Can I cut and weld two wrenches to make a longer one?

[sixdogs]

I need to replace 220 slit seeder bolts that are in an awkward position with tight range of wrench motion. plus I need to get them on pretty tight. After doing a few, I learned a longer 11/16" wrench would save hours of effort plus do a better job. There are longer wrenches sold but I still need a little more. So, can I get two cheapies, cut in half and weld the two longer pieces together? The question is; will the weld hold or will the heat weaken the wrench or what else will go wrong?

It seems the "black oxide" type wrench will weld better because there is no chrome to grind off but I'm not sure what black oxide is. Basically I need a double ended wrench 2" longer than the 14 5/8" longest one I can find. My plan is to cut in half, grind a "V" at the edges to be joined and turn the power up on wire feed. any comments or advice welcome. I'm an advanced beginner with a Lincoln MP210.

 

[OldMasterTech]

I did exactly this to a 13/16 made in China wrench, now the open end is fine but the box end close to the weld is no longer 13/16. I welded right at the box so if you keep back a bit or provide a heat sink you should be OK.

 

[Egon]

Cut the wrench in half and just slip a pipe over the end.

 

[sixdogs]

Cut the wrench in half and just slip a pipe over the end.

No room. It's real tight with 2 1/2" between blades that are maybe 6" long.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Sure, do it. Ive done that kind of thing as needed for 30 years. Watched my father do it as a kid, make that 'one-off, just for this situation, needs to be exactly this' tool modification. Be it bending an 'S' curve in the shank to clear an obstacle to extending as you speak of, to simply cutting off a 10mm wrench to a stubby 2" long.... Do what you gotta do to make work easier.

Your welding plan sounds good, leave as much of the original wrench as possible, so the heat wont effect the temper of the box end/open end you need. Go for it, good luck. Let us know how well it worked.

Edit: cut the ends to be welded together at an angle, 45 ° or more, not just at 90 ° to the body of the wrench as is ones first impulse, so as to increse your lenth of weld. Then grind your v bevel to lay weld in.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I broke the jaws on a cheap china made open end wrench, welded it back together and have been using it many times since. If one can weld the jaw back on a wrench, I would think no problem welding the handle extension on it. I used 7018 to weld my wrench, but a MIG with 70 grade wire should work also.
I don't know that I would turn up the current any more than for normal welding though. As long as it is fusing the two pieces together, there is really no need to run it "hot or Hotter" than for normal welding, if fact, it might be detrimental to the weld to increase the welding heat input.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I do this kind of stuff all the time to make wrenches for special jobs. I wouldn't even use two wrenches for the job you're describing. Cut your wrench as described above and add a piece of 3/16 x 1 or 1/4 x 1 flat bar as long as you need it to be. If you don't need the open end then throw it an a box to be saved for some other custom job at some point in time.

Do you even need to cut up a flat wrench? I have a bunch of cheap sockets that I've collected over the years. Weld one onto the end of a flat bar as described in the above paragraph and there you go. If a socket is too long then just shorten it a bit before welding.

Edit: I'm not totally sure I have the right picture but I would make two wrenched for the job. One as described above and the second being a cheap ratcheting style stubby wrench with a hole drilled into the shank or the open end. Bolt a flat bar onto that leaving it loose enough to swivel and just use the flat bar to operate the ratcheting flat wrench to quickly turn in the bolt. Then use the first wrench to tighten it to the final torque.

Hopefully I described s clear enough word picture.

 

[yomax4]

Yes, I have an assortment of home made wrenches. Some cut and extended or heated and twisted and some re-sized with a grinder. I quenched them in oil for temper buy I doubt I would have needed to.

 

[square1]

In a similar situation where strength was a concern I welded plates of similar thickness, but narrower width, down the length on each side of the original piece after welding & grinding the original. This was after welding only the original pieces failed while attempting to do the work. at a minimum I'd cut the wrenches on a angle instead of straight across to provide more area to be welded.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I need to replace 220 slit seeder bolts that are in an awkward position with tight range of wrench motion. plus I need to get them on pretty tight. After doing a few, I learned a longer 11/16" wrench would save hours of effort plus do a better job. There are longer wrenches sold but I still need a little more. So, can I get two cheapies, cut in half and weld the two longer pieces together? The question is; will the weld hold or will the heat weaken the wrench or what else will go wrong?

You must not have needed the wrench too bad, because if you did, you would have made one in the time it took to post here, and then came here after and told us how it worked! lol

SR