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Quick (stupid) Craftsman RP wrench question

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jakemac

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Off the top of my head - I think it's a 15° angle, but I'm probably wrong. Others will correct me, I'm sure.
 

CWP1616L

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Don't get any raised panel Craftsman wrenches. Be nice to yourself. Take good care of your hands, you only get one pair.
 

hofferwood

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You can kind of see the angle on this set.

Untitled.jpg
 
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NC-Fordguy

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Don't get any raised panel Craftsman wrenches. Be nice to yourself. Take good care of your hands, you only get one pair.

Ok, I almost hate to ask this, but how does a crafty raised panel injure your hands?

I've used them for nearly 40 years and my hands still function fine. Patience with ridiculous comments, not so much any more.
 

foreverfalcon40

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I never heard of that and I am dying to hear how...

I have OCD, my only complaint is that they are a ***** to clean!

Another complaint which is not anymore since I have a set of SO is that they are not long enough in leverage...so these are considered my MID Length set.
 

jakemac

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I've used Cman RP's all my life (49) and never noticed a problem. Everything else just feels wrong in my hands.
 

Outlawmws

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Can't agree with CWP on this hands nonsense. I also have usep RP's for most of my life. Hands are fine, and I've pulled on wrenches hard enough to actually bruise my fingers. (not really supposed to be that possible...)

I will admit I prefer the feel of snap-on vs RP's when pulling, but I like the Porto or even the older Plumbs even better...

It's basically what feels good to YOU. and no one can say what is better for someone else...
 

monster1

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If it wasn't for the actual "raised panel" part, I think they would look like pretty much like any other wrench out there.
 

TwoInch

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my local sears has NOS USA RPs, 12pc set metrics for $19.99. thats a great deal. check searsoutlet.com, it will show you if any local sears near you have them on closeout

my local sears also has 1/2" drive deep 6pt. metrics for $24.99, also has, the 5pc 1/2" drive shallow large size extensions sets(1-1/4" and up) for $14.99, and a bunch of other SAE sets in 1/2" drive. killer deals.

i looked down the regular aisle, and the china 9pc metric deeps were $55.99...
 
OP
D

Daniel831

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Thanks for the replies, wanted to confirm the box ends weren't flat before I pulled the trigger. My current metric wrenches are a mix of tradespro and titan, the tradespro's are functional, not great, and the titans spread and round fasteners like no other. I picked up a set of Cman industrial black oxide SAE RP's from sears outlet for $27 shipped a while back and they have been nice for my 80's chevy which has a mix of metric and SAE fasteners. Everything else I work on (Yota, Honda) is full metric. Been waiting for my local sears outlet to stock some USA chrome metric RP's for a while so I could easily tell which wrenches were which, black for SAE and chrome for metric. Seems like these sears outlet deals are one of the only ways to get a new set of decent wrenches for an affordable price, those ****** metric wrenches I have been working with are killing me.
 

jeremy v

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OP, in my pic all the wrenches standing on end in the right side drawer are Craftsman RP wrenches. As you can see there is about a 15 degree bend to the box end, but it does vary a little bit from wrench to wrench.
 

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Jim C.

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Don't get any raised panel Craftsman wrenches. Be nice to yourself. Take good care of your hands, you only get one pair.

To the original OP, the box end is slightly angled so that your knuckles don't scrape your work surface as you use them. So yes, they should be angled. That's generally a good feature to have on a wrench with a box end.

To CWP1616L, I'm sorry for asking a question that may seem like it has an obvious answer, but I guess I'm not sure what you mean. How are RP wrenches bad for your hands? I have about 175 wrenches, in various SAE and metric sizes and patterns. All of them are made in the USA, Craftsman brand wrenches, with the exception of 14 Gearwrench basics with the open end and ratcheting box end (I rarely use those). Anyway, of the remaiing 160 +/- wrenches in my collection about 100 of them are RP wrenches. I've been using them for years. They're pretty much my "go to" wrenches (because that's all I have) for every job that requires a wrench. They've never caused any noticeable injury to my hands as a result of using them. They've held up, the open ends have not spread (like others have claimed to experience), and I've never broken one. Like I said, I don't really understand how the Craftsman RP wrenches are bad for your hands.

Jim C.
 
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CWP1616L

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They're not gonna cause injury...I didn't mean to convey that. What they have is catch edges because of the raised panels. There's a catch edge all along the full length of the panel and they get worse at the four corners of the raised panel. And then the problem is exacerbated by lettering in the raised panels which have their own catch edges. I suppose it wouldn't matter so much if you were wearing gloves all the time, but why have a tool that causes unnecessary discomfort? I used to own a set, but once I discovered Proto wrenches, I couldn't sell the RP wrenches fast enough.
 

Jim C.

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^^^^^ I guess I never really noticed any discomfort using the RP wrenches. Everyone has their individual preferences.

Jim C.
 

hofferwood

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Yep,
Those "catch edges" can be hard on my "Acrylic Nails"---and a Chiffon Skirt with Pantyhose------OMG---Forget it!!!!!!!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Just Kidding-----Use what you like.
 

celticbhoy

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Yep,
Those "catch edges" can be hard on my "Acrylic Nails"---and a Chiffon Skirt with Pantyhose------OMG---Forget it!!!!!!!

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Just Kidding-----Use what you like.
Listen, I spend good money on my manicures and I aim to keep them nice and fresh, and no RP craftsman wrench is going to ruin that experience for me!
 

MikeF2316

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I've used Cman RP's all my life (49) and never noticed a problem. Everything else just feels wrong in my hands.

Same here. To me a Craftsman RP is the actual definition of what a wrench is. If it's not a raised panel, it's just because they can't afford to make them that way.
 

trout

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I hated my RP wrenches. They always just felt off, just a little bit but in pretty much every way. Too short, not comfortable when pulling or pushing hard, too much give.

When I was replacing a bunch of stolen tools I did not bother to get RP wrenches again.
 

NC-Fordguy

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They're not gonna cause injury...I didn't mean to convey that. What they have is catch edges because of the raised panels. There's a catch edge all along the full length of the panel and they get worse at the four corners of the raised panel. And then the problem is exacerbated by lettering in the raised panels which have their own catch edges. I suppose it wouldn't matter so much if you were wearing gloves all the time, but why have a tool that causes unnecessary discomfort? I used to own a set, but once I discovered Proto wrenches, I couldn't sell the RP wrenches fast enough.


Wow,

I didn't think I could have read a more incredulous post than the ones you came up with in the torque wrench/torque meter threads.

You have surpassed yourself once again :rolleyes:
 

CWP1616L

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I really stepped in it in this thread. I need to be more careful where I'm stepping. :D
 

wrenchr

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RP's do hurt, when dropped on your foot or when your buddy throws the size you need and you miss it and get hit in the head!!!! I have no issues with them though and have a few sets in my box.
 

oldldh

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I've got 71 of them (6 and 12 point combination), and I love them...

For the price, it just doesn't get any better...
 
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