Nice! I find it very satisfying to make my own tools. That is, to
make/invent a new tool.

Re basin wrenches: I have one & have used it a couple if times. Never
with much success. It's one of those one-size-fits-all that is really a
one-size-fits-none. There are few enough common plumbing fitting sizes
that you could make a Jon Wrench (tm) G for each & trash the basin
wrench. Sounds like a plan - I'll put it on my list.

When I get around to making mine, I'm thinking about a variation.
Instead of welding an extension to the side of the cut socket, how about
welding another socket to it? Partially cut away to improve fit &
minimize clearance? I'd do this only 'cause sockets are more available
than extensions.

Thanks for the good idea,
Bob

On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:41:10 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:


When I get around to making mine, I'm thinking about a variation.
Instead of welding an extension to the side of the cut socket, how about
welding another socket to it? Partially cut away to improve fit &
minimize clearance? I'd do this only 'cause sockets are more available
than extensions.

Thanks for the good idea,
Bob


Sounds like a plan. I've got a butchered basin wrench that only just did the
job first time around. It'd be nice to make a tool that would work properly
next time.


Mark Rand
RTFM

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
...
When I get around to making mine, ...

Awright, this wouldn't let go - I made one, too:
http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/BasinWrench.jpg

Bob

On 2/14/2010 7:41 AM, Bob Engelhardt wrote:

(...)

Instead of welding an extension to the side of the cut socket, how about
welding another socket to it?

Sometimes an extension is a better idea.

I had a chronic issue with poor fit between my oil filter
'socket' and any extension I used. Darned extension
would fall out as soon as I attempted to yank the wrench
off the filter. I clamped an old extension in a vise,
snapped the oil wrench on it, heated the end of the extension
with my OA torch and peened the end flat.

This extension stays fixed to the wrench now.

--Winston

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Bob Engelhardt wrote:
...
When I get around to making mine, ...

Awright, this wouldn't let go - I made one, too:
http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/BasinWrench.jpg

Hehe, nice work, Bob, what process didja use for the welds?

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:
... what process didja use for the welds?

MIG

On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:17:59 -0500, the infamous Bob Engelhardt
scrawled the following:

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
...
When I get around to making mine, ...

Awright, this wouldn't let go - I made one, too:
http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/BasinWrench.jpg

WhooEE, Bawb. You know how to cook. Y'even _Mexichromed_ it!
I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is hand
tightened (they're very loose fits unless you hamhand them into a
crossthreaded condition, then no amount of pressure will get them to
seal.)

--
It's a great life...once you weaken.
--author James Hogan

Larry Jaques wrote:
... I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is hand
tightened ...

The Jon Wrench serves 2 needs: one as in Jon's case where he can't get
his hand in there to do the tightening, and the 2nd for tightening and
loosening connections other than the braided-line type in Jon's pictures.

Bob

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
... I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is
hand
tightened ...

The Jon Wrench serves 2 needs: one as in Jon's case where he can't get his
hand in there to do the tightening, and the 2nd for tightening and
loosening connections other than the braided-line type in Jon's pictures.

Bob



those basin wrenches are a pain in the ass! seems to me you'd have a lot
more control with a jon wrench.

b.w.

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:50:33 -0600, "William Wixon"
wrote:


"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
... I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is
hand
tightened ...

The Jon Wrench serves 2 needs: one as in Jon's case where he can't get his
hand in there to do the tightening, and the 2nd for tightening and
loosening connections other than the braided-line type in Jon's pictures.

Bob



those basin wrenches are a pain in the ass! seems to me you'd have a lot
more control with a jon wrench.

b.w.

Roger that! I've used both. Laying on back, head under sink,
flashlight in teeth, I do *NOT* enjoy futzing with a basin wrench in
tight space which is about like trying to rape a wildcat with a wet
noodle.

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:22:47 -0600, Don Foreman
wrote:

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:50:33 -0600, "William Wixon"
wrote:


"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
... I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is
hand
tightened ...

