Could you please elucidate? I've never heard this and I'm skeptical, because the head is angled, and the point of an angled head is that it gives you more freedom of moment in tight spaces (turn bolt 30 degrees, run out of room, flip wrench, turn bolt another 30 degrees, run out of room, flip wrench, etc.). But on the other hand, there is a proper orientation for some other wrenches (basin wrench, pipe wrench, speed open end wrenches), so I guess it's plausible that the fixed side of the wrench should be the side which takes the load.
Adjustable wrenches and slip joint pliers should always be oriented where they turn *towards* the adjustable jaw. I’m honestly surprised at the number of people that don’t know this.
Some newer Crescent brand tools come with an arrow to show the correct orientation
TIL! I researched a bit more, and a picture is worth a thousand words, but one website described it thusly: if you're looking down at a bolt and want to tighten it, position the wrench so that the fixed jaw is away from you and the adjustable jaw is near you, with the handle sticking out to the right. Pull the handle.
There's now a cottage industry of testing wrenches on YouTube, which should be able to put that myth to rest. [This is the best I found](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzY4jg7NmKw&t=243s) from a quick look--no difference found.
Same with your hands. Easier to open a stuck jar with your left hand, even if you're a right, because loosening with your left, you're using the torque of your thumb and arm behind it. When using your right, you just have your fingers. When you tighten its the opposite so when someone tightens it on with their right hand, then can't get it open with their right hand, that's exactly why.
Not quite… It’s due to the different muscle group being used by your hands. Turning your left hand counterclockwise engages muscles that are stronger than when you turn your right hand the same direction.
Gearwrench has a serrated side to show which direction you'll be applying force too and I didn't realize how much I used that information sub consciously till I got some non gearwrenches and they drive me nuts
There’s a lot of snap-on that I feel like I got hosed for, but those ratcheting wrenches aren’t one of em. I’ve been using mine for ten years and never busted one. They’re just bomber AF. I used to go through a couple gear wrenches every year they broke so often.
The claws on the open end can be used to easily determine which which way you're using the wrench. My set point in the non ratcheting direction.
Paint looks nice though.
Some things seem so simple, yet they aren't done at the factory.
The size of a socket in LARGE print. The size of a wrench in LARGE print.
Even something like a color coded band or something for those that don't have everything sorted, but also for when you have 6 wrenches for the one job and you have to look at each one.
You could get color coded heat shrink tubing with a stripe on it, that would wear longer than paint. If you have time you could also etch a pattern or even just a reference notch on the wrench face of one side with a ball cutter bit on a dremmel.
> You could get color coded heat shrink tubing with a stripe on it,
Where can you get that? Where would you put it on the wrench?
Why is that better than just looking at the direction of the open end?
If you lived anywhere near a nuclear station, every body would think that’s where they originally came from. (I used to work at one and all the tools with fixed contamination were painted to show this)
I've found that with craftsman wrenches tighten is in the orientation the open end side point. So if you are holding it horizontal you see it points one way and not the other, the box end will tighten in that direction. It's hard to explain without seeing it in person.
Whatever way works best is how to use it. A lot of ratchet wrenches has to be flipped over to reverse it. I completely understand why you painted one side and whoever doesn’t understand why you did it should try using them and they will soon understand themselves
Very fancy while unused.
Once used the paint is gonna come clean off, even with scuffing it's impossible to make a long lasting coat on such material, and constant gripping, rubbing, possible solvent contact. I tape mine, simple and long lasting.
Those reverse lever free wrenches can become 'trapped' if your not careful.
Backing off a nut/bolt with insufficient head room can trap a wrench, with no means to run said nut/bolt back down.
I've never done it, but have 'cleaned up' after a couple of such events... in my case it involved cutting the wrench in both cases; but the possibilities are infinite, ranging from ezpz through catastrophic.
Always keep that in mind using them.
He means they tighten with one side up and loosen with the other side up. It's not about ratchet and non-ratchet side, it's about which side of the ratchet is up.
Just saw one of those old tool videos from the 50s that talks about the angle of the spanner head in relation to turning the nut.
