Shop Built Special Wrench

[Provincial]

I had to remove and replace a 1/4" brake line from an old road grader. It has a driveline drum brake that is mounted tight against the gearbox/transfer case. This is a very difficult location, so I had to build a special wrench to reach the nut. I took an import 7/16" x 3/8 drive socket and cut it halfway through just at the base of the 12-point area, then sliced it leaving half the area through the square drive section. A little work with a tree-shaped carbide cutter on a die grinder opened it up to where the brake line nut would slide through. I did not not have to slot it to slip on the brake line because there was a joint nearby that allowed me to slide the "box" onto the line over the nut on that end.

I cut a piece of 3/16" x 3/4" flat bar to make a handle. It was a latch bar from an old overhead door and has some temper to it. After MIG welding it to the socket I thinned it to about 3/8" wide for more clearance. I bent the handle to clear the obstructions, which took four steps to clear the obstacles. Once it was bent, it worked great! My biggest problem was getting the nut started when I installed the new line.

The first two photos show the location I was working on. The third shows the tool installed on the brake line nut. The last photos show the tool

 

[bonneyman]

Freakin' cool!

 

[PugetDude]

Awesome! The tool polishers are gonna freak...

 

[ADSR]

Do what ever it takes to get the job done.

Well done, Sir.

 

[CNGsaves]

Nice MacGyver work there OP !!

Now you have to fab up cool toolbox to store the Grader Specific tools in the cab of the grader.

How old of a grader are we talking about ?? Brand ??

 

[Provincial]

1955 Austin Western Super 88. Built in 1955 for the U.S. Navy according the the brass ID plate on the seat frame. The original olive drab paint is showing through the peeling yellow repaint.

Any retired Seabees out there that have run one?

 

[SteveH-CO]

Sockets you can slice up, guilt free, shows that Harbor Freight tools have their place. Nice job on a cool custom wrench.

 

[stsmytherie]

Shop made wrenches are cool. These ones are for wrenching on old Porsche transmissions.

 

[Strouty]

I have a bin that has a bunch of one off wrenches, but I can't remember what they were made for, I keep saving them, but I have not needed them.

 

[Capt Chrysler]

Necessity is the mother of invention!
Nice fix / shortcut on a problem.

Craftsman use to have a wrench set (3/8-3/4) sale for $9.99. I all ways keep a couple of sets in stock, just for things like this. When done they go into a different drawer.

 

[2oolhound]

One has to question the logic in spending several hours producing a special purpose tool to do a 5 minute job. When engineers design modern vehicles they also design special tools that are provided to the service centres to perform these tasks. For the rest of us this is what it takes to get the job done and there's a certain satisfaction to seeing the job through without having to leave the claim. Nice work!

 

[blind]

That's awesome. I don't miss the days of having to do this for production line maintenance. The assembly lines were designed and built for assembly but no thought about maintenance. We called them ST's, "Special Tools" or if they were really special SST's, "Super Special Tools."

 

[nine4gmc]

Some young whipper snapper will be posting on here in 75yrs about the cool wrench they found with no markings, inquiring how much it's worth.

 

[LXCam]

Most excellent!

 

[Provincial]

It took me some time to make the wrench, but the alternative was to remove the brake drum, remove the brake shoes, remove the wheel cylinder, and then change the brake line. Then I would have to reassemble everything and adjust the brakes. It took less time to make the wrench and use it than that alternative.

I keep all the special tools I make with the parts for that machine. I should also tag them for the application in case I am not around to identify them.

 

[Mr onetwo]

How about a photo of the old girl for context?Nice remedy for a specific problem!

 

[gtae07]

One has to question the logic in spending several hours producing a special purpose tool to do a 5 minute job. When engineers design modern vehicles they also design special tools that are provided to the service centres to perform these tasks. For the rest of us this is what it takes to get the job done and there's a certain satisfaction to seeing the job through without having to leave the claim. Nice work!

If one can even get one of those special tools, chances are they cost a boatload of money.

I was immensely proud of myself the first time I made a special tool, because making (as opposed to just using) tools is one of those things that sets humans apart from other animals. I felt like I was finally living up to part of my evolutionary heritage

 

[Provincial]

How about a photo of the old girl for context?Nice remedy for a specific problem!

I made a new post in the Vintage Tool section. Here is a link.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6484949&posted=1#post6484949

Enjoy!

 

[Provincial]

I put a link to a Photobucket slide show of full size photos in my Vintage Tool Section post. Click the link above and scroll down to the link.

Enjoy!