workshoptools/spanners

Spanners (which are also often known as wrenches in some countries) will only do a job properly if it’s the right size for the nut or the bolt to be turned.

The size used to describe a spanner/wrench is the distance across the flats of the nut or bolt to be turned. There are two systems in common use, metric, in millimeters, and imperial, in inches. Each of the systems has a range of spanners/wrenches especially made for each one. The systems can be identified on the spanner/wrench by either a number for metric spanners, or a fraction followed by A/F.

Another system once widely used in the United Kingdom was the Whitworth system. It used fractions but they did not refer to the distance across the flats of the fastener. Some older British and Australian machines use Whitworth-size fasteners. Some Whitworth sizes are not interchangeable with metric or Imperial systems.

There are many types of spanners/wrenches.

Choosing the correct one to use to do the job usually depends on two things: How tight is the fastener? In other words how much force is going to be applied to it, and, how accessible is it? - how much room is there to get the spanner onto the fastener, and then turn it.

When being used it's always possible a spanner/wrench will slip. Always try to anticipate what will happen if it does before putting a lot tension onto it. If possible, always pull a spanner/wrench towards you rather than pushing it away.

Ring spanners grip a fastener at the corners just like a socket spanner, just the sort of grip that is needed if a nut or bolt is very tight. Ring spanners have different sized heads at each end. They aren't as convenient as sockets but can fit into places that a socket can't. One disadvantage of the ring spanner is that it can be awkward to use once the nut or bolt’s been loosened.

Open end spanners/wrenches slip easily and quickly onto fasteners, and that's particularly important for nuts and bolts in awkward places. The angle on the head allows it to be used in two different positions. While an open-end spanner often gives the best access to a fastener, if it's extremely tight the open-end shouldn't be used as this type of spanner/wrench only grips across two flats. If the jaws flex slightly or the flats don't fit tightly between them, the spanner can suddenly slip when force is applied.

The best way is to use a ring spanner to break such a bolt or nut free, then the open-end. The open-end spanner should only be used on fasteners that are no more than firmly tightened.

The combination spanner/wrench provides the user with the best features of each of the other types. It has a ring on one end for gripping and breaking the fastener's hold, and an open ended spanner of the same size on the other end.

A variation on the open end head is the flare nut spanner. It gives a better grip because the flats meet on 5 sides, not 2. The open 6th side lets the spanner be used on nuts and fittings associated with pipes and tubing. Don't use the flare-nut spanner on extremely tight fasteners as the jaws may spread, damaging the nut.

There is another type of universal adjustable open end spanner/wrench in use. Usually referred to as a shifting spanner/wrench or simply "shifters", the lower jaw can be moved to fit any fastener size within the spanner range. Shifting spanners should only be used if the correct sized spanner is not available. Both the fastener and spanner could be damaged if they are used on really tight bolts or nuts

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workshoptools/files

Files are often sold without handles, but they shouldn’t be used until a handle of the right size has been fitted. The handle should be checked before use. It can come loose, and it may need a sharp rap to tighten it up.

Clean hands will help avoid slipping. Hands should always be kept away from the surface of the file and the metal that’s being worked on. Filing can produce small slivers of metal which can be difficult to remove from a finger or hand, and acids and moisture from the skin can cause corrosion.

Depending on how hard or soft a material is, a special file may be needed. It’s no good trying to file something if the file is softer than what is being filed - softer metals like copper and aluminum can clog a conventional file.

What makes one file different from another is not just it's shape but how much material it’s designed to remove with each stroke. That depends on the teeth. The following are both flat files, the most common general purpose type, but their teeth are different.

The teeth on this coarse grade file (left) are longer, with a greater space between them. Filing this piece of mild steel removes a lot of material with each stroke. A coarse file leaves a rough finish.

On the right is a flat file, but its shorter teeth remove much less material on each stroke, and the finish is much smoother.

On a job, the coarse file is used first to remove material quickly, then a smoother file gently removes the last of it and leaves a clean finish to the work.

The full list of grades in flat files, from rough to smooth, is:

• rough
• coarse bastard
• second cut
• smooth, and
• dead smooth

Some flat files are available with one smooth edge, called safe edge files. They allow filing up to an edge without damaging it. Flat files are fine on straightforward jobs but files need to be able to work in some awkward spots as well.

