As a do-it-yourselfer who likes to repair and maintain his car on his own, two essentials for your toolkit are the flare nut wrench and the ratcheting box wrench.
The most common use of a flare nut wrench is for pipe fittings. This tool is constructed like a box-end wrench with the exception of a small opening at one end. The open end is slipped over the pipe and the wrench is slid perpendicularly over it. The thick, large jaws of the flare nut wrench allow better contact with the fitting than almost any other hand tool.
Flare nut wrenches are commonly available in 6- point and 12-point fractional varieties. The figures denote the number of contact points that the wrench will make with the fitting. Higher the number of contact points, lower the risk of damage to both pipe and wrench.
The flare nut wrench is suitable for use on fittings made of copper, brass, aluminum and other soft metals that can dent, crush or strip easily; making it perfect for brake fluid and gas pipe repair.
While assembling or taking apart the engine of a car, a number of bolts need to be pried out. A ratcheting box wrench is the tool that serves this purpose.
This tool combines the utility of a ratchet wrench with the compact design of a box wrench. Being a closed-end tool, the ratcheting box wrench provides a firm grip on the bolt. Also, you need not remove the wrench after one turn to make another. Maintaining the grip, you may reverse it by activating a lever and then turn the bolt again. This feature saves a considerable amount of time and effort.
The ratcheting box wrench is usually available in 6-, 8- and 12-point types. Lower the points, higher the torque application. You may opt for a flat ratcheting box wrench or an offset one, which has heads at both ends. The swing angle of the latter is usually set at 30 degrees.
While you take great care in choosing the correct wrenches for the job, storing them well will also help you to expedite it. It is cumbersome to sort through a box filled with tools piled on top of each other until you catch hold of the one you want. Wrench racks are the perfect solution to this organization challenge.
Wrench racks are convenient cases to store your wrenches in. You may arrange the tools by both fractional and metric sizes, enabling instant access to the right wrench at the right time.
Most wrench racks are made of heavy-duty, ABS plastic and are resistant to oil, grease and solvent. Vertical pegboard wrench racks are ideal space-savers while magnetic ones hold greater aesthetic appeal.
Whatever be your choice, invest in a sturdy wrench rack to store your automotive hand tools in a secure, cost-effective manner.
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