For heavy work, I have, for many years, used a 15" Crescent made by Crescent
Tool Co., Jamestown, NY. It still works smoothly, and the jaws show no
damage or "play". If need be, I am comfortable with slipping a length of 2"
pipe over the handle for extra leverage. It is black steel, with no
plating.
I have other smaller "crescents" from odd manufacturers, but none as good as
the original.
I have found that pawn shops are a good source for this type of tool, if one
looks carefully at the merchandise.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Moose" <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 2:47 PM
Subject: Re: [OM] How to take proper product pics outside (WB? (Spanners)
> On 11/6/2010 10:32 AM, Paul Laughlin wrote:
>
>> I am reasonably sure that the Crescent company, held the original patent
>> and for a number of years was the only manufacturer of the "Crescent"
>> wrenches in the USA. Hence the name Crescent stuck. The originals also
>> had good jaws.
>
> On 11/6/2010 4:30 AM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>> Crescent still exists but is now owned by a much larger company called
>> Cooper Industries (really located in Houston, Texas but incorporated in
>> Ireland)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_%28brand%29>
>
> Cooper went through the US hand tool industry, buying up old line
> manufacturers of quality tools, then lowering the
> costs and cheapening the tools. Crescent was one of them. Sloppy
> tolerances and soft jaw faces do indeed make them
> likely to damage fasteners - and fingers, when they slip.
>
> I have a now quite old crescent adjustable that is well made of quality
> materials and has held up, but for several
> decades their stuff that I've seen has been cheap in price and quality.
> Not the worst, just mid quality, mass market stuff.
>
> On a whim, I suppose mostly 'cause I can't resist a new gadget design, I
> bought a pair of Crescent wrenches of a new
> design, with a thumb operated slider on the handle to adjust the jaws. The
> handle is considerably thicker, to
> accommodate the adjustment mechanism, and the jaws are much thicker than
> their usual, as well, probably to match the
> handle.
> <http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103211453>
>
> There is quite a bit of opening width play in the movable jaw, although
> the way it operates, that's not a problem. So
> far, in casual use, they have been pretty good. I mostly use sockets, or
> fixed size combo wrenches/spanners, where
> sockets won't fit, but there are jobs where an adjustable wrench is a
> quick and suitable tool. The 6" wide jaw Diamond
> was excellent in a bicycle tool kit and the 15" Diamond is indispensable
> for plumbing.
>
> Monkey Wrench Moose
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