How often you use open end wrench versus box end?

[nadogail]

It will depend on the job at hand. Some older equipment was not built to be worked on with anything but Open Ended Wrenches.

 

[Callelle]

probably 60/40 Box/Open. It's honestly just whichever is less of a pain.

 

[theoldwizard1]

At my age, I buy very few tools because I have almost everything I need, especially hand tools.

I recently acquired some Craftsman double box end metric wrenches (not a matched set). WOW ! I should have bought them 30 years ago !

Still looking for a 21mm x 23mm at a REASONABLE price.

 

[turnthewrench 2.0]

Whichever takes less energy.

 

[littlebean]

Get a VW Air cooled Beetle. You will use open end a lot.

ain't that the truth

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

There are a lot of engine parts made of plastic now. Some with tons of fasteners. So, low enough torque to easily use open end.

The open end can be very quick to use, quick to get on, you rotate in the plane of the head, very intuitive - not so with an offset wrench. You can easily use an open end one handed.

For @CHI_Tool&Die, I'm rebuilding the head of my Bridgeport. I think you can completely disassemble a Bridgeport with a couple open end wrenches and a set of allen keys. There are a couple special tools I needed, but sockets wasn't among them (save bit sockets)

I legitimately did not own any box end wrenches until I started working on my car. Everything at work is DOE due to how seldom box ends are used on the equipment or on the shop floor. I still have DOE and DBE sets at work instead of combos. More cost effective for me and I get way more utility out of having separate open and box ends.

Yeah, it’s amazing how much hex fasteners industry uses. I’ve spent more money on hex keys, but sockets, t handles, and the like than I ever thought I would.

 

[Citation]

Probably 4% open, 94% box, 2% other

I use the box end basically when ever I can. It seems like most automotive stuff can be done with box ends other than brake lines. On bikes things like setting the races on the axles use jam nuts thus I have some very low profile Parktool open end wrenches for that job. Sometimes something/someone needs a smacking and the wrench is handy. I figured that's perhaps 2% of the time.

 

[alinc100]

I used the open end this last couple weeks 10 to 1 . We were installing unistrut/threaded rod in a ceiling of a library. 9/16" combination Gearwrench was my friend.

 

[Hohn]

You guys have heard me say this before, but maybe worth repeating;

If you make crappy wrenches with poor tolerances and bad steel, you make 6 pt box ends. You can get those to work.

A decent toolmaker can make a 12pt box end that doesn’t round bolt heads.

But only a few makers I know of make usable open ends. If you’ve never used a decent wrench, you may not know how useful and fast open ends are. Open ends are the right yardstick to compare wrenches, in my opinion.

BTW: open ends are zero offset tools and have mechanical advantage other tools don’t. This is one reason a lot of pros love zero offset “aviation style” double box ends.

I use my box ends more since I upgraded my combination wrenches. It has taken me time to learn to trust them.

Nepros would like a word.