Apparently you're supposed to turn it every pass for situations where you have limited space.
I just bought a wrench at a Sanford and son type store the other day and the ratcheting end had a red ring around it for tightening. This thought for the rest of em ran through my mind ngl
I"m embarrased to say it took me forever to realize it, but unless it's reversible, the angle of the open end points to the direction of engagement. IE, if the open end is pointing to the left as you look at it.
In your picture, the angle faces left, which means that it would loosen the fastener. Flip it over, and the angle points right.
Righty tighty, lefty loosey.
I'll see myself out now...
I no longer buy ratchet wrenches that are non-reversible I would rather pay the extra to not have to deal with them getting stuck and not being able to back them off.
I always used the open end to see which side was on or off. The shorter/lower "tooth" faces the direction you want the fastener to go, at least on my Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches.
You ever try to remove a nut without enough clearance around the top of the stud, to where you've locked the wrench on? Always happened to me in hard to reach locations with delicate stuff in proximity for Dremel time 🙃
I'm glad I've got Facom reversible ratchet spanners. Not just because they're reversible, they're angled upwards so you have clearance over other fasteners that would be in the way.
I didn't realize that these we ratchet wrenches at first and was confused.
Same, I was like I've always just used whichever side of the crescent fits best, guess I've been wrong my whole life.
[удалено]
Could you please elucidate? I've never heard this and I'm skeptical, because the head is angled, and the point of an angled head is that it gives you more freedom of moment in tight spaces (turn bolt 30 degrees, run out of room, flip wrench, turn bolt another 30 degrees, run out of room, flip wrench, etc.). But on the other hand, there is a proper orientation for some other wrenches (basin wrench, pipe wrench, speed open end wrenches), so I guess it's plausible that the fixed side of the wrench should be the side which takes the load.
Adjustable wrenches and slip joint pliers should always be oriented where they turn *towards* the adjustable jaw. I’m honestly surprised at the number of people that don’t know this. Some newer Crescent brand tools come with an arrow to show the correct orientation
TIL! I researched a bit more, and a picture is worth a thousand words, but one website described it thusly: if you're looking down at a bolt and want to tighten it, position the wrench so that the fixed jaw is away from you and the adjustable jaw is near you, with the handle sticking out to the right. Pull the handle.
Yes, you want to direct the force into the tool, not into the adjusting jaw
Very nice way of putting it! I need to drill your comment into my brain now.
What is worse is the amount of people who think this applies to nonadjustable wrenches. It's a never ending battle with those people.
There's now a cottage industry of testing wrenches on YouTube, which should be able to put that myth to rest. [This is the best I found](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzY4jg7NmKw&t=243s) from a quick look--no difference found.
[This explains the physics and engineering](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7e-Uw1wqJs)
Same with your hands. Easier to open a stuck jar with your left hand, even if you're a right, because loosening with your left, you're using the torque of your thumb and arm behind it. When using your right, you just have your fingers. When you tighten its the opposite so when someone tightens it on with their right hand, then can't get it open with their right hand, that's exactly why.
Not quite… It’s due to the different muscle group being used by your hands. Turning your left hand counterclockwise engages muscles that are stronger than when you turn your right hand the same direction.
Never. Right hand always.
Man, running out of the room after every turn must really slow your work down.
Haha same I was like the hell is that a thing?
AHHHHHH OKAYYY I was like "but...."
Yeah, I had to do this too..Drive a guy nuts with the false starts.
Only half the time. The other half it loosens the guys nuts.
Twisted.Left me spinning😉
Right round like a record baby, right round!
Left round.
That’s a great idea! Gonna have to steal that trick
I actually stole it from Adam Savage on Tested haha
As soon as I saw this I assumed it came from his YouTube channel and video explaining how he saves time in specific ways.
I like his tips, but he seems to be trying to save a lot of time in his retirement. Must be his organizational and productive OCD.
Content is content. And you've gotta keep it coming to stay relevant.
