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by twblalock 1281 days ago
Adjustable wrenches exist for situations where you don't have the proper size on hand. They are not intended to be used for everything. But when you need one, few other tools will suffice.

A lot of people don't know that there is a correct direction to turn these wrenches (and Channel Locks, and pipe wrenches). Older Crescent models had an arrow engraved on the handle to show this. You turn the wrench with the smaller jaw leading into the turn. This helps prevent slipping by putting pressure on the mechanism, which makes it harder for the adjusting screw to move.
1 comments
cptskippy 1281 days ago
> Adjustable wrenches exist for situations where you don't have the proper size on hand.

I would say convenience and use case are just as important. A crescent wrench is non marring unlike alligator jaws or vise grips. It's also perfectly fine for low torque applications. It isn't for torquing lug nuts.

I have a wonderful wrench and socket set in standard and metric measures. It's in a nice case on a shelf in my garage. My crescent wrenches are hanging 5 feet away on a pegboard.

I needed to loosen an RP-SMA connector the other day. What size is that nut? Do I want to break out my wrenches and fiddle? Nope, the nut is only just beyond finger tight so two crescent wrenches and 5 seconds to get it off.

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SAI_Peregrinus 1281 days ago
Any 5/16" wrench for loosening. For tightening, ideally the appropriate torque wrench for the particular connector (material & grade) should be used.

https://www.centricrf.com/torque-wrenches/sma-torque-wrenche...

Or other stores. RF connectors should be torqued to a specified torque listed on their data sheet. Improper torque can cause damage. Usually for equipment using SMA connectors this isn't a big deal (just replace the connector, they're cheap and the torque wrenches are expensive), but for the really high frequency stuff like 1.85mm connectors the connector itself is $70-300 so spending $100-400 on a torque wrench is reasonable.

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cptskippy 1281 days ago
This was a $5 WiFi antenna I bought off Amazon for an ESP32-WROOM-32UE bolted through an enclosure, I'll stick with my crescent wrenches.
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