Yes, ratcheting box wrenches can be handy in a tight space. I'm pretty
familiar with them because the guy that designed them is in the office
across the hall from mine (I'm in the Mechanics Tools division of Stanley).
The only limitation is the amount of torque you can put on a ratcheting box
wrench versus traditional. If you are really putting a lot of torque on a
fastener, you can potentially strip the ratcheting mechanism. I'm talking
only under a lot of brute force. There is a compromise soon to be available
called the "speed wrench" (no, not an adjustable wrench). Stanley has
designed and is marketing these new wrenches under several of their brands
including Husky (Home Depot), Blackhawk, and MAC (you know, the guys that
drive the trucks around to the shops) as well as the Stanley Brand. Our
competitors have similar designs in the works including the manufacturer
that makes Craftsman. (Bet you didn't know that, until a couple of years
ago, Stanley made all of the Craftsman tools for Sears. We lost the
contract. Odds are the Craftsman tools in your boxes were made by Stanley
unless you bought them recently.) It is difficult to describe the new speed
wrenches (you really need to see a drawing) but basically, they are open end
and one face of the broach of the wrench is machined at an obtuse angle near
the end. This allows you to slip the wrench onto the fastener, torque it,
and then slip it only partially off instead of all of the way off to
position the wrench for your next turn. That is nice for those situations
where you have a devil of a time getting the wrench on the fastener in a
tight spot where you can't see. You don't have to remove the wrench to turn
it. Not as fast as a ratcheting box wrench but faster than a traditional
wrench. But it has the benefit have having the same torque ratings as a
traditional wrench. Pretty cool huh? I certainly cannot claim to have no
financial interest in Stanley, but to be fair, our competitors are launching
the same kind of wrenches too. So you have freedom of choice. There is no
such thing as an exclusive design for very long in the tool business.
Greg
76 TR6
68 MGB/GT
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From: bollen@ibm.net [SMTP:bollen@ibm.net]
Sent: Saturday, January 16, 1999 8:09 PM
To: tri triumphs
Subject: Sears wrenches
Today was the first time I used one of my Christmas presents, a set
of
Sears open ended "ratchet" wrenches. They are really great when
there is
no room to get a socket on.
Highly recommended- no financial interest blah, blah
Stu
74 TR6 80 TR8
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