A striking wrench is a tool that are spesifically designed to recieve heavy impacts from a hammer. You use a striking wrench when you need to apply more torque to a fastener than a standard wrench can provide. A striking wrench is much thicker and heavier than a standard wrench tool, as striking wrench tools is meant to take the repeated impacts of a sledgehammer tool.
Tools have two main components: the wrench head that grip the fastener that you are working with, and the anvil pad that receives the impacts from a hammer tool. There are four primary types of striking wrenches, each with different uses. Box-end striking wrenches has the advantage of enclosing the nut or bolt that you are working with, and provide a high level of grip due to their six or twelve-point heads.
How to Use a Striking Wrench Safely
Open-end striking wrenches are similar to box-end wrenches, except that the jaws of the wrench are in the shape of a “U,” allowing them to be used in areas that are too tight for an box-end wrench. Hammer striking wrenches are built with extra thickness to be used on heavy machinery. Flange striking wrenches have longer handles, providing more leverage to those working with particularly large bolt.
The worker will depend upon an amount of space that there is around the bolt to be loosened, and the type of bolt that is being loosened, for the type of striking wrench that is used. When sizing striking wrenches, it is important to ensure that the wrench is properly sized to the bolt. Use a measuring tape to take the width of the nut that is being loosened, not the diameter of the bolt.
Using a striking wrench that is too large for the nut will cause the wrench to not fit well on the nut, which will lead to rounding the corner of the bolt. Additionally, using a striking wrench that is too small for the nut will prevent the wrench from gaining proper purchase upon the nut. Striking wrenches are available in both SAE and metric size, and the larger the wrench size, the more heavier and longer the tool will be; larger wrenches must provide more mass to the system in order to provide high level of torque.
The number of points on a striking wrench head also has an impact upon the way in which the tool is used. Six-point striking wrenches have thicker walls than twelve-point striking wrenches, providing more even distribution of force to the bolt being loosened, which makes them ideal for use on bolts that is rusted or otherwise stuck in place. Twelve-point striking wrenches have the advantage of having more points of contact with the fastener being loosened, which allows more rapidly repositioning of the tool, especially in tight spaces.
Both type of striking wrenches are commonly used in a range of industrial jobs. Striking wrenches are used in a variety of industrial environments, such as in petrochemical refining plants, drilling rigs, and power plants. Petrochemical plants utilize striking wrenches to loosen bolts on pressure flange.
Power plants use striking wrenches to loosen bolts on steam turbines and boilers. Tools are required in these locations due to the fact that standard and pneumatic wrench tools may not be able to reach the necessary bolts or apply the appropriate amount of force. In order to use a striking wrench, certain safety procedure must be followed.
The worker should hand-tighten the fastener first to ensure that it is properly aligned with the wrench; using less force than a striking wrench can provide will reduce the chance of “cross-threading” the fastener. Furthermore, the worker should position the anvil pad of the striking wrench to be perfectly perpendicular to the striking path of the hammer tool; any angle in either direction will result in the hammer tool slipping from the striking wrench, potentially creating dangerously shards of metal that could fly into the worker. Always wear impact goggles and leather glove when using a striking wrench.
Lastly, ensure that no bystanders are within striking distance of the worker when using the tool. Following these step will ensure the safety of the worker utilizing the wrench, as well as allow the worker to complete the necessary job effectively.
