How to Choose the Right Wrench

There are so many different kinds of wrenches on the market. It can be tricky and overwhelming to find the right one. But you don’t have to worry about it anymore after reading this guide. We are here to help you learn how to choose the right wrench for the job.

Open-Ended Wrenches

An open-ended wrench is probably the most useful tool in your tool kit. It is usually the quickest and easiest to use. It has a U-shaped opening that grips two opposite faces of the bolt or nut and also has flat jaws that slide around the heads of nuts and bolts and are levered for loosening or tightening. Open-ended wrenches are often double-ended, with a different sized opening at each end. The ends are generally oriented at an angle of around 15 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the handle. This allows a greater range of movement in enclosed spaces by flipping the wrench over. Open-ended wrenches grip the bolt from the side. This is useful for working under the hood of a car or to hold a nut in place while ratcheting a bolt.

Combination Wrenches

A combination wrench is a double-ended tool which has an open-ended jaw at one end and a boxed end or ring spanner of the same size on the other end. Both ends generally fit the same size of bolt.

Adjustable Wrenches

Also known as crescent wrenches. It is the most common type of wrench. An adjustable wrench accommodates nuts and bolts of various sizes. It’s designed to move in only one direction, which prevents putting too much stress on the screw that sits just below the head of the wrench. An adjustable wrench’s head is offset a little, which helps when loosening or tightening. The gripping faces of the jaw are displaced to a 15-degree angle that is relative to the tool’s handle. This helps the wrench’s ability to be used in tight spaces.

Socket Wrenches

A socket wrench is good for working on automobiles and other machinery. These wrenches come in two types: those with deep sockets for bigger bolts and those with shallow sockets for smaller bolts. Both can tighten nuts in tight spaces. Socket wrenches work just like the ring end of a wrench, but the ratchet handle makes the operation much faster.

Ratcheting Box Wrenches

Ratcheting can be reversed by flipping the wrench over, or by activating a reversing lever. This type combines the compact design of a box wrench, with the utility and quickness of use of a ratchet wrench.

Rubber gloves are also referred to as latex gloves, can be purchased at home improvement centers and hardware stores. Wearing rubber gloves for housekeeping and kitchen chores can protect your hands and nails from harsh chemicals, hot water and things that you just don’t want to touch. While they are relatively cheap to replace, it’s always nice to be able to keep a pair of good quality gloves lasting long enough. So what should you do to ensure your rubber gloves are kept in good condition for as long as possible? What are some simple ways in terms of how to clean your rubber gloves and keep the inside fresh and sanitized?

1) Wash the outside of the gloves with mild liquid detergent and warm water thoroughly to remove dirt.

The first thing you have to do after using the gloves is to wash them. The very substances you want to keep away from your hands are all over the outside of your gloves. So take a few minutes at the end of a chore to rinse them thoroughly. Remember, the best way to wash your gloves is to treat them like your own hands. Dish soap or hand soap is fine to rinse the gloves. Warm water can kill more germs, dirt, and grease. You can wash the gloves while you are still wearing them, and avoid water and residue getting on your hands. Let them dry completely. It might be wise to turn them inside out after the outside has dried, allowing both sides to dry out.

2) Protect Your Rubber Gloves at Storage

Protect your gloves from heat and sunlight when they are being stored. Avoid putting them near windows with strong sunlight streams or in a hot storage room, unless you want your gloves to turn into a melted mess. Gloves should also be protected from being punctured, so don’t store them with any knives, shears, or other pointy objects. Even the smallest punctured hole in your gloves can give you a wet surprise the next time you wash dishes.

3) Don’t use the same pair of gloves for Kitchen and Bathroom cleaning

It does not sound like a good idea to wash your dishes with the gloves you wear when you scrub the toilet. You can choose another pair of gloves with a different color for each chore, or even use disposable gloves for some chores. For example, some people use rubber gloves for washing dishes in the kitchen but use disposable gloves for chores like the bathroom. Find what works best for you. Store each pair conveniently where you will be doing the task. If you have multiple bathrooms, you can even store a pair in each one. Or, store the gloves with the cleaning supplies separate for each task, perhaps in a small carrying case.
Last but not least, always remember to put on gloves when you are doing household chores. This extra step can help you protect and maintain your hand, nails, and skin. In the long run, not having to deal with dry skin and cracked nails is certainly time-saving.

So have you learned how to clean your rubber gloves? If so, now is the time to clean them. Don’t forget to email us if you are looking for high-quality rubber gloves.

Knowing the scale, especially length is crucial when it comes to woodworking, interior designing, construction, craft, and carpentry, etc. And yet, some will panic when using a tape measure because they don’t know how to read the scale on the tool.

How to read a tape measure?

Typically, the scale of a tape measure consists of inches and centimeters (metric). Knowing the scales and different units is key in terms of how to read a tape measure. On most tapes, the inch scale is printed on top, and the metric scale is at the bottom. To read the inches scale, the first thing you need to know is that they are split up into small divisions. The smallest mark represents 1/32 of an inch. And it goes all the way up to 1/16 inch, 1/8 inch, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, 1 inch and finally 1 foot. The lines go from smaller to bigger as well. If you can, try to remember the lines because it can help you find each measurement quickly.
You can also find smaller red markings after 1 foot which basically saying 1 foot 1 inch and 1 foot 2 inches and so on.

For metric scale, each centimeter has 10 divisions which represent millimeters. And every 10 centimeters are marked by red color which will help users to locate the measurement more easily.

16-inches mark

A tape measure usually has a special mark every 16 inches (32 inches, 48 inches…etc.) because the wall studs are typically 16 inches apart from each other. This special mark will make it more convenient to mark off wall studs. However, if you are not dealing with wall studs or joists, you can ignore this mark.

Small black diamonds

In most tape measures, one can find small black diamonds on the inch scale of the tape at 19.2 inches. And these marks will appear again for every 19.2 inches. In other words, the first black diamond is at 19.2” and after that, they appear at 38.4”, 57.6”, 76.8” and 96”, or 8-feet. They are for truss layouts for 8-foot sheet goods, therefore they are also known as the “black truss” markings, which provide a quick visual for the tape user and speed up the measuring process.
If you divide 5 into 96 inches (8 feet) gives 19.2 inches, which yields five trusses per sheet. The black diamonds on the tape measure represent that spacing.