A warding file is thinner than normal, for working in narrow slots.	A square file has teeth on all 4 sides, so you can use it in a square or rectangular hole.
A square file can make the right shape for a squared metal key to fit in a slot. This is a three square file. It's triangular in section, so it can get into internal corners.	Curved files are either half-round, or round. This is a half round. Its shallow convex surface can file in a concave hollow, or in an acute internal corner. The fully round file, sometimes called a rat-tail file, can make holes bigger. Or it can file inside a concave surface with a tight radius.
Files should be cleaned after use. If they’re clogged, they can be cleaned by a tool that's really part of the family called a filecard or filebrush. This is a thread file. It cleans clogged or distorted threads. It has 8 different surfaces that match different thread dimensions so the right face must be used.

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workshoptools/wrenches

A torque wrench is also known as a tension wrench.

It is designed to tighten bolts and nuts using the drive on the end which takes any sockets and accessories found in an ordinary socket set. It is used to tighten fasteners, to a pre determined tension (torque) by the use of a movable scale that allows how tightly the nut or bolt is being done up.

Whilst manufacturers don't specify torque settings for every nut and bolt, when they do, it's important, and that's why the torque wrench is such an important tool.

The pipe wrench grips pipes and tubes and it can exert a lot of force to turn them. Putting more pressure on this wrench tightens its grip more and more. The jaws are hardened and serrated, and increasing the pressure also increases the risk of marking or even gouging metal from the pipe.

A wheel brace is a specialized wrench. This model has 4 different sockets, 1 on each arm. Never hit or jump on a wheel brace when loosening wheel nuts. If the brace won't remove them, use an impact tool. When using the wheel brace, the force provided with your hands is adequate to secure the nuts properly.

This specialized wrench is an oil filter removing tool, which gives that extra leverage when oil filters are tight.

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workshoptools/screwdrivers

The correct screwdriver to use depends on the type of slot or recess in the head of the screw or bolt, and how accessible it is.

Most screwdrivers can't grip as securely as spanners, so it's very important to match the tip of the screwdriver exactly with the slot or recess in the head of a fastener. Otherwise the tool might slip, damaging the fastener, and worse still, you.

When using a screwdriver, always check where the screwdriver blade can end up if it slips off the head of the screw. A screwdriver can't tell the difference between a piece of steel, and a piece of you.

The most common screwdriver has a flat tip, or blade, which gives it the name, blade screwdriver. It's easy to see the blade should be almost as wide as the slot in the fastener so that twisting force applied to the screwdriver is transferred right out to the edges of the head where it has most effect.

Not so easy to see, is that the blade should be a snug fit in the slot of the screw head. Then the twisting force is applied evenly along the sides of the slot. This guards against the screwdriver suddenly chewing a piece out of the slot, and slipping, just when most force is being exerted.

If viewed side-on , the blade should taper until the very end where the tip fits in the slot. If the tip of the blade isn't clean and square, it should be reshaped.

When you use a blade screwdriver, make sure you support the shaft with your free hand as you turn it. This helps keep the blade square on to the slot and centered. Slipping screwdrivers are a common source of damage and injury in workshops.

  

A screw or bolt with a star-shaped recess needs a Phillips or a Pozidrive screwdriver. The star-shaped slot holds the tip of the screwdriver securely on the head.

The Phillips tip fits a tapered recess while the pozidrive fits into slots with parallel sides in the head of the screw. Both a Phillips or Pozidrive head can be pushed and twisted with more confidence, but again the screwdriver must be the right size. This is simplified with these 2 types of screwdriver because 4 sizes are enough to fit almost all fasteners with this sort of screw head.

The Allen key is designed to be a snug fit in screws with a socket head.

The socket and the key are hexagonal in shape, and there's a correct sized key for every socket, so Allen keys come in sets. They can come in either the metric or Imperial system, and are categorized in millimeters or fractions of an inch, according to the distance across opposite flats of the hexagon.They give the best grip on a screw or bolt of all the drivers, and their shape makes them good at getting into tight spots.

The offset screwdriver fits into spaces where nothing else will, and where there's not much room to turn it. The two tips look identical but one's at 90 degrees to the other. This is because sometimes there's sometimes only room to make a quarter turn of the driver. That is why the driver has two blades on opposite ends so that offset ends of the screwdriver can be used alternately.

The ratchet is a popular screwdriver handle that usually comes with a selection of flat and Phillips tips. It has a ratchet inside that turns the blade in only one direction depending on how the slider is set. When set, a screw can be undone without removing the tip of the blade from the head of the screw.

