On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:33:44 -0800 (PST), Max63
wrote:

Has anyone used a spare allen opener as a captive ring tool?
Seems like you could just grind its end properly after shoving it up
some
HS or even carbon steel rod. and end up making a simple handle
from wood.

The beautiful thing about capitve ring tools is that they don't need
to stay sharp for very long to get the job done- though it's nice if
they do. I used a piece of hammered-flat and ground to shape
galvanized emt tubing for the first captive rings I ever turned, and
it worked fine. Not good for the long haul, but it worked ok. In a
pinch, a guy could make one that was reasonably decent from just about
anything- including that allen wrench you mentioned.