In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 4 Feb 2021 23:11:39 -0500, alan
wrote:

On Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:44:58 -0500, micky wrote:

I wouldn't buy anything until I needed it.

You're a big boy, you know this, and I only said it so the others
wouldn't dump on me.

That's the thing.

For decades I've been saying the same thing.
Yet every time I want one, I don't have it because I didn't buy it.

Then you need them.

I end up using adjustable wrenches, or channel locks, or pipe wrenches.
But I hate using those when there is a hex sided plumbing fixture.

YOu're not going to be
stuck on the highway for lack of one.

I don't think I'd ever put wrenches that large in the car emergency toolbox.
Mostly it's plumbing and often outdoor plumbing that uses larger sizes.

I used to teach wood shop where one rule I harped on was to never use the
wrong tool for the wrong job, such as a screwdriver as a chisel.

Then you have to live up to your own words. Well. Maybe**

Did you wear a tie when you taught wood shop?

**I've noticed that no matter how many tools i have, I need every one,
and no matter how few tools I have, it seems to be enough (generally,
not all the time.)

If I had a dollar for every time I saw a repairman incorrectly using pliers
when he should have used a wrench, or for using a screwdriver when he should
have used a nut driver, or for using a screwdriver as a pry bar, or for
using an adjustable wrench when he should have used a box wrench, I'd be
rich.

It's just wrong to use channel locks, pipe wrenches, and pliers when a
plumbing fixture has hex sides for a reason. It's like using a Phillips
screwdriver instead of an Allen Key. It works. But it's still wrong.

I needed a large end wrench to replace a half-axle on my Toyota.

Working on a car is completely different than working on plumbing in so many
ways that it's no comparison at all.

Well, sorry. It's the best I've got.

For one, the amount of room you have on a car is usually minimal, so you
often must use a wrench. Also if you slip and wreck the nuts or bolts, you
often can't easily get them out to replace them.

For another, a socket is almost always what you end up using (if you can).

It's not the same thing at all as basic home plumbing tools, where on a car,
you buy the tools you need period but for home plumbing, we get away with
using the wrong tools all the time.

I don't remember what I bought or where, but harborfreights cheapest set
is $75. I thought I bought it there but I didn't pay anywhere near that
much 5 years ago, and at that price I would have asked a friend first,
and I didn't.

I don't have a Harbor Freight near me but I'm willing to buy a set if they
have a good price and a good set of big wrenches that don't overlap too much
with mine. I have one inch and 1-1/8th inch open ended wrenches but no box
wrenches of that size.

I looked for that set https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/wrenches.html

They have this for about twice what I was hoping to pay
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-t...-pc-64802.html
Open and 12-point box box
1-1/16 inch
1-1/8 inch
1-3/16 inch
1-1/4 inch

That brings up the question of how many points is a good amount if you're
only going to have one box wrench of that size.

With 6 point, you have much less chance of rounding off the head, but 12
is quicker to use if bolts are not on so very tight . Maybe initial
loosen with the end wrench and do most of the twisting with the box
wrench.

They also have these even bigger ones for the same price as above
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-t...-set-1965.html
2-1/8 inch
2-1/4 inch
2-3/8 inch
2-1/2 inch

What's the most common sizes for outdoor & indoor plumbing fixtures like big
brass ball valves on 3/4 inch galvanized pipe (I have a lot of those).


Homedepot's cheapest is only $40 - how about that - but I don't remember

This was a set of 4 or 5. The sizes weren't immediately obvious, nor do
I know what sizes I needed or you need.

what size I needed and what sizes I got.

I'll go check if you want, and check out what brand it is too,

I have a Home Depot only about five miles away where I checked a few days
ago and decided I'd go broke if I bought the wrenches one at a time.

They don't have everything in stock. Walmart too has lots of things
that are not in stock, and Amazon too though not as big a percentage.

Here is a 1-1/4 inch combination 12-point box & open end for $28 for example
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GEARWREN...1735/313472168

At thirty dollars each, only one or two at most fit into my budget for a
set. I didn't see any sets of the most common sizes though.

I don't even know what the most common sizes are, but I would guess it
should be between 1 inch and 2 inches as the most common for plumbing?

It sounds like you do more plumbing than I do.