The Jon Wrench serves 2 needs: one as in Jon's case where he can't get his
hand in there to do the tightening, and the 2nd for tightening and
loosening connections other than the braided-line type in Jon's pictures.

Bob



those basin wrenches are a pain in the ass! seems to me you'd have a lot
more control with a jon wrench.

b.w.

Roger that! I've used both. Laying on back, head under sink,
flashlight in teeth, I do *NOT* enjoy futzing with a basin wrench in
tight space which is about like trying to rape a wildcat with a wet
noodle.
That's why I was happy to see that the new kitchen faucet that SWMBO
needed came with braided hoses about 18" long, the only thing I had to
deal with was the nut, washer and clamp plate to hold it in place.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:22:47 -0600, the infamous Don Foreman
scrawled the following:

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:50:33 -0600, "William Wixon"
wrote:


"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
... I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is
hand
tightened ...

The Jon Wrench serves 2 needs: one as in Jon's case where he can't get his
hand in there to do the tightening,

If you're at all dextrous, all you need are two fingers to thread and
run up a nut. The thumb and index finger combo is best, but index and
bird will do for those tight spots.


and the 2nd for tightening and
loosening connections other than the braided-line type in Jon's pictures.

Bob

those basin wrenches are a pain in the ass! seems to me you'd have a lot
more control with a jon wrench.

b.w.

Roger that! I've used both. Laying on back, head under sink,
flashlight in teeth, I do *NOT* enjoy futzing with a basin wrench in
tight space which is about like trying to rape a wildcat with a wet
noodle.

Several tips from broken backs of old: Take a large beach towel to
pad your back for the position you have to get into while working
under the sink. Use a head mounted flashlight to free both hands. And
if you don't wear glasses, wear a brand new pair of goggles to keep
the crap out of your eyes. (Rust from sink hold-down hardware is
absolute HELL in the eyes. DAMHIKT) I have large hands but can get at
least one into every sink I've tried yet. Tighten the nut as far as
possible by hand, then use the basin or TD wrench on the nut for the
last half turn. It saves a lot of struggle. Basin wrenches are not fun
to use. for sloppy basin wrenches, a rubber band wrapped multiple
times around the shaft can make a difference, holding the wrench head
from falling over too far.

If you can't get at least one hand up there, it is sometimes easier
to remove the entire faucet assembly to install new lines than it is
to fight with tiny openings. Choose your battle.

2 last things: Always install the top of the supply line first so you
don't have to fight angles in that tight spot. And always spring for
the braided lines. It's only (as much as) $10 more for the pair, but
you'll never, ever have to worry about them bursting and flooding you
out. It's cheap peace of mind.


--
It's a great life...once you weaken.
--author James Hogan

Larry Jaques wrote:
... And always spring for the braided lines. ...

Yes! Oh, the misery of those soft copper lines - cutting them to the
EXACT length required, bending them to the EXACT shape required (watch
out for kinks), and then the compression fitting always leaks. More God
Damn aggravation!

Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:
... And always spring for the braided lines. ...

Yes! Oh, the misery of those soft copper lines - cutting them to the
EXACT length required, bending them to the EXACT shape required (watch
out for kinks), and then the compression fitting always leaks. More
God Damn aggravation!

But once they are installed you never have to worry about them failing. The
braided ones, well, there is a rubber gasket at each end to fail someday,
there is a crimp which can fail, and the plastic tubing can also fail.

They also are harder to clean, with the braid serving as a funk wick.

Installation is a helluva lot easier, though, which makes them pretty darned
irresistable even for me.

Jon

On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:58:40 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:22:47 -0600, the infamous Don Foreman
scrawled the following:

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:50:33 -0600, "William Wixon"
wrote:


"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
Larry Jaques wrote:
... I don't see any need whatsoever for ratcheting because the nut is
hand
tightened ...

The Jon Wrench serves 2 needs: one as in Jon's case where he can't get his
hand in there to do the tightening,

If you're at all dextrous, all you need are two fingers to thread and
run up a nut. The thumb and index finger combo is best, but index and
bird will do for those tight spots.


and the 2nd for tightening and
loosening connections other than the braided-line type in Jon's pictures.

