Essential Wrenches For Repair And Maintenance

Whether at homes, building sites or auto garages, a set of good wrenches is essential to the toolkit of any individual who works with nuts and bolts. They offer grip and mechanical advantage, enabling users to apply torque to turn nuts and bolts. Among all the varieties of these hand tools in the market, the ones that stand out are the pipe wrench, the combination wrench and the impact wrench. Pipe Wrench True to its name, the pipe wrench is used for repair and maintenance of pipes. Besides, it is also useful for work on other rounded fittings like bolts and rods. A basic pipe wrench comprises two jaws connected to a flat handle. The lower hook jaw may be adjusted to the size of the pipe. Applying forward pressure on the handle pulls this and the lower heel jaw together. In turn, this provides the user ease of gripping and turning. A pipe wrench is usually composed of aluminum or steel and is ideal for use on rounded objects made of soft metal. It is available in various sizes based on the length of the handle. Combination Wrench As its name suggests, the combination wrench is a crossbreed between two types of hand tools - open-end and box-end wrenches. So, while one side of this tool is open, the other is boxed or ringed. Basically, a combination wrench is used to tighten or loosen nuts from bolts. Each combination wrench fits a particular bolt size. Thus, users often prefer to buy a set of combination wrenches in multiple size increments. Impact Wrench An impact wrench uses the principle of impact to loosen bolts, especially stiff and unyielding ones. Energy is stored in a rotating mass and accelerated by a motor. Sudden, force on this mass connects it to the output shaft, releasing high torque with minimal effort. Conventional impact wrenches are pneumatic or air-powered but electricity-powered cordless impact wrenches are fast gaining popularity. Although they provide lower power outputs than their pneumatic counterparts, cordless impact wrenches offer the advantage of increased portability. Since they are fitted with a rechargeable battery, they do not need bulky cords and are great for use in confined spaces. Depending on their socket size, both pneumatic and cordless impact wrenches serve the needs of a range of industries, from light product assembly to heavy construction. With these wrenches in your toolkit, repair and maintenance loses its tediousness; it becomes quick, low-effort and cost-effective.