than the open end of a combo...

 

[pozidriv]

Here's a weird one for you. TOPTUL, has just started making what I call tappet wrenches. I've asked them to make about thirty tools I know are useful and could sell and they start making tappet wrenches. Fricking unbelievable. Here's a link to this insanity: http://www.toptul.com/s/2/product-522673/Double-Open-End-Slimline-Wrench.html

Even dumber is the fact that they don't offer these as a set for the one in a million person who might want a set of these.

I would like to remind the posters that the question wasn't what do you use an open end wrench for it was what do you need a DOUBLE OPEN END WRENCH FOR. A lot of the situations in the comments can easily be accomplished by a combination wrench which last I checked had an open end on one side.

I can see them being used by bicycle mechanics as cone wrenches or on jam nuts.
I actually bought this for those applications:
http://www.engineer.jp/en/products/twm07_08.html
Has come in very useful!

 

[Super Sport]

I think that if there were better offerings and I didn't already own combos, I would buy a set of DOE wrenches (likely in the offset angle style) and a set of box end/ratcheting box end wrenches. I've always felt that combination wrenches are a compromise and having the other styles of wrenches would all around be better.

 

[johninct]

They are my go to wrenches. Use a shorter one in the set for tightening and the longer ones for loosening . Add in the 30/ 60 degree Snap-On's and you have 12 positions to grab a bolt. Also they are shorter than Combinations but longer that Stubbies.

 

[honcho]

Not to be flippant, but like just about any tool, you use them where they work for what you're doing. Before I had a set of metric combination wrenches, I had (and still have) a set of Double Open End and a set of Double Box End wrenches. I used the Double Box Ends most of the time but can't image being without open ends because sometimes that's what you've got to have. Nowadays, since combo wrenches occupy my main toolbox, my Double Open Ends get most of their use on bicycles.

 

[toolmutt]

I would like to remind the posters that the question wasn't what do you use an open end wrench for it was what do you need a DOUBLE OPEN END WRENCH FOR. A lot of the situations in the comments can easily be accomplished by a combination wrench which last I checked had an open end on one side.

With one set of DBE and one set of DOE wrenches you will have two wrenches of each size

gig has the answer (or at least one valid reason). If you acquired a standard set of combination wrenches, let's say 10mm through 19mm, you would have ten total wrenches. However, you have only one wrench with each size. On the other hand, you can get a DBE set (five wrenches to cover the range) and a DOE set (also five wrenches) and still have ten total wrenches. But, you now have two wrenches in, for example, 19mm. You can use the box end wrench to turn one side of a fastener and the open end to hold the other side. The concept is more applicable if storage space (ten total wrenches instead of twenty), weight (if you have to carry your tools a distance), or cost (ten wrenches vs. twenty) are issues.

 

[Qualitytools]

Here's a weird one for you. TOPTUL, has just started making what I call tappet wrenches. I've asked them to make about thirty tools I know are useful and could sell and they start making tappet wrenches. Fricking unbelievable. Here's a link to this insanity: http://www.toptul.com/s/2/product-522673/Double-Open-End-Slimline-Wrench.html

Even dumber is the fact that they don't offer these as a set for the one in a million person who might want a set of these.

I would like to remind the posters that the question wasn't what do you use an open end wrench for it was what do you need a DOUBLE OPEN END WRENCH FOR. A lot of the situations in the comments can easily be accomplished by a combination wrench which last I checked had an open end on one side.

Thanks for the link but where can I find some prices and too bad not available in a set!

 

[JerryC]

Open ends are great for finding out what size box end you need.
Actually good for nuts/locknuts on strut rod (allthread), anything you can't get a box end on, pretty much anywhere you would use a crescent wrench, but thinner.

And they're good for quickly measuring tubing sizes, bolts, rods, dowels, etc...

 

[Gmonkee]

Old guys have seen their mentors do it all without combo wrenches. It used to be normal until the 1950's.

I experimented with the old way and stayed with it. Less weight and equal function for me. But my boss likes box ends better and uses them first. We both get jobs out.

You will need both to get some work done but for the most part they both do the same jobs.

 

[MikeF2316]

suspension work. thats pretty much all I use them for. Oh yeah, and jam nuts. I have a complete set of metric Heyco DOE's, they don't see a lot of action but I'm glad I have them when I need them. They are thinner than any combo wrench I've seen, which is pretty much why I have them.

The reality is that with my sets of DOE's and DBE's, my combo wrenches are pretty much gathering dust.

With one set of DBE and one set of DOE wrenches you will have two wrenches of each size

I've started thinking this way too. In fact, if I could go back, I'd buy one set each of double open ends and double box ends. I've recently (a few years) bought these, now I grab them more than the combos. Mostly it's the box ends, of course. But one thing for the open ends that hasn't been mentioned is automotive A/C. If you're looking to disconnect a pipe and you're not sure of the size, then grabbing 3 wrenches will give you 6 sizes and probably the pair of sizes you need.

 

[pstemari]

The other advantage to having a set of DBE and DOE wrenches is that you can use them in pairs for nuts and bolts. Combo wrenches have the same number of wrenches for a complete set, but you can't use the 7/16" box end and the 7/16" open end at the same time.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Exceller8]

Here's a weird one for you. TOPTUL, has just started making what I call tappet wrenches. I've asked them to make about thirty tools I know are useful and could sell and they start making tappet wrenches. Fricking unbelievable. Here's a link to this insanity: http://www.toptul.com/s/2/product-522673/Double-Open-End-Slimline-Wrench.html

Even dumber is the fact that they don't offer these as a set for the one in a million person who might want a set of these.

I would like to remind the posters that the question wasn't what do you use an open end wrench for it was what do you need a DOUBLE OPEN END WRENCH FOR. A lot of the situations in the comments can easily be accomplished by a combination wrench which last I checked had an open end on one side.

Don't laugh, those tappet wrenches in metric are hard to find. I'd love to have a Toptul set. Can you special order a set?