By Steve ‘Sheds’ Bain
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LAST week I lamented the lack of popularity double-open-ended spanners experience in these modern times.
Sure, you can still get an openender; at one end.
Just that it will typically have some sort of ring spanner at the other end.
Moving on, the most prolific ‘other end’ is the ubiquitous 12-point ring spanner. The ROE (or R/OE) are the common must-have these days.
Accordingly last edition I chose a set of these ROE spanners as the starting point for my imperial size collection of tools.
Much harder to find are the six-point (or box end) combination spanners.
That's a six-point 'hex nut' female ring spanner at one end and an open-ender at the other.
It seems to me that six-point ring spanners are a desirable thing.
American brands such as Gearwrench and Craftsman offer examples in our local market.
More about them some other time.
For now, the major positive is that the sixpointer grips a typical hex-nut most positively and this can be critical when you are trying to crack (crack the seized bond of) a rusted-on nut.
You see now why they are very desirable.
Amongst the detractions, more about the downfalls another time, the major negative of a six-point spanner is that it won’t fit a square nut (not that square nuts are that common).
Fortunately the open-ended end of your combination spanner will fit the faces of a parallel sided square(d) nut.
But I digress.
Let’s get back to the 12 point ring spanner openings.
The ‘now we are getting fancy’ option at the ring end of a combination spanner is a ratcheting 12-point enclosed opening.
Let's jump straight to the top shelf; that's what I did.
The 'big orange shed' on our drive into the big smoke is a Total Tools outlet.
There are more than 80 of them around our country.
It’s a warehouse full of tools.
I try to restrict myself to just one aisle per visit, yet I’m regularly amazed at how much time has passed when I eventually exit.
I never saw the movie Mary Poppins, however I’ve still heard the compound-word/adjective supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Full of hyphens the top shelf spanner is similar.
Adjectivally, the spanner's descriptor is flexible-reversible-ratcheting-head (that'd be FRRH if we were into initialisms).
You can switch these words around and still get the same spanner when you ask for it in a store.
Actually, there is the occasional use of 'geared' to describe this type of spanner.
Lesser versions omit either the reversible or flexible option, or omit both.
I figured since I already had a workable set of AF 12-point spanners with which to 'crack' stuck nuts.
Then a ratcheting set would be a viable top-shelf upgrade.
This would speed up things when I had all-day to work on something and thus had time to daydream that my lightning quick spanner work was critical to the success of an imaginary race-team's ten-second pitstop.
Total Tools' house brand is TTI.
And what I wanted was on special.
So, with yet another $10 bonus appearing in my inbox, be it for my birthday or similar, I was off to the big orange store to purchase a set of seven AF flexible-reversible-ratcheting-head spanners.
The TTI supercalifragilisticexpialidocious set of seven sizes covers the mid-range from 3/8" to 3/4" inclusive in 1/16" increments.
It's not critical, but I do like that the set is in a metal case; PIMO (you’ll recall preferably in my opinion) to plastic cases.
This set has a metal case.
I'm starting to collect an imperial tool kit that I really like.
Although the bells and whistles versions are relatively new.
Ratchet ring spanners have been around for quite a while.
I've used them, recommended them, broken one or two.
That's why warranty pops up when I discuss them.
Just a quick comment on stores and brand names and warranties.
My stance isn't hard and fast.
In fact, my opinion has modified a little over the years.
This is due to the fact that the world also changes.
These days I do tend to shop at stores that also have their own 'house' brand product lines.
This is because, generally chains with house brands, and I stress generally, have empowered their store manager(s) to make warranty assessments on the spot for house brand products.
There's little point in a lifetime warranty if the product has to go back to a head office that no longer exists because the company/brand-name sold out.
If you do break a tool on the weekend, it's a good outcome if you can have a new replacement in your hand ready for your next weekend in the shed.
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