Almost every man, even if he does not live in a private house, but in an ordinary apartment, must have open-end and box wrenches. You never know what can happen in the household. This is especially true when you have your own transport or often have to deal with equipment. When you know that you have a set of ring wrenches, you don’t have to worry about how to make urgent repairs if necessary or replace a worn-out part yourself. However, sometimes when buying such a tool there are difficulties with the choice. Therefore, let's consider how it happens, and also what you should pay attention to.
Ring keys: what are their advantages?
Have you ever unscrewed an old rusty bolt? If you use an ordinary open-end wrench for this, which in its shape resembles the letter U, then you can easily spoil the edges of the fasteners, and then you will have to suffer with pliers and a chisel. Such situations quite often happen if the size of the tool used is somewhat larger than necessary. In such cases,especially when there is good access to the fasteners from all sides, it is much better to use ring wrenches. Their working profile allows you to tightly cover the part, completely repeating its outlines, and not worry about the integrity of the edges. This ability allows the master to make great efforts, so it is easy to unscrew or tighten bolts or nuts with this tool.
Ring wrenches: features and main types
As a rule, this type of tool is made double-sided. The handles of these wrenches are both straight and curved. They must be used in accordance with the parameters of the nut, otherwise there is a risk of erasing the teeth, which leads to damage to the tool. Ring wrenches are good for everyone, except for one drawback: the obligatory availability of free access to fasteners. This is their only weakness. If the horn tool can still be used somehow from the side, then such a number will not work with a cap tool. And yet the latter is much more convenient to work with, so it is very popular with both home craftsmen and professionals. The profile of the box wrench heads can contain either six (TORX profile) or twelve faces.
The greater their number, the smaller the angle required for turning and the more convenient it is to work in tight spaces. But hex keys make better contact with the nut. Therefore, with them you can not be afraid for the lubrication of the corners of the fasteners. The ring can be located with the handle both in the same plane and at a slight angle of inclination(15o). Tools of the second type are more versatile, while the first one is almost never used. The most interesting options are with an S-shape, a hinge or a ratchet (ratchet). The first two allow you to reach the nuts in hard-to-reach places, thereby leveling the advantage of open-ended ones. And the ring wrench with a ratchet completely allows you to forget about the need to throw it over after each turn. Its other important plus is the small angle of rotation required to tighten / unscrew the nut. A ratchet can have up to 72 teeth. In this case, the rotation angle is only 5°.
