# Crescent/adjustable/flat jaw wrenches



## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

I got this sweet new Trimo 21" wrench in the mail today. I have wanted one of these for a long time. