Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: monkey wrench

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Northern Kentucky
    Posts
    3,279

    monkey wrench

    a comment were made on the Perry Mason show about a unusual tool, a right-hand monkey wrench for left-hand bolts and nuts, my question is , do this wrench tighten or loosed the nut?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Doswell, Virginia
    Posts
    150
    Quote Originally Posted by ray hampton View Post
    a comment were made on the Perry Mason show about a unusual tool, a right-hand monkey wrench for left-hand bolts and nuts, my question is , do this wrench tighten or loosed the nut?
    A monkey wrench is an adjustable wrench for large nuts and bolts, it looks like a pipe wrench without serrated jaws.
    They are not right or left handed.

  3. #3
    Was it metric? That makes all the difference in the world.

  4. #4
    To the best of my knowledge, only steam wrenches are right-handed and left-handed.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    College Station, Texas
    Posts
    893
    Both metric and SAE.
    Tom

    2 Chronicles 7:14

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Mid Michigan
    Posts
    3,559
    I have several monkey wrenches but have never used one successfully. I have used them as a hammer on occasion. Guess I never learned how to use one correctly.
    David B

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
    Posts
    2,040
    Monkey wrenches have a threaded portion of one jaw, so I suppose the threading could be either left handed or right handed. I haven't examined my collection to see if they all have right handed threads, but I suspect they do. Not being left handed, I can't testify whether a left handed thread would be convenient to a left handed person.

    It's hard to visualize how these wrenches were used. They look like something that would work on large square nuts and bolt heads. The jaws on old monkey wrenches don't adjust to give a tight grip. They have a slight "give" to them, similar to what happens with cheap "crescent" style wrenches. The jaws of monkey wrenches don't have teeth, so the wrench doesn't marr the thing you turn with it. ("Pipe wrenches" with a slightly flexible toothed jaw are often called monkey wrenches, but they aren't.)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Mid Michigan
    Posts
    3,559
    I usually round bolt heads and nuts so I have to end up using a pipe wrench or a chisel to loosen them. My monkey wrenches stay is a drawer where they have been for years and will probably stay there.
    David B

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Northern Kentucky
    Posts
    3,279
    everyone that answer my post seems to know monkey wrenches, do movie companies make incorrect statements to sale more films or because they do not know any better, monkey wrenches/ pipe wrenches and crescent wrenches all work better if the force or torque is apply against the wrench back not the moving jaws

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Winterville, NC (eastern NC)
    Posts
    2,367
    My Grandad had a collection of those from when he worked on the railroad. Greedy cousins took them after his passing. I have one but don't recall ever using it for a real nut job.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    The best adjustable wrench I ever had was made by the Williamsburg Blacksmiths. It was 18th.C. style. Had a captured sliding wedge that you tapped into place when the wrench was adjusted. That wrench NEVER SLIPPED,EVER. It wasn't mine personally. Made for working on the repro fire engine we made in 1982.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
    Posts
    5,572
    Mine fits Whitworth bolts too.

    Rick Potter

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Northern Kentucky
    Posts
    3,279
    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    The best adjustable wrench I ever had was made by the Williamsburg Blacksmiths. It was 18th.C. style. Had a captured sliding wedge that you tapped into place when the wrench was adjusted. That wrench NEVER SLIPPED,EVER. It wasn't mine personally. Made for working on the repro fire engine we made in 1982.
    the sliding wedge is a improved on all adjustable wrench, I got a crescent wrench that close the gap between the jaws every time that I use it

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •