Special Wrenches

The category of special wrenches includes the crowfoot, flare nut, spanner, torque, and Allen wrenches. [Figures 9-9 and 9-10]

The crowfoot wrench is normally used when accessing nuts that must be removed from studs or bolt that cannot be accessed using other tools.

The flare nut wrench has the appearance of a box-end wrench that has been cut open on one end. This opening allows the wrench to be used on the B-nut of a fuel, hydraulic, or oxygen line. Since it mounts using the standard square adapter, like the crowfoot wrench, it can be used in conjunction with a torque wrench.

The hook spanner is for a round nut with a series of notches cut in the outer edge. This wrench has a curved arm with a hook on the end that fits into one of the notches on the nut. The hook is placed in one of these notches with the handle pointing in the direction the nut is to be turned.

Some hook spanner wrenches are adjustable and will fit nuts of various diameters. U-shaped hook spanners have two lugs on the face of the wrench to fit notches cut in the face of the nut or screw plug. End spanners resemble a socket wrench, but have a series of lugs that fit into corresponding notches in a nut or plug. Pin spanners have a pin in place of a lug, and the pin fits into a round hole in the edge of a nut. Face pin spanners are similar to the U-shaped hook spanners except that they have pins instead of lugs.

Most headless setscrews are the hex-head Allen type and must be installed and removed with an Allen wrench. Allen wrenches are six-sided bars in the shape of an L, or they can be hex-shaped bars mounted in adapters for use with hand ratchets. They range in size from 3/64 to 1/2 inch and fit into a hexagonal recess in the setscrew.

 
 
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