Don Young wrote:

"Paul Hovnanian P.E." wrote in message
...
z wrote:

On Dec 23, 2:12 pm, Big_Jake wrote:
On Dec 23, 12:30 pm, wrote:

who invented these nuisances (requires a special tool) - and was
there
an underlying good reason to NOT use ordinary hardware?

They don't "require" a special tool. You can snug them up with a
small channellocks ot tighten them or loosen them with a hammer and
screwdriver.

That's not really a big plus. Smacking on the end of a screwdriver to
tighten these up is optimal for neither the tightness of the nut, the
tip of the screwdriver, or the skin on your face.

That's why God created apprentices.

--
Paul Hovnanian
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Parity on, dudes!

I wonder why some of my screwdrivers have steel shanks all the way through
and large steel caps on the back end?

There are probably dozens (hundreds) of applications in which a good rap
to the end of a screwdriver is called for. This is one of them.

On the other hand, I know some electricians who don't like this kind of
screwdriver due to the danger of accidentally contacting the back end of
the shank while the business end is in a hot circuit.

Actually, I have been an apprentice
and a journeyman electrician, tightened many locknuts, and used either
"ChannelLocks" or a screwdriver with either a hammer or a pair of "Kleins"
to hit it with, depending on access to the locknut and what tool was in my
hands at the time. Either way works good.

I've seen some sort of locknut wrench. It appeared similar to an open
end wrench (so one could get it around existing wiring I suppose) with
two teeth projecting from their face. I imagine these come in several
sizes. Probably handy for big jobs but these sorts of gadgets require a
tradeoff between saving a few seconds per use and the weight of ones
tool belt.

Don Young

--
Paul Hovnanian
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Procrastinators: The leaders for tomorrow.