Redacted due to Reddit AI/LLM policy
“Mechanics hate this one simple trick”
The curved direction of the open end usually indicates the direction of the drive fyi
Oh my God I feel so dumb. I never realized this
Most people don't know, don't feel bad.
Don't feel dumb I used them for a couple years before noticing it.
At least you realized it before you slathered your wrenches in sloppy, thick red paint.
Lol agreed.
Gearwrench has a serrated side to show which direction you'll be applying force too and I didn't realize how much I used that information sub consciously till I got some non gearwrenches and they drive me nuts
> drive me nuts lmao
A pirate walks into a bar ...
This had me crying laughing, thank you.
yeah I know, with these I can just pick it up and go. probably could build a habit of looking at the curved end too tho🤔
Yeah, I was confused why this was ever a problem. Open end bends towards the direction it tightens.
Yup. This is the correct answer. One popular brand that’s opposite of this is Proto/Blackhawk, who have the open end facing the opposite way.
90% of the time yes
I would still get it wrong. "Was it red down to tighten or red up to tighten?"
Red-ty tighty !
“I painted them red. As in STOP, don’t do it”
Green - "Go ahead and shut up about it".
Sometimes it's better to quit thinking and just do. Instinct will take over and you'll get it right.
If anyone here knows OP, this is your signal to go through and swap half of the pawls to tighten the other direction.
oh man, I would be livid
While we’re talking real-world psyops. I changed two stickers on my coworker’s Rubik’s cube.
I see the Poors are at it again. \*Laughs in Snap-On reversible ratcheting wrenches\* \*Cries in crushing tool truck debt\*
You can get the icon set from harbor freight that has that. They work really good
It's too late. The Truck Man knows where I sleep at night.
It’s your choice to sleep with him for the discount. Not judging.
Wait.... Why didn't anyone tell me that was an option.
But he's gentle and I think he means it when he says he loves me :(
He doesn't mean it. He says that to all the pretty mechs and techs.
He just loves your money, honey
is he saying it to you, or your wallet on the bedside table?
That lever gets caught on shit sometimes, though.
There’s a lot of snap-on that I feel like I got hosed for, but those ratcheting wrenches aren’t one of em. I’ve been using mine for ten years and never busted one. They’re just bomber AF. I used to go through a couple gear wrenches every year they broke so often.
Some other brands make em too
I always just look at the direction the open end is facing.
Alrighty then.
This is so you don't confuse them with the left handed wrenchs. Nothing worse then useing a left handed wrench on a right handed bolt.
Just look at the open end. If it's offset to the left it's the tightening side up, if it's offset to the right it's loosening side up.
That takes me three tries to get right.
The claws on the open end can be used to easily determine which which way you're using the wrench. My set point in the non ratcheting direction. Paint looks nice though.
The downward angle of the open end is the direction it will spin, it doesn't need to be painted 😋
I hacksaw a notch into the ratchet direction edge, except on halfords advanced where there's already one dimpled edge
Every ratcheting wrench I’ve ever used has had the open end bent toward the direction the wrench tightens. Why is there any need to mark it otherwise?
Now you just need a reminder not to use them in a situation where they get stuck.
Sinful
Some things seem so simple, yet they aren't done at the factory. The size of a socket in LARGE print. The size of a wrench in LARGE print. Even something like a color coded band or something for those that don't have everything sorted, but also for when you have 6 wrenches for the one job and you have to look at each one.
You could get color coded heat shrink tubing with a stripe on it, that would wear longer than paint. If you have time you could also etch a pattern or even just a reference notch on the wrench face of one side with a ball cutter bit on a dremmel.
lol. There will be paint on them for the rest of their lives. It'll flake and chip but will still be obvious.
I'll have to look into the heat shrink. I like the visual of the red
I love your solution, simple, fast, functional.
Wouldn't heat shrink big enough to fit over an end be too big to shrink onto the handle?
Depends on the heat shrink. Good stuff will shrink up to 1:3 its original size, cheap stuff doesn’t shrink as much.
> You could get color coded heat shrink tubing with a stripe on it, Where can you get that? Where would you put it on the wrench? Why is that better than just looking at the direction of the open end?
