Custom Wrench

[Don52]

At work one of the machines that we are in the process of designing had a bolt that was inaccessible with a torque wrench using standard tools. We needed a custom tool to access the bolt so that we could properly torque it down. Using an oxyacetylene torch I bent the handle of the ratcheting combination wrench to make the open end side of the wrench parallel to the ratcheting box end. Next I welded an impact socket on the open end side to allow for access with a 3/8” extension and a torque wrench. I made a 14 mm to 10 mm hex adapter to allow us to use a 14 mm wrench with the 10 mm hex required to tighten the inaccessible M12 bolts, because we were concerned that the M10 ratcheting combination wrench would be too wimpy.

One thing I noticed was that the thinner socket needed more heat than the thicker open end wrench to make them both the same color during welding. I am assuming that this might be because the socket had more carbon than the open end wrench and a higher melting temperature.