Quick Tip: How to Wrench for Tight Spaces
Classic Car Restoration Club EditorsDescription
When restoring a classic car sometimes you’ll need to get a nut in a difficult to reach spot. Mark Simpson shares this great tip to help get you out of those tight situations.
Every so often when you're working on a car, you gotta get a nut in some place where you can't really get your fingers on it and you gotta hold it in a wrench. Uh I've tried a few different techniques over the years. One that I like is to just simply take a piece of paper towel wrap, the nut on it and simply slide that into your wrench. As you can see, it holds it in place, it won't fall out, you can squeeze it up into those places where you need to get it, you can thread your bolts in and when you pull away the paper towel comes free. This also works for the box end of the wrench. Simply lay your paper towel over it, slide in your nut and it will hold it in place. And again, once you get your uh bolt started, simply pull away paper towel comes with it, works on sockets just as well too. So it's a quick tip. And if it does get stuck or up in there, uh it it comes out fairly easily and in time, you know, moisture and water will get rid of it. Anyway. So it's a use that next time you got to get a nut in a tough place.
Now why the heck didn’t I think of that. Great little tip. 👍
I use a magnet on a wrench or putty knife, saves losing nuts in tight places. A little 1/2 inch cube super strong magnet works great. Place it on the middle of the putty knife, nut on the end.
Tape putty or a magnet