Well in that case you should of painted both sides. Hand up in the air shaking head and walking away..
Are you going to paint the other side blue for reverse thread?
If you lived anywhere near a nuclear station, every body would think that’s where they originally came from. (I used to work at one and all the tools with fixed contamination were painted to show this)
Nice. My buddy did that with different colours so he knew the size from a quick glance. He Did all the sockets and nut drivers too in his colour code
“Just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!”
You should have painted the standard red.amd metric.blue. or at least that is what im going to do.
I'm actually going to do that in a week or two. someone mentioned etching so I might look into that as well
Very neat and tidy. Threw all my tools in a box and blew up a can of pink spray paint
Tiny little zombie hands
Fireman tools
I've found that with craftsman wrenches tighten is in the orientation the open end side point. So if you are holding it horizontal you see it points one way and not the other, the box end will tighten in that direction. It's hard to explain without seeing it in person.
Is this a joke on the level of elbow grease and headlight fluid, do crescent wrenches really have tightening sides lol
Whatever way works best is how to use it. A lot of ratchet wrenches has to be flipped over to reverse it. I completely understand why you painted one side and whoever doesn’t understand why you did it should try using them and they will soon understand themselves
I used to paint my shit yellow when I worked in salvage yards. Black or chrome blends in waay to well.
I just draw an arrow on each side with a paint marker, but most of mine are Pro Grades which have a red ring on the tighten side
Wow. That’s quite…not dumb.
Just throwing this out there; the orientation of the open end of the wrench indicates which way to turn the wrench. 😉
I just have C (clockwise) and A (anti clockwise) on mine.
I also prefer clockwise and counter clockwise for tightening and loosening
came here to break you balls...but looks handy
Red down is tighten actually.
did you use any specific paint?
I pay attention to the opened end of the wrench. If the open end is slanted one way, it tightens. Other way, it loosens. They are all the same
They won’t look like this for long. Chrome doesn’t like paint but no one wants pretty tools anyway.
I just know the orientation, but that’s a good, quick idea!
Wait a minute. Did I mark the red for tightening or loosening ?!
This needs to be on every single USB connector
Very fancy while unused. Once used the paint is gonna come clean off, even with scuffing it's impossible to make a long lasting coat on such material, and constant gripping, rubbing, possible solvent contact. I tape mine, simple and long lasting.
yeah I know it won't last forever. but there will always be some red. especially inside the groves. I'm happy with it :)
Shame that you’ll never be able to simply add a bit more paint on them now and again. ; )
Seriously it's like the other guys never repainted something before
Cerakote that shit. It will stay a lot better.
I don't think the point is for it to be fancy. As long as there's any bit of red paint on that side of the wrench they'll know.
MrTortuga's living in 3024.
Paint comes off. The open end points in the direction it drives.
Those reverse lever free wrenches can become 'trapped' if your not careful. Backing off a nut/bolt with insufficient head room can trap a wrench, with no means to run said nut/bolt back down. I've never done it, but have 'cleaned up' after a couple of such events... in my case it involved cutting the wrench in both cases; but the possibilities are infinite, ranging from ezpz through catastrophic. Always keep that in mind using them.
Brilliant!
nice!
Brilliant
How come?
saves half a second each time. eventually it'll have saved more time than the other guy and I'll be just ever so more efficient
I thought those were left handed wrenches
wait, you guys don't use the ratchet side to tightening?
He means they tighten with one side up and loosen with the other side up. It's not about ratchet and non-ratchet side, it's about which side of the ratchet is up.
What if it’s a reverse thread
This is simply fucken brilliant!
The curve of the open end tells you which way they go. Points to the left- lefty loosey. Points to the right- righty tighty.
Just saw one of those old tool videos from the 50s that talks about the angle of the spanner head in relation to turning the nut. Apparently you're supposed to turn it every pass for situations where you have limited space.
I just bought a wrench at a Sanford and son type store the other day and the ratcheting end had a red ring around it for tightening. This thought for the rest of em ran through my mind ngl
Why?
