Father Knows Best
Written: Oct 10 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Forever guarantee, quality
Cons: Price, there are cheaper wrenches (but you get what you pay for!)
The Bottom Line: A 2nd 10mm wrench can come in handy, and Craftsman is a great way to go!
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Nickel chrome plated for rust and corrosion resistance, Craftsman wrenches are forged alloy steel, heat-treated, oil quenched and tempered for maximum useful life. Guaranteed forever, the 10mm size is one of the most popular, and the 12 wrenching surfaces (pt.) return serious grip.
Back In The Day
Growing up in the 1950's cars still required "real" tune ups, service stations included garages, and most automobile owners had a use scared automotive tool set. So it goes without saying that my "working class" father paid his dues under the hood of whatever was our family car (yep, families rarely had but one car rather than today's norm of an SUV and a pickup) messing with "stuff" that needed to be done. There were a number of bits of wisdom that I picked up while handing dear old Dad whatever tool he needed to keep our Ford on the road. Among those bits were: "You can take apart almost a whole Ford with a ½" and a 9/16" wrench," "You better have two of those so that you can hold the bolt head while tightening the nut," "Cheap tools aren't worth the money," and "You only buy a Craftsman tool once."
Fast forwarding over the next half century finds that wisdom holding pretty well true. Real "service" stations have gone the way of vacuum tube computers and carbon paper because of the amazing improvements in automotive engineering sophistication and reliability (no more filing points, soldering condenser leads, or cleaning spark plugs every 3,000 miles). Manufacturing economies of scale across world markets have led to a transition from the forced popularity of the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standard to metric standard sizing for fasteners. But "home" automotive maintenance has changed little. Today's driving forces are still a reluctance to fork over the well deserved $60 to $110 an hour to a factory trained and certified mechanic (who also has all the potential special tools and test equipment to maintain your vehicle), the convenience of scheduling maintenance and repairs to fit your own schedule, and sometimes an enjoyment of doing things yourself. Consequently, I have only found that the lowly 10 mm wrench replacement for the ½'' and 9/16" rule to differ from the homilies learned at my father's knee. So along with a selection of appropriate shop manuals, one of my most valuable tools is my "extra" 10 mm wrench!
Combination?
A combination wrench normally has an open ended and a boxed (full contact, closed) wrench on opposite ends of the wrench. The "open" ended wrench is for easy access to the fastener and the "boxed" end is for better control of the wrench as you "lean" into it.
Alloy Steel, Heat Treatment and Plating
Oversimplified, "steel" is a "mixture" iron and other elements into what is known as an alloy (that is about a technical as I am going to get). After the steel is formed into the wrench it undergoes specific "heat treatments" for hardness and temper. Craftsman tools have gained an impressive reputation based in large part on their tools being manufactured to specifications that provide tools that will continually withstand the expected use / abuse by the most ham-handed shade tree mechanic. The plating mixture of nickel and chrome should withstand normal wear so as to minimize corrosion.
12 pt? Why not 10 or 6? What's A pt?
12 pt. (point) means that there are 12 "wrenching surfaces" (points) to contact the "flats" on fastener. Because of the diminutive physical size of 10mm fasteners a 12 pt. It is my belief that the expected finer threads and lower torque specification for these fasteners dictate the "finer" grip of a 12 point wrench. Heavier torque levels on larger fasteners would dictate the larger surfaces found on 10 or 6 point wrenches. So unless the application requires the serious torque of an impact wrench, rather than my simple short torque wrench, I go for the 12 point 10mm wrenches.
The Craftsman Guarantee
Remember that "You only buy a Craftsman tool once" advice? Well when they say guaranteed forever they mean it. On the few occasions I have brought a "broken" Craftsman tool back to a Sears store I have immediately been given a brand new replacement - with no questions asked! I do understand that there are selected ratcheting wrenches that could be replaced with a reconditioned item, but that should not be an issue with a 10mm wrench. The important point is that I know of few other products or manufacturers that have been able to provide this kind of warranty, much less guarantee.
Oh, The Price
You can sometimes find full sets of wrenches at close out stores for around $1. In fact, I have been known to keep a couple of those sets handy for times when "neighbors" want to "borrow" a wrench or two. I will hand them the $1 set and say, "keep ‘em, you'll need them again." But for my own cars and motorcycles I only want good quality tools, that I can rely on to always "fit" the way they are supposed to fit, in my tool chest. For around $7 I have that second 10mm wrench handy for those times when I need to hold the bolt head while tightening the nut. No, I am not a fan of adjustable wrenches, and pliers are the wrong tool for a number of tasks.
What About You?
If you plan on performing maintenance or repairs on most any modern car or motorcycle you will likely need a second 10mm wrench. It would also be my guess that you value your vehicle investment enough to at least consider its quality worthy of a $7 quality tool. A Craftsman tool will provide that quality.
Recommended:
Yes
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