Milwaukee Max Bite Wrenches Too Thick??

[KENAXE]

I’ve been reading through a lot of threads here about the Milwaukee Max Bite combination wrenches and haven’t found anything related to this particular question. Let me give you the backstory first. I found a good deal on both the SAE and metric sets, so I bought them. My plan was to replace my current combination wrenches that I use for part time service / repair out in the field. Those ones are Westward. They’re the earlier ones that were made in Taiwan, not China, so they’re decent wrenches. But I thought that the open ends on the Milwaukee ones would be helpful for those occasional tight situations where a box end just won’t fit. There’s nothing worse than rounding off a bolt head way down in a recessed area where you couldn’t get a box end on it to begin with. That’s only happened once, but I never forgot it.

When I took them out of the box and started comparing them to my Westwards and my other wrenches, I noticed that the open ends on the Milwaukees are quite a bit thicker. I’m sure that adds to their strength, but I was thinking that they might be too thick for some of those same tight situations. Nothing specific comes to mind, but they are definitely thicker than the open ends on any of the other standard size wrenches that I have. The box ends are about the same thickness as my other wrenches, so that’s not an issue. I realize that they’re too thick for some specialty things like brake caliper sliders, but so are the Westwards or any other regular wrench. I’m not planning on doing any brake jobs out in the field. I have plenty of different wrenches for that at home.

I haven’t taken them out of the packaging because I’m thinking about returning them. If I still need the thinner Westwards then I would have to add these as second sets. I also have stubby and flare nut wrenches for field use, so I’m not carrying around two full size sets of SAE and metric wrenches in addition to of all the other stuff that I need to bring with. I don’t have a dedicated vehicle that everything can stay in, so it all has to be loaded and then unloaded every time I do any field work.

I suppose that since I’ve made it this many years / decades without that anti-slip technology, I could do without it now. I just thought that it would be a nice, affordable upgrade. I was disappointed to see that extra thickness. Have any of you run into tight access situations where these Milwaukee open ends were too thick to get in somewhere? Maybe I’m over thinking this. I’ve seen reviews from other mechanics that swear by them. Or maybe I’ve already answered my own question by bringing this up to begin with. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and whatever input you might have.

 

[dnschmidt]

Well, with a name like MAX-Bite I would think the thicker the head the more bite it would have. I don't even remember when I last used an open end wrench, and the TOPTUL that I use are quite thin, but this seems like a non-issue to me. One advantage of a thicker head would be hydraulic lines, I say this because flare nut wrenches are always fat headed. Where would the thicker open end be a disadvantage. If you've got a thin nut you'll only use a part of the open end wrench but what's the harm of the thicker head?

 

[rust in the eye]

I had(past tense) them and mostly liked them, the grip was very good indeed. Enough so that repositioning of the open end was sometimes difficult.
Great for really tight or damaged bolts. Tedious for "regular" use as they bit a little too well.
Thickness wasn't an issue for me. Westward, Grainger's house brand could perhaps be thinner because they are cheap wrenches.
My $.02

 

[KnurledNut]

@KENAXE
I’m in a similar setting and feel your pain. It’s a whole different animal working with limited tooling. I have several wrench options in the shop but Snap-on combos are what I use in the field. I know they are a premium, but the weight, length, and reliable open ends (both smooth and FD+) have made them the optimal choice for me. I have a mismatched set of used wrenches that won’t break my heart or wallet to lose.

I did purchase a Milwaukee combo to try when they first came out and I didnt care for the open end design.
Some of those early Taiwan Westward tools were pretty good quality.

 

[KENAXE]

KnurledNut, you’re absolutely right about field work being a whole different animal. You try to do more with less. It’s extremely difficult to put together a working set of tools that will cover everything you’ll need (hopefully) while making it portable, meaning light enough to carry and as few things to carry as possible. It took me months to figure out a workable system of portable tool boxes and bags that were organized by category.

