Large SAE wrenches

[VWinTHEblood]

I was curious if anyone on here gets much use from wrenches larger than 1-1/4. I mostly use metric tools but I enjoy working on all types of vehicles and equipment and I frequently run into Imperial fasteners. In my tool box I have doubles of mostly all sizes up to 1-1/4 and that has covered my needs till now. I also have a Proto 1-3/8 in the classifieds right now and I might be able to justify keeping it if I think I will ever have a use for it. I have about 10 3/4 drive sockets in common Imperial sizes as well but I want to know who here finds a need for large wrenches instead of sockets on large fasteners? Thanks.

 

[Merkava_4]

I never could figure out why you guys refer to them as "imperial" wrenches - it reminds me of Imperial Margarine and that's some nasty stuff. In the Hazet catalog, they just plainly refer to them as "American sizes."

 

[VWinTHEblood]

I think I picked the term up from my grandfather, he was English.

 

[Valsmere]

Stuart,
I use the larger sizes at work for the type of machinery we service. Large, 25-30 ton fork lifts and a few bigger ones also. We are also starrting to do our own work on the Gottwald harbor cranes we have.

 

[eschoendorff]

I think 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 is the biggest that I have.... Don't really have any use for anything bigger. i have a 24" adjustable for the odd huge job. That's about it.

 

[v8garage]

I never could figure out why you guys refer to them as "imperial" wrenches - it reminds me of Imperial Margarine and that's some nasty stuff. In the Hazet catalog, they just plainly refer to them as "American sizes."

When they say "imperial" wrenches I thought they were talking about Whitworth wrenches, "Imperial" is a British term and Whitworth is the only pure British wrench system I know of. Makes no sense why they would call SAE sizes "imperial".

 

[Frank Elson]

"Imperial" comes from the Napoleonic wars in Europe.
Up to then everyone used feet, inches, ounces pounds etc etc.
Napoleon decided on economic warfare (as well as guns) on Britain, who led the opposition to the little French git, so he had a different form of measurement devised. It was based on the number ten and called the metric system.
As there had been only the one form of measurement no-one had ever called it anything before so a name had to be devised for it (like analogue had to be thought up when digital came in) and the Brits - using the humour we've used as often as weapons in our fights against France (we've fought more wars against France than any other nation - wonder why?) called it "Imperial" partly to go with the fact that we had an Empire, and partly because Nappy called himself Emperor of France and wanted to be Emperor of Europe.
He lost the guns war, but seems he won the economic war 'cos we've been one step beyond the rest of the world in measuring every since.

You former colonists showed your senses of humour as well. Stuff Napoleon and not take up metric, but stuff the Brits by keeping the names - gallons etc, but making them different sizes to ours
Oh, and no way you were calling them "Imperial".

er... don't look for sense in words or the decisions of politicians after 40 years as a journalist I can tell you that that way leads to madness...

 

[goodfellow]

Thanks Frank!!! I just leaned something about the origin of the metric system. It's one of those "little" things that you should know, but never quite get around to researching yourself.

GF

 

[Uncle Buck]

I was curious if anyone on here gets much use from wrenches larger than 1-1/4. I mostly use metric tools but I enjoy working on all types of vehicles and equipment and I frequently run into Imperial fasteners. In my tool box I have doubles of mostly all sizes up to 1-1/4 and that has covered my needs till now. I also have a Proto 1-3/8 in the classifieds right now and I might be able to justify keeping it if I think I will ever have a use for it. I have about 10 3/4 drive sockets in common Imperial sizes as well but I want to know who here finds a need for large wrenches instead of sockets on large fasteners? Thanks.

Obviously I see a need for those sizes, or I would not have wanted to buy yours. I have found a handful of times through the years when one of my large size wrenches were used. I will agree, I may go a few years between needing to use them, but when you buy wrenches that big for say $15 a piece, it is not like that wrench is going to lose value if I later change my mind and decide I never needed those big wrenches.

Short answer, they see very limited use, but are difficult to replace when needed. Additionally, when bought used and cheap they you will never lose a dime on them.

 

[CAT_serviceman927]

I use them quite a bit. Use mostly 3/4" and 1" drive sockets on bolts. Hydraulic fittings however require an open-end wrench. Biggest I have had to use was 2 1/4". The fairly common large fittings are 1 1/8", 1 3/8", 1 5/8", and 1 7/8".

 

[64merc]

I use them quite a bit. Use mostly 3/4" and 1" drive sockets on bolts. Hydraulic fittings however require an open-end wrench. Biggest I have had to use was 2 1/4". The fairly common large fittings are 1 1/8", 1 3/8", 1 5/8", and 1 7/8".

Let me ask you something, say you didn't work on that stuff very often, could you get away with using a big adjustable wrench? In other words, do you have the clearance most times?

 

[dxdexter]

Up here in Canada its either Metric or Standard and sometimes Imperial. I only started referring to standard sizes as SAE for the benefit of the GJ guys.

My largest wrench is 1 1/2" and largest socket is 2". Anything larger gets the adjustable or pipe wrench (last resort) treatment. Generally the home mechanic will not require anything over 1 1/4" and probably not over 15/16", but it's best to have them for the odd time they crop up.

Yesterday I had to reroute some hydraulic hoses on a drill rig outrigger, the largest was 1 1/8" and the open end wrench wouldn't touch it. The additional length of the 15" adjustable made sort work of the job.

 

[CAT_serviceman927]

Depends. Changing a hose on a stick for an attachment like a hammer or shear on an excavator or backhoe, usually a large adjustable will do, but most of the time when it comes to changing a line near the pumps or in the frame somewhere, you are lucky to even get a combination wrench on. I usually end up using an angle wrench or a crows foot on a 1/2" flex-ratchet or breaker bar.

 

[Stick]

You'll hardly ever see wrenches larger than 1 5/16 on the automotive side, but if you work heavy equipment or deal in hydraulics a lot, you'll use the larger sizes. I've got wrenches through 2", a 24" crescent that sees a lot of use, and sockets through 2 1/2". There is a reason that all of that is in a separate drawer in my toolbox, it just doesn't see the everyday use on the automotive side, and on the heavy equipment side it's easier to skip the smaller sizes.

I think one of the next purchases is going to be a set of pump wrenches, and to expand the four way angle wrenches.

 

[speed bump]

You need them when the need comes. I needed an 1 1/2" wrench one time to tighten the hydraulic line on a friend of mines bobcat. A crescent didn't fit in there. Also a lot of times Crescent just aren't very good for the application and a socket won't fit.

If you really wanted to you could probably just get away with 1/4-7/8" set of SAE wrenches and sockets and a crescent for everything else but why? If stumble upon the tools for a good deal why not use them?

 

[VWinTHEblood]

Great responses guys,the great thing about this forum is that we can all agree there are no cons to having a lot of tools.