Adjustable Wrench

An adjustable wrench is an engineering tool used to turn nuts, bolts, and similar items. It is one of the various types of wrenches used for different applications. This is achieved by providing a mechanical advantage to the torque applied. It is comprised of a handle, an adjusting screw, adjustable jaw, and a fixed jaw.

Image: Courtesy

The adjustable wrench, is sometimes called the Crescent Wrench, was named after the original patent holder’s brand name. It is the most popular type of wrench in use today. Its gripping jaws are typically displaced at 15 degrees to the handle, its main difference with the monkey wrench. This design allows the wrench to be useful in close quarters. Since bolts and nuts come in various sizes, having a single tool that fits all sizes is very attractive.

The handle

The handle for the adjustable wrench is made of hardened steel. They come in various sizes, 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, with the most common being the 10”. The handle acts as the lever about which the load is moved. The handle also provides a slot for which the tool can be placed in an appropriate storage like a tools rack. The elongated part of the figure above is the handle.

Adjusting screw

The adjusting screw of the wrench adjusts the space between the jaws. Adjusting the jaws of the wrench allows it to grip screws and nuts of different sizes. The screw runs both clockwise and anticlockwise to both extremes, maximum and minimum gap between the jaws. Once the adjustable jaw is in position, the screw locks it into position to prevent motion while turning nuts and screws (Adjustable wrench adjusting mechanism, 2016). The mechanism consists of a spiral path inside a circular path, a device for fastening and a screw inside the cylinder. The rotary motion of the fastening device is translated into movement of the movable jaw.

Fixed Jaw

The fixed jaw of the wrench is continuous with the handle. When a nut is being turned, it rests on the fixed jaw, which is the strongest of the jaws.

Adjustable Jaw

The adjustable jaw slides along towards or away from the fixed jaw to increase or decrease the gap. The motion is controlled by a screw mechanism, which locks the jaw in place at the desired position. It is made of hardened steel for strength (Inoue, 1987).

Working Mechanism

To turn a nut or bolt, the gap between the jaws of the adjustable wrench is adjusted to the right amount using the adjusting screw. The adjustable jaw is slid into position, and the lock mechanism of the screw keeps it in place. The nut is placed in between the jaws, securely (Chen & Lee, 2016). A small amount of torque applied to the handle is enough to turn a nut, which requires much more torque to turn. The process works under the principle of the lever mechanism, with the handle acting as a lever and the fixed jaw the pivot about which the nut is moved.

The adjustable wrench is used for all nut and bolt turning purposes. For situations where damaging the nut or bolt with the grip is undesired, the wrench is very useful since it has flat jaws that have no teeth like an adjustable pair of pliers. Its applications vary from adjusting bicycle seats, putting together furniture and tightening automobile wheels, among other uses. It is also useful plumbing systems where delicate fittings like the chrome connections beneath a pedestal sink are prevalent.

References

Inoue, I. (1987). U.S. Patent No. 4,706,528. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Chen, K. C., & Lee, P. Y. (2016). U.S. Patent No. 20,160,089,770. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Adjustable wrench adjusting mechanism – Cooper Industries, Inc. (2016). Freepatentsonline.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016, from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4446764.html

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Posted on May 26, 2016Author TutorCategories Question, Questions