There’s one for general purpose things like screwdrivers, pliers, scrapers, hose tools and all of the ¼” drive sockets, ratchets and extensions. Another one for all the 3/8” drive tools, with wrenches covering the same size range. Another one for the ½” drive tools, with all the larger wrenches, covering that size range. Another one for large channellocks and adjustable wrenches, pry bars, saws, vise grips, extra long screwdrivers, clamps, etc. Another one for hammers, punches, chisels and gasket tools. Another one for electrical, with meters, wire cutters, crimpers, wire connectors, insulated screwdrivers and nut drivers. Then a couple plain empty bags for any oddball stuff that I think I might need for that particular job.

I guess I was spoiled before I retired. I had a company truck filled with mostly company-provided tools. It all just stayed in there, along with all of my spare parts and supplies. Afterwards, I had to provide all of that stuff myself. I didn’t want to have to keep taking everything out of my rolling boxes in the garage and stuff them in bags to bring with every time I did any field work, so I had to come up with a semi-duplicate set of everything. I wouldn’t have gone on and on about that had you not replied. I just thought that it was something that you could relate to. There’s a lot of planning involved with that type of work.

Thanks for your input. And yes, those earlier Westward wrenches were good quality. They have very good tolerances, the same tolerances as my old SK wrenches actually. Like I said before, I just thought that the Milwaukees might be helpful in those occasional tight situations to prevent rounding off a bolt head. I’ll probably be just fine continuing on with my Westwards. Maybe I’ll just return those Milwaukees and buy myself a really nice bottle of bourbon!

 

[cherrybomb]

Can you beg,borrow,steal or buy one of a size that fits your needs.In my little world I would rather have a higher quality thinner wrench than having to go thicker to get strength, probably why I wouldn't add to what works for me

 

[Steve_P]

Using Westward as a benchmark is laughable. Definitely return the Milwaukees and buy some of the thin Capri wrenches

 

[PCustoms]

@KENAXE if you've been reading a bunch of threads about these being thicker, why start a new thread to discuss instead of just continuing what you were reading?

 

[KENAXE]

I wasn't reading a bunch of threads about them being thicker because there were no threads about that. I specifically said in the beginning post that this was the one thing that I wasn't able to find any mention of. And I'm not talking about super thin wrenches like the Capris. Those are specialty wrenches that can't handle hardly any torque and are not useable as a regular service set. I already have super thin wrenches. I'm talking about regular size wrenches that are used the majority of the time. I have SK, Armstrong, Craftsman USA, some Proto and Blackhawk wrenches and they're all the same thickness on the open ends. These Milwaukees are the only ones that are thicker.

I realize that they are thicker than some bolt heads and may stick up a little bit. That's not the point. I asked if anyone had any issues with them in tight spaces that come up from time to time. I'm not asking anyone to tell me what to do. I was just looking to see if anyone had any personal experience with this, not a critique of my choice of tools. I can't afford to spend huge money on a set of wrenches anymore. I'm only working on a limited part time basis now. If money was no object, then I could have Snap On everything and be the envy of everyone. If money was no object, I wouldn't be working part time in the first place.

 

[SwissMetric]

About jaw (open end) thickness: The Stahlwille OPEN-BOX 14 (long version of the usual OPEN-BOX 13) are thicker than the ones of the OPEN-BOX 13. The 14 should be considered as complement to the 13, if it's the only set, the jaws will sometimes be too thick.

 

[KENAXE]

Interesting. I didn't know that Stahlwille made those in different thicknesses. I have a couple sets of their double open end wrenches that I keep with my main tools at home. I think they're called Motor 10. They come in handy sometimes because they're thinner than a regular wrench, but not as thin as a super-thin wrench. They're another specialty wrench. They don't get used enough to justify adding them to my portable tools for the field. My boxes with both socket sets and main wrench sets are already heavy to carry around. I appreciate that info. Thanks.