Thread: Shifting Spanners and YouTube Videos

Sheesh, what a tough crowd. I'd better not start a thread discussing the pros and cons of tightening/loosening the chip breaker screw with the lever cap!

Kind regards,
Lance

I know a bloke who makes a primeval groan sound whenever he sees a shifter

I'm a mechanic and I only have a selection of hammers and shifters, I even have a shifter with a built in hammer.

This however is my favourite, I can torque head and rocker nuts with the same tool

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

I'm a mechanic and I only have a selection of hammers and shifters

I'm surprised you even have a hammer.

Originally Posted by BobL

I'm surprised you even have a hammer.

I have to hit the shifter with something when a gland nut won't come undone.

There is even a ratcheting shifter floating around the workshop somewhere.

Originally Posted by BobL

I'm surprised you even have a hammer.

if you can’t fix it with a hammer, you know you have an electrical problem.

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

I have to hit the shifter with something when a gland nut won't come undone.

Just use another shifter.

The other problem with shifters is being used in the wrong orientation either tightening or loosening ie the moveable jaw takes the max load not the fixed jaw

I happily use shifters all the time. Very convenient. Use any tool outside it's limitations and you will get a poor result.
One prominent youtuber has a large shifter with a built in hammer. He calls it a thumb detecting nut f@$#%r.

Some of our shifters at work (we have hundreds ) have "I am not a hammer" inscribed on them. This succinct reminder doesn't work quite as well as you might expect as it relies heavily on literary skills too.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by NCArcher

I happily use shifters all the time. Very convenient. Use any tool outside it's limitations and you will get a poor result.
One prominent youtuber has a large shifter with a built in hammer. He calls it a thumb detecting nut f@$#%r.

Sounds like an Ave comment?

I do quite like the shifter, but it's just like an open ender, if you feel it start to spread get a more appropriate tool.
It's also handy to get a measurement when a fastner is in spot you can't get a visual on, or you give it to the apprentice to get a size so you don't have to get them 100 spanners to try.

I got an old King Dick Monkey Wrench from an early Ford and I was going to give it away but it has come in quite handy for some odd jobs.

My personal hate is people that crank nuts/bolts up with 1/4" ratchets, my boss laughs at me for using a 1/4" bar for final tightening yet we have a workshop full of 1/4" ratchets that don't work properly or at all.

The only shifter that is an essential in a kit is the left hand metric one. Derrick.Smith (deckell)

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

Sounds like an Ave comment?

I wonder if Colin appreciated how much comment he would stir up with this thread: I suspect he did, although I also believe it was a genuine distaste for the ubiquitous shifter.

I found myself realising that there is a distinct irony in my specific case Whilst I have joined in with Colin in reviling this despicable tool, I find that it is the only "spanner," if we can agree to call it that, that lives on my handy to get at magnetic toolbar. The larger one is in the shed while the smaller is in my tool pouch. The smaller has an opening of 35mm that belies it's length of only at little over 150mm. The larger spanner opens to about 40mm.

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My favourite spanners I hardly ever use! The reasons are that they are not normally to hand, there are not quite enough sizes to suit every situation despite having a metric and imperial set and they are quite thick and will not fit in to tight situations.


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This last reason is partly because the ring section is a kind of ratchet except that there is no characteristic "clicking" sound involved. It rotates smoothly but only one way. Turn it over to reverse the operation.

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I have never seen these Kingcrome spanners elsewhere and I came by them through a mechanic friend who bequeathed them to me in lieu of some monies owed. They are beautifully made but they are "Eclipsed" ( ) by the shifters.



Regards
Paul