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Craftsman Ratcheting Elbow Wrenches Hands-on Review
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IndyEngineer
I have read other reviews of these wrenches and they are pretty much aligned with ToolGuyds conclusion. However, maybe I’m too stubborn but I just can’t bring myself to buy a Craftsman wrench made in China.
Superautobacs
I’m still wishing Sears will sell these individually.
I’d like to have a single 14mm so that I can couple it with either a 3/8″ drive socket adaptor or an assortment of bolt-thru sockets.
That way, it’ll compliment the indexable ratchet that’s been around for much longer, only this one will access tighter/shallower areas.
uthscsaedu
The side view of the wrench looks like it’s bent, unless my eyes are playing tricks on me.
It would be cool if they put elbows on both ends, instead of yet another open end.
Stuart
I’m not sure why they’re only sold in sets for now. I’m sure that if they become popular, Sears might start carrying individual wrenches.
Also, your eyes aren’t playing tricks with you, and no that’s not a camera lens defect. Each wrench does appear to be slightly bent. I believe that this is intentional and have a theory as to why, but will check with Craftsman to see what’s up.
I mean… sorry about that, I told you I had superhuman strength!
kythri
Stuey – you’re on Craftsman’s Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/craftsman
Stuart
Cool, thanks for bringing that to my attention!
uthscsaedu
The open-end does not appear to have any kind of anti-slip or “flank-drive” feature. Is that correct?
Stuart
That is correct.
kythri
Yeah, you don’t see that on any Craftsman wrench, do you?
I dunno if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I tend to look at that as a gimmick, never having had an issue with open ends. A lot of people seem to think it’s fantastic, which is great.
KMR
I can see these being a labor-saver in a pro-shop environment. Any tool that allows me to possibly work around a part, rather than remove that obstructive part, can be a major benefit to getting a job done quicker…
So since Craftsman authorized you to give the set away… how do we get it? 🙂
Might as well try to win the set before I buy a set.
Stuart
Once it’s determined that the wrenches’ curvature is intentional and not a defect, there will be a formal giveaway where a winner will be selected at random.
You could try to bribe me, but it would probably be much cheaper for you to just buy a set on sale. =)
uthscsaedu
I think even if the curve is a defect, someone would be happy to use them.
kythri – I asked about the anti-slip design because I’ve seen it on other Danaher wrenches (Kobalt and Gearwrench). Gearwrench calls it “Surface Drive Plus”
I haven’t seen it on a Craftsman open end wrench, but since this is a newer design from China, I thought it might have it.
Steve
I like the idea. Some non-ratcheting elbow wrenches would be great too. I won’t be buying any until the USA made version hits the shelves.
Stuart
Unfortunately, I don’t think that we’ll be seeing these in USA-made versions anytime soon.
Danaher most likely applied for a patent for the elbow wrench design. It will likely be cheaper for other brands to license this design from Danaher or rebrand the wrenches than to develop their own variation.
sherman brown
what i dont understand is why they dont come in full sets. the 7 piece sae set is one wrench short. i believe the set i bought is missing the 5/16, which is a size i use very often. and the metric set is missing 5 sizes of the wrenches. it should come in the 12 piece set. i have also noticed that the locking flex head wrench set now only comes in the 7 piece sets, missing the 11/16 wrench. i dont use this size very often but it is a real pain when i run across this size bolt or nut. why has sears made the decision to go with the 7 piece sets??
sherman brown
i have been trying to find the 5/16 elbow wrench. the only place i have found one is on ebay for 13.50 and it may be damaged.