Bob

those basin wrenches are a pain in the ass! seems to me you'd have a lot
more control with a jon wrench.

b.w.

Roger that! I've used both. Laying on back, head under sink,
flashlight in teeth, I do *NOT* enjoy futzing with a basin wrench in
tight space which is about like trying to rape a wildcat with a wet
noodle.

Several tips from broken backs of old: Take a large beach towel to
pad your back for the position you have to get into while working
under the sink. Use a head mounted flashlight to free both hands. And
if you don't wear glasses, wear a brand new pair of goggles to keep
the crap out of your eyes. (Rust from sink hold-down hardware is
absolute HELL in the eyes. DAMHIKT) I have large hands but can get at
least one into every sink I've tried yet. Tighten the nut as far as
possible by hand, then use the basin or TD wrench on the nut for the
last half turn. It saves a lot of struggle. Basin wrenches are not fun
to use. for sloppy basin wrenches, a rubber band wrapped multiple
times around the shaft can make a difference, holding the wrench head
from falling over too far.

If you can't get at least one hand up there, it is sometimes easier
to remove the entire faucet assembly to install new lines than it is
to fight with tiny openings. Choose your battle.

2 last things: Always install the top of the supply line first so you
don't have to fight angles in that tight spot. And always spring for
the braided lines. It's only (as much as) $10 more for the pair, but
you'll never, ever have to worry about them bursting and flooding you
out. It's cheap peace of mind.
That's why I was quite happy to pay the $0.50 the lady wanted for two
three inch brass 3/4" nipples with braided washer hoses sort of
attached.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:49:16 -0500, the infamous Bob Engelhardt
scrawled the following:

Larry Jaques wrote:
... And always spring for the braided lines. ...

Yes! Oh, the misery of those soft copper lines - cutting them to the
EXACT length required, bending them to the EXACT shape required (watch
out for kinks), and then the compression fitting always leaks. More God
Damn aggravation!

I had a threesome of copper pipeed shutoff valves to replace at a
client's house the other day. All 3 were the old style, about 1/2"
deep. The new valves all had only about 7/16" depth to the receiver
cup so they all would have leaked. I had to hacksaw the tiny stub from
one toilet source since I didn't have room to cut off and recrimp.
That was fun, hugging the terlit and hacksawing sideways with much
weaker muscles.

Then my mini tubing cutter broke in half on the easy lines under the
sink and had to replace it. 3 hours later, on what should have been a
1 hour job for screw-ons, I had 3 non-leaking lines and 1 dripping
faucet. Oy vay...

--
Note to The O -

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
-- Henry Ford

On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:15:13 -0800, the infamous "Jon Danniken"
scrawled the following:

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:
... And always spring for the braided lines. ...

Yes! Oh, the misery of those soft copper lines - cutting them to the
EXACT length required, bending them to the EXACT shape required (watch
out for kinks), and then the compression fitting always leaks. More
God Damn aggravation!

But once they are installed you never have to worry about them failing. The
braided ones, well, there is a rubber gasket at each end to fail someday,
there is a crimp which can fail, and the plastic tubing can also fail.

They also are harder to clean, with the braid serving as a funk wick.

So tape 'em with self-vulcanizing rubber (I have it in 6 colors),
shrink-sleeve 'em, or paint 'em if you don't like that. Most people
have trouble even seeing down there, let alone cleaning. icky grin
http://fwd4.me/G1G


Installation is a helluva lot easier, though, which makes them pretty darned
irresistable even for me.

Yeah, they are nice.

--
Note to The O -

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
-- Henry Ford

On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:51:16 -0500, the infamous Gerald Miller
scrawled the following:

On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:58:40 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

And always spring for
the braided lines. It's only (as much as) $10 more for the pair, but
you'll never, ever have to worry about them bursting and flooding you
out. It's cheap peace of mind.
That's why I was quite happy to pay the $0.50 the lady wanted for two
three inch brass 3/4" nipples with braided washer hoses sort of
attached.

Indeed. Sucha deal!

--
Note to The O -

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
-- Henry Ford