Hatred of Adjustable Wrenches?

[jsharpphoto]

So I keep hearing the same thing, for industry specific, on location jobs they are necessary, and plumbing.

I'm thinking of ditching all of mine, minus the one I use for sink drains, in exchange for a knipex pliers wrench.

I do love all things knipex

 

[ATK305]

I learned as a kid that I could do more damage to nuts and bolts with an adjustable wrench then any other tool in my dads tool chests.

I use them for plumbing and hooking up gas in the house. I can't remember the last time I actually used one for anything else.

 

[Farmall450]

They're good for hydraulic lines where they fit.

 

[redwrench60]

They're good for hydraulic lines where they fit.

Right. Anywhere that you need larger opening with shorter length. Sometimes you need to turn a 1-5/16" nut or fitting in a confined area and a typical combo wrench in that size is about 20" or longer. My 12" adjustible will do that and is....well, 12 inches long of course allowing use where wrenches won't fit.

I'll say it again, if you never need adjustables you're living a sheltered life.

 

[redwrench60]

One more thing. I prefer tapered handle Proto adjustables once you get over 12 inches. Gotta be able to slip a pipe over that ***** sometimes to make it surrender.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Right. Anywhere that you need larger opening with shorter length. Sometimes you need to turn a 1-5/16" nut or fitting in a confined area and a typical combo wrench in that size is about 20" or longer. My 12" adjustible will do that and is....well, 12 inches long of course allowing use where wrenches won't fit.

I'll say it again, if you never need adjustables you're living a sheltered life.

Yup. And might cost $80-$200 to buy one. Then of course the next fitting will be 1- 1/2, and you don't want to keep spending so much on wrenches when all you need is a $20 adjustable.

 

[Fretters]

Which is why I hate them. You don't have to do that **** with a Knipex pliers wrench.

Do you have a photo of one of those?

 

[OutsideMachinist]

 

[Fugio]

OK I'll amend my post slightly. I said they are fantastic for bending flat pieces of metal when you clamp the metal in a vice, and they are.

And I still prefer to not use them on nuts and bolts that are tight or rusty, but I do really like using them to turn oddly shaped things. Objects like turnbuckles, T-pipes and stuff like that are perfect for them. Oh, and a REALLY big one is nice for tweaking twisted wood if you're framing something with wood that is planed to an odd thickness and not 3/4" or 1.5".

 

[Hammell]

Cresent wrenches really shine on hydraulic hoses and fittings. 18 inch and 24 inch I use a lot.

 

[Art From De Leon]

Using two adjustable wrenches to break metal banding works great.