Claw foot wrenches. At least I think tha tis what there call

old

Well-known Member
So I have been thinking about buy some of those wrenches you use on a socket wrench but since I have never hand any or used them are they really that good?? I could see using them in tight places but unsure how well they would work
 
I've never heard them called claw foot, always crows foot. That aside, the only real answer to your question about how good they are, is to say, it depends on whether you need one, and whether it works where you need it to.

In other words, when you need one, noting else will do the job. When there is something else that will work better, like a regular wrench, your better using it....

Mine most often get used to take hydraulic lines loose when they are on a valve block, etc. and room to work a standard wrench is nonexistent, or at a premium.
 
I've only used them a few times to get to a flare nut that was otherwise inaccessible. They come in two styles: Open end wrench and 12 point flare nut wrench. If you're only going to get one style, the flare nut style is (IMO) the more useful one. And yes, they're called crowfoot wrenches. (Maybe there's such a thing as a clawfoot wrench for taking the feet off a clawfoot bathtub, but I've never seen one.)

In a pinch, a mechanic will sometimes make a crowfoot wrench from an old open end wrench.
 
I"ve always known them as crowfoot wrenches...I have a set of them. A similar wrench, better on really tight fittings, is a butterfly wrench. But hard to find them. They are hinged, and wrap around all six sides of the fitting. Good on multiple hyd fittings, like on a backhoe. google them for pics.
 
Crow foot wrenches, when you need one and don't have one you can be pretty much screwed.
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I've had a set for about 30 years and used one once to remove a bolt in the belly of an 8N to enable me to remove the PTO shifter.

It was just what I needed and well worth the free price from J.C Whitney at the time.

I've never had the need to use any of them since.

Dean
 
Another variation on the same principal .

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Makes checking the torque on a head much easier . This one is made by Sidchrome Australia , usually used on early Holden motor cars but works equally well on my 1957 Ferguson Fe35 and 1952 TEA20 .

Britool , England also made a version similar to a crow's foot but with a ring end .
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Turn the crowfoot 90 degrees to the wrench and you'll be in the ballpark torque wise. If you let it point forward off the end of your torquewrench you will end up with more torque than you want and if it turns back toward your hand you will end up with less.
 
They will get you out of some situations that are impossible with ordinary (un-modified ordinary) wrenches. I have both the flare and open end versions and both have their uses.

I had to drag mine out to change hydraulic hoses on a zero turn mower a week ago. Nothing else in my box would reach in under the gas tank and turn the fitting. I had to use the open end version as the crimp on the hose was so large the flare nut version wouldn't go on.
 
FWIW (nothing) Ive heard them called CROWS FOOT and don't own any, but there have been a few times I wished I had grrrrrrrrrr

John T
 
I have a set now that had ben lost in a roll-around tool box I bought at a sale. Before I had them I made one to loosen the distributor clamp on my 63 Ford car with a small V8 engine that had the distributor in front with the clamp screw on the back side of the distributor.
 
(quoted from post at 16:03:02 07/16/16) Using crows foot with torque wrench. Any thoughts?

You need to do some calculating. There is a chart somewhere, but basically using a crow's foot on a torque wrench will change the actual torque being applied. The torque wrench is no longer accurate, but with a little math it will be.
 
old:

Crows Foot wrenches are made for working in tight places, and they work great. If you need one and don't have 'em, you're S.O.L. !

A classic example: When I worked in the Mines, I had a couple of occasions to change out the Air Compressor on a Deutz Diesel engine in our Scoop-Trams. The back, inside, flange bolt was in a recessed pocket under the body of the Compressor and could ONLY be accessed at the bottom of a 2" diameter, 8" deep hole. The space was so limited that you could only turn the bolt one flat at a time; and when you finally got the bolt loose, you had to use a Magnet on a telescopic extension to remove it from that deep pocket. When putting on the new Compressor that was ALWAYS the first bolt you installed, otherwise it would be very difficult to get the bolt holes aligned without buggering-up the gasket.

Another excellent use for Crows Feet are on Hydraulic Couplings on Bulkhead Fittings in the center articulation area of machinery.


Doc :>)
 
Old there are many types of them some like the guys pictured. I have quite a few and as others said not used to often. I would advise you to buy a QUALITY SET lick craftsman snap on cornwell mac etc. Also there are angle/hydraulic wrenches and weather head sockets for some uses. AND I always use them on Deere 2 bangers for the oil lines in the engine case!!
 
When is one of those times that these things are so valuable?

I seen these in tool catalogs for decades, but can't figure how they'd work for anything except fishing sinkers. You get about three clicks of the ratchet before you're bound up against the protruding bolt. If you can't get an open-ended wrench into a space, you sure aren't going to get one of those with a big fat ratchet head stacked on top in there... So, how do they work?
 
Use them and dogbones often on aircraft. Hard to get bolts that have a torque spec and just turn 90/to torque wrench. Sometimes its easier to use in loosening setting so you can fit the torque wrench in a tight spot.
 

So you and old are the ones that have been rounding off all the flare nuts. :roll:

You would need a little common knowledge to understand how to use them...

One of the best tips I have found when using a crows-foot is when you get a tuff one are in a hard place to get to use a impact and rattle it to break it loose...

If you have ever changed the fuel filter on a toyota are honda EFI engine a crows foot will make you a believer. Those line nuts come off hard even once you rattle it loose.. They go back on just as hard :twisted:
 

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