why no more round shank wrenches?

[hay seed]

I have some old blue point boxs and realy like them.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

why no more round shank wrenches?

Because an oval or rectangular beam profile is stronger.

 

[senlow]

Moose hit the nail on the head. Oval or rectangular beams are stronger.

Of course, I would take a round beam over the Craftsman Crossfarce any day.

 

[Thedroid]

We have a huge Wright round beam at work. 2 7/8 I believe. Its probably 40 or 50 yrs old, and heavy duty.

 

[dede2897234]

Can someone please post pictures of your wrenches with a round and an oval beam profile? I cannot picture it in my mind.


Thanks,

Dave

 

[stewart]

Yeah the flat is stronger in one direction (the one it's needed in), easier to forge, but best of all when your arm is up in there between the exhaust manifold and the Z bar and you can't see the fastener your working on you know by feel the plane the wrench end is in. 12 point is handy here too.

My Dad has some of them round beams, they're good quality, I'll guess they were easier to forge from available round stock. You make them with smaller dies and a lot less tonnage.

 

[jvitez]

http://www.graytools.com/catalogue/combination wrenches.pdf

Go to page 2.

 

[Mickey O]

They were banned in 1973.

 

[Packard V8]

There's a like-new Wright round-beam combination, approx 1-1/2", at a liquidation center near here and the price is right. I have to fight myself to keep from buying it every time I'm in there. I have no need for it, but I'll be disappointed when someone else buys it. They just look heavy-duty!

thnx, jack vines

 

[GVente]

plus, round shank wrenches wont fit in those new fangles wrench racks.

 

[JeremyManning]

Can someone please post pictures of your wrenches with a round and an oval beam profile? I cannot picture it in my mind.


Thanks,

Dave

Here is a pic of a round beam

 

[JeremyManning]

They were banned in 1973.

Why were they banned?

 

[DrkMtnDew]

these are some of my older blue points, the smallest is round and the other two are more oval.

 

[John in OH]

Can someone please post pictures of your wrenches with a round and an oval beam profile? I cannot picture it in my mind.

Attached are several photos of one of only a few round-shanked wrenches that I have, but this one is a good example of how these wrenches are made. This one is also somewhat unique as it has 8-point ends, but that's not relevant to the shank design.



It seems that Blue Point and Wright used this design extensively ... maybe others as well. As others have mentioned, the round shank may not have as much strength as an oval shank. but it does have a nice feel.



I had never before heard that the round shank design was banned.

 

[glenmore]

He's kidding.

 

[ND400]

Do you see any round shank conrods in engines? I-beams are just better

 

[Packard V8]

Do you see any round shank conrods in engines?

Round shank connecting rods were used in the Miller and Offenhauser racing engines which won Indianapolis for forty years. If it were possible to forge a hollow tube shank on the rod instead of having to drill it, we might still be seeing them today.

Wrenches and con rods are not apples/apples. Yes, the flat beam is stronger than a round bar for the same weight when the bending force is applied laterally in line with the wide side of the beam. A connecting rod needs its greatest strength in tension, because they usually fail by being pulled apart by high-RPM inertial forces. I'm told a tube has the greatest strength/weight in tension.

jack vines

 

[diesel research]

Do you see any round shank conrods in engines? I-beams are just better

Have you ever saw I beam pushrods in an engine?

 

[Danglerb]

If it were possible to forge a hollow tube shank on the rod instead of having to drill it, we might still be seeing them today.

Wrenches and con rods are not apples/apples. Yes, the flat beam is stronger than a round bar for the same weight when the bending force is applied laterally in line with the wide side of the beam. A connecting rod needs its greatest strength in tension, because they usually fail by being pulled apart by high-RPM inertial forces. I'm told a tube has the greatest strength/weight in tension.

jack vines

I've never seen a rod pulled apart, but plenty of the S version. Maybe these days detonation is more of an issue than high RPM?

Guy in our town when I was growing up had a Boss 302 they put crazy money into, story was it had "Indy" rods made of titanium tubes in a triangle fashion.

Have you ever saw I beam pushrods in an engine?

MUCH much lower force, and no real lateral force, so nothing but tubes as far as I know to keep weight to a minimum.

Anybody know why performance rods come in two basically different I beam orientations? Now I see a lot like these.

 

[Wakefield]

Connecting rod in a 12 liter diesel Vs. one in a speedy rice rocket?
Merlin engine (in aircraft that won WWII) must have had good con rods?

 

[Outlawmws]

SNIP

Anybody know why performance rods come in two basically different I beam orientations? Now I see a lot like these.

Those have a much better weight to strength ratio, but are more expensive so generally only Hipo motor builders use them. IIR they are also supposed to have better aerodynamics at speed than the traditional I beam rods, but that could also have been just speed shop hype....

 

[ND400]

It's Cheaper to build a strong H-beam than an I-beam. However a top notch I-beam will weigh less than a H-beam. Less reciprocating mass faster engine acceleration.

 

[Outlawmws]

Here is my only example of a round shank wrench:

Probably 1930's Hinsdale (Chicago USA) double box wrench.

Pretty average quality for the era, but not junk.

 

[Wakefield]

Snap on brake bleeder wrench S6111 has round shank!
Old Armaloy box end 9/16 x 1/2 is not all the way round but rounder in the shank than most wrenchs I have.

 

[scott0]

I've never seen a rod pulled apart, but plenty of the S version. Maybe these days detonation is more of an issue than high RPM?

Guy in our town when I was growing up had a Boss 302 they put crazy money into, story was it had "Indy" rods made of titanium tubes in a triangle fashion.



MUCH much lower force, and no real lateral force, so nothing but tubes as far as I know to keep weight to a minimum.

Anybody know why performance rods come in two basically different I beam orientations? Now I see a lot like these.

H beam rods like the one pictured are usually cheaper to produce and lighter than their I beam counterparts. However they are not nearly as strong. In a high revving turbocharged engine you will port a block with a h beam long before you will ever have a I beam fail you. I am referring to both rods being aftermarket and both being forged.

P.s. those round shank wrenches look super comfortable!