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plumbing tool question.

bobg03

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conway sc
For the record "not a plumber." That disclosure made, I may need to grip a finished pipe in my MB to switch an appliance. I know that a pipe wrench will mar the finish, what is the correct tool for this application?
 
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GeoBruin

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May 5, 2018
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Depending on the access and the pipe diameter, a strap wrench is the best best to avoid marring the finish.
 

PBCampbell

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Feb 2, 2009
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WV
I cannot make a good guess as to what a "MB" is, maybe give some more exact information as to what you are intending to do. If this is small tubing as in a residence I doubt you'll find a strap wrench that will work.
 

nadogail

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Coronado, CA
Can you get a grip on what ever is screwed onto the end of the pipe? There are also Internal Pipe Wrenches that grip the interior of a pipe.

If a pipe unscrews as you are removing whatever is attached to the end of it, you can re insert it as you replace it.
 

RTM

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SF Bay Area
If a strap wrench won’t work due to diameter being too small, some nice tacky thick rubber in the jaws of a small pipe wrench or pliers may work, test at your own risky, no warranty implied…….
 
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turner66

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Jan 29, 2016
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Texas
Non Marring pipe wrench.
I have a professional plumber friend that has a similar although more recently made set of these. You have to be pretty desperate to sink the cash into it though as a DIY plumber... Even me, with a pretty bad habit of owning alot of tools i'll only use a few times and just put them on a shelf, I couldn't buy these... He got his through McMaster-Carr and I borrow it when i need it for personal use. A new handle and 1 size jaw is about $1k :LOL:
 

housewolf

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Feb 3, 2021
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East Texas
Nice tool, but I doubt that he can buy one like that at his local hardware shop. I am old, really old, actually older than dirt, and I have never seen that tool before.
Don’t feel bad, I did commercial plumbing for 45 years and I didn’t know that tool existed. There was a few times I could have used one. If we really needed to make some threaded chrome plated piping & fittings look nice we’d just sleeve the pipe after it was tight with a piece of chrome plated (brass) tubing. Use a ****** to tighten fittings. I only recall a couple of instances we had to do that.
 

cgrutt

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Mar 4, 2016
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8,329
I've used a small strap wrench over rubber jar top pad before with good results. You should wrap the rubber pad same direction that you will be turning. PITA but should get job done without chewing up pipe.
 

bwringer

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Jan 1, 2013
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10,308
Location
Indianapolis
I use a chunk of rubber (old inner tube or similar) sprayed with brake cleaner to get the traction required on a shiny tube I don't want to screw up.

The brake cleaner cleans the rubber and the solvent attacks it a little and makes it nice and soft and sticky. Put a nice thick hunk of leather scrap over that to ensure it won't mar.

The order is:
tubular thing, stickified rubber, leather, jaws of wrench or vise.

A layer of stickified rubber also helps strap and chain wrenches get more traction and protect the surface. You probably don't want to stickify the strap wrench's belt material, but a layer in between can help.
 

humber2

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Feb 13, 2011
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Location
Downunder
Times like this you look for a crescent wrench, isolate the jaws with leather, rubber, cloth sandpaper to name but a few options.
 
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