Everything You Wanted to Know About Combination SpannersPosted by Linda Wilson on July 9th, 2019 What is a spanner? The spanner is a short hand-held tool used to tighten or loosen fasteners by turning a nut or bolt. Spanners provide a tighter grip and amplify the mechanical pressure in applying torque to turn objects, or to keep them from turning. A spanner is made of a metal shaft with a profile on one end. The tool can also be double-ended with two profiles on each end of the shaft. The profile of the head, commonly referred to as the jaw, is part of the tool that fits over, around or into the fastener to grip it. What is a combination spanner? The combination spanner is a double-ended tool featuring an open-ended profile on one end and a closed loop on the other end. It is a combination of two types of spanners: the open-ended spanner and ring spanner. The two heads are usually at a 15 degree angle to the shaft for better access to the nuts or bolts. The combination spanner is among the most common household tools, being good value for money as you get two tools for the price of one.
How spanners work? A spanner is turned clockwise or anti-clockwise to tighten or loosen it. When the head is turned, friction is created between the profile and the fastener at the contact points. This provides an amplified turning force for the spanner to mechanically grip and turn the fastener. The spanner’s shaft acts as a lever, magnifying the force input by the user in order to turn the fastener easily. How combination spanners work? The two heads of a combination spannerare usually of the same size, so the tool can be used to work with only one fastener size. They heads usually range from 4mm to 50mm or 5/32" to 2". With increasing size of the head, the length of the spanner also increases. When it comes to turning fasteners, the open-ended head is stronger than the ring head. This is because the open-ended head puts less pressure on the corners of the fastener, the weakest points on the fastener head. The benefit of using this combination style spanner is that you can use the open-ended head for the final tightening of a fastener or for the first few turns of loosening one, while the ring head can be used for the main part of the task. There is one kind of a combination spanner design where the open-ended profile is star-shaped with a plastic component on one face of the head making the profile the common U-shape. Depending on how this tool is fitted onto the fastener, it will either slip over it or the plastic component will catch and 'lock' it in place, making it less likely to slip of the fastener. This type of spanner is very easy to remove and replace while turning the fastener because less care is needed to prevent the tool from slipping. Why choose a combination spanner? When choosing a spanner for a particular task, certain things need to be taken into consideration.
The length of the spanner is a determining factor on much force can be applied to the fastener. Longer spanners provide a stronger turning force, so they can be used for larger or stiffer fasteners.
How stable the connection between the spanner and a fastener is depends on the profile of the spanner. Profiles that make contact with the fastener on all sides, like a ring spanner, are less likely to slip than spanner which come contact with only a few sides of the fastener, like an open-ended spanners. If you are looking for a spanner for your DIY projects and household repairs, the combination spanner is the best choice. It is advisable to get a complete set of standard sizes, so you can work with multiple sizes of nuts and bolts for different types of projects. Like it? Share it! More by this author |