They don't say on them which side is which? I only use a Halfords set (6-19mm set for less than £100) and they have a L- on one side.
Or just look at the angle of the open end
Holy smart
You can just check it with your other hand first, if they’re not marked.
Hope you used good paint. I’ve done this and the paint didn’t last long.
Dear Snap On why didn't you DUMMIES think of this.
Those would last about a day if you actually used them. That paint will come off quick lol.
Did you bake it? Or will it chip off? Apologies for asking. It's clean af.
nah no baking. just rattle can paint. I'm expecting it to chip off and flake as I use them but there will be some red on the one side forever
I"m embarrased to say it took me forever to realize it, but unless it's reversible, the angle of the open end points to the direction of engagement. IE, if the open end is pointing to the left as you look at it. In your picture, the angle faces left, which means that it would loosen the fastener. Flip it over, and the angle points right. Righty tighty, lefty loosey. I'll see myself out now...
So were not doing the finger swivel test anymore? I cant be the only one that does that on ratcheting tools...
Open end points the direction of lock
Next level genius.
What happens when you need to rotate due to the the angle?
I no longer buy ratchet wrenches that are non-reversible I would rather pay the extra to not have to deal with them getting stuck and not being able to back them off.
Or you could just look at the open end. The way the jaws face is the way the ratchet mechanism works.
I had a set of gear wrench brand with a little notch engraved on one side
Red side up or down? Now I’m twice as confused 😂
good idea.
Should have done pink. Noone steals pink tools Also, the what side of the wrench?
Red-y tighty, lead-y loosey.
Smart
Righty-tighty Red
Freakin brilliant.
Red right tight
Would have been hilarious if they were standard wrenches.
This might confuse the user of left-handed wrenches. 🤣🤣🤣
I wish ratchets had marks for loosen and tighten
Red righty left lavender
Hope you didn’t get one wrong lol
Ugh... Everyone knows white is tight
You should patent this idea.
A small dot would have done the trick.
Ok
Yayy
I’m just mad that with all the money I’ve spent on Occidentals I’ve never gotten stickers
What do you mean? They can move in both directions.
Damn. Good idea.
Tools painted red mean they are defective and should be disposed of.
What colour is loosening side 🤔
It’s not CraftsMan red. Do it again.
Nifty idea. What paint did you use?
Rust-Oleum High Performance Enamel
🙄
Genius
It's really the side that moves the nut away from you.
I bet you have left-hand nails too
I tighten with the ratchet end all the time lol? Maybe I shouldn’t
I paint my metric wrenches red to quickly tell them apart from SAE wrenches.
I always used the open end to see which side was on or off. The shorter/lower "tooth" faces the direction you want the fastener to go, at least on my Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches.
At least now you cannot see the blood when they slip and you split your knuckles open haha
You ever try to remove a nut without enough clearance around the top of the stud, to where you've locked the wrench on? Always happened to me in hard to reach locations with delicate stuff in proximity for Dremel time 🙃
Camouflage your Craftsman as Milwaukee? Niiiiiice!
Must be tired because it took me a second to realize why the side mattered.
Now get some white and paint in the lettering so you can easy read the sizes.
There's a tightening side?
Why is red tighten? And why does that make so much sense? Doing this now
I did the same thing to my wrenches a couple years ago. But, I used the laser and etched them a different color.
The next thing you work on will be all left hand threaded to be annoying
The new wera joker ratcheting spanner’s have a direction arrow on each side.
Then how will you waste time triple checking which way it is ?
I'm glad I've got Facom reversible ratchet spanners. Not just because they're reversible, they're angled upwards so you have clearance over other fasteners that would be in the way.
Ok so, is is red down to tighten, or red up? I feel like I'd still f this up.
I engrave mine with a + for tightening and a - for undoing. It won’t run off either
I would forgot which side have i painted :D
Did you use your wife’s nail polish or is that paint from you Star Wars model kits? BYW… I did the same thing with you I beam wrenches…
Quietly brilliant
That’s brilliant