Carl wrote:
"bob prohaska" wrote in message news

I'd like to service a shower valve in a 1957 house with original plumbing.

The bonnet nut uses a round boss 7/8" in diameter with two flats milled
in it about 3/4" apart. It'd be a cinch if the valve stuck out of the wall,
any open-end would fit. Unfortunately it's recessed about an inch behind
the
tile, so a socket is reuquired.

All the wrenches I can find fit hex nuts, does anybody know the correct
name
for the required tool? From time to time "nuts" like this have crossed my
path, but I've never encountered one used in a position that requires a
socket to grab it.

At this point I don't even know what to look for. Correct terminology would
help a great deal.

Thanks for reading, and any guidance.

Big question is how big is the hole in the tile? If it's big enough you
could get a crow's foot wrench in there, or a sink wrench (think right angle

Nowhere close to big enough for a crow's foot. I'll have a grind out some
of the tile and grout to get a relatively thin socket on the bonnet fitting.

If I just hammered a pair of flats on a 7/8" ID tube it _might_ work, but
any wrench I can make will be a worse fit and weaker than the worst wrench
I'm likely to buy. If I damage the valve it'll mean taking out tile,
that could easily turn into a bathroom remodel 8-|

There's nothing particularly special about the house or the way it's built,
I'm sure the valves were common before the advent of single-control valves.
If I knew what the needed wrench was called I'd have a chance of finding one.
Terms like "2 flat socket" and "2 point socket" find nothing. "Valve bonnet
wrench" finds many matches, but they're all hex.

A search through McMaster-Carr catalog 117 found nothing even close. That
could mean the valve is rare, but nore likely it just means the valve is a
purely residential product.

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska