Saw a guy at a swap meet last Sunday using a crescent wrench on a brake line flaring nut

He stripped the nut in about 3 seconds flat and then just stood there cussing. Anyone else run into DIYers using the wrong tools and have to bite your tongue?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper91413h ago

See this everywhere now people using the wrong tool and getting mad at the tool instead of themselves.

hayden_craig951d ago

I mean, a crescent wrench on a brake line flaring nut? That's like using a hammer to open a can of soda. I'm honestly shocked he didn't strip it on the first try. Those nuts are so soft and finicky, you need a line wrench that actually grabs the flats. I'd have probably just stood there staring with my mouth open for a minute before I could even say anything. It's rough watching someone learn that lesson the hard way on something that critical.

the_susan23h ago

I gotta agree with @hayden_craig95 on this one (and I say that as someone who’s done my share of dumb stuff in a garage). I once tried to use a pair of pliers on a bleeder screw because my flare nut wrench was missing (rookie move, I know). Stripped it clean, then spent an hour with a vice grip crying into a beer. Watching that guy at the swap meet must have been like looking in a mirror from five years ago, honestly. Those little flaring nuts are way too soft for a crescent wrench to grab right, especially if you’re cranking on them like a gorilla. Hope he had a backup plan or a really good extractor set, because that nut is toast now.