Equally, when set in the opposite direction screws can be inserted just as easily.

This is an impact driver . A screw or a bolt that’s rusty or over tightened needs a tool that can apply more force than the other members of this family.

The impact driver takes a variety of tips. Choose the right one for the screw head, fit the tip in place, and then tension it in the direction it has to turn. A sharp blow with the hammer breaks the screw free, and it can be unscrewed.

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workshoptools/hacksaws

Hacksaws are a common workshop tool. The frames come in a range of shapes and sizes. For any given frame there’s a range of available hacksaw blades to cope with different materials and situations.

The hacksaw frame can be adjusted to take different blade lengths and when the blade is placed in the frame and it is tightened to the correct tension by a tensioning device such as a wing nut.

The hacksaw blade must be of the right pitch which is determined by the number of teeth in an inch of blade. A blade with many teeth per inch has a fine pitch, one with few teeth per inch has a coarse pitch.

The saw blade should be inserted into the frame so that it only cuts on the forward stroke. This is because the teeth gather the metal being removed and can only get rid of it when they come clear of the cut. If a blade cutting through a thick section of metal has too many teeth, in other words the pitch is too fine, they can clog up and stop cutting.

On the other hand, when cutting a piece of sheet metal, if the blade is too coarse the saw teeth could be stripped off of the blade at it try's to cut.

As a rough guide you can determine the correct blade (and number of teeth) by laying the blade across the section being cut. Normally, at least 3 teeth should touch the metal at that point. This will ensure that the blade can do its job.

After the job is done, the tension on the blade should be loosened, to prevent the frame from distorting over time.

  

Cutting large holes in panel steel or thin sheet metal is done by a hole saw. The drill in the center locates the saw accurately and leads it into the surface.

Repetitive cutting through thick sections of material can be hard work, unless you have an abrasive cut-off saw.

These are rated in different sizes, usually from about 250 millimeters to 500 millimeters or 9 3⁄4 inches to 19 1⁄2 inches. That refers to the largest diameter cutting wheel that should be fitted to them.

This is a powerful tool and it demands every precaution. Wear protective clothing, with nothing hanging out or loose, especially long hair. You should cover long hair with a snood cap and of course, wear safety glasses or a full-face shield. The guard on the saw should be properly in place, and the power cord well away from the cutting wheel. Flying Sparks are normal when using this saw, the range of these should be limited by placing a safety screen around the job

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workshoptools/chisel

When using hammers and chisels safety goggles should always be worn. 

This is the most common kind of chisel - a flat chisel. It's made of high-quality steel, and the end is tempered and hardened because it has to be harder than any of the metals you're likely to want to cut with it. The head of the chisel needs to be softer so it won't chip when it's hit with a hammer.

This is a cross-cut chisel. It's called 'cross cut' because the sharpened edge is across the blade width. This chisel narrows down along the stock, so it's good for getting in grooves. It’s used for cleaning out or even making key-ways. The flying chips of metal should always be directed away from the user.

The gasket scraper is not a true chisel. It has a hardened, sharpened blade and it’s designed to remove a gasket without damaging the sealing face of the component. The scraper should be kept sharp to make it easy to remove all traces of the old gasket and sealing compound.

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workshop tools/hammers

The most common hammer in an automotive workshop is the ball pein or engineer's hammer.

Like most hammers its head is hardened steel. A punch or a chisel can be driven with the flat face. Its name comes from the ball pein or rounded face. It’s usually used for flattening, or peining, a rivet. The hammer should always match the size of the job and it's better to use one that's too big, rather than too small.

Hitting chisels with a steel hammer is fine, but sometimes you need just to tap a component, to position it. A steel hammer might mark or damage it, especially if it's made of a softer metal like aluminum. In such cases a soft-face hammer should normally be used for the job. Some are very soft with rubber or plastic heads through to those using brass or copper.

When a large chisel needs a really strong blow, it's time to use the lump hammer. It's like a small mallet, with two square faces made of high carbon steel. It's the heaviest type of hammer that can be used one-handed.

The most common mallet in the workshop has a head made of hard rubber. It's a special purpose tool, and is often used for moving things into place where it is important not to damage the item being moved.

This is a dead blow hammer. It’s designed not to bounce back when it hits something. A rebounding hammer can be dangerous or destructive. Its head is either made of lead, or it’s hollow with lead shot inside. The lead absorbs the blow

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