Stan in Oly, WA
Well-known Member
I've had the same set of pipe wrenches for more than thirty years, and they work fine. The trouble is, they leave the pipe and fittings pretty chewed up from the teeth of the wrenches. I think I know most of the tricks of taking apart old steel plumbing---hit the joint with some penetrant and give it a while to work; tap the joint with a hammer to break the deposits free; work with the wrenches close together; turn in a tightening direction slightly before trying to loosen---but I don't know how to not leave jaw marks on the steel. It doesn't matter whether I'm replacing some of the pipes and fittings of an existing system, or starting at the beginning---I always leave pretty deep scratches on the pipes from the wrenches. Is it possible to avoid this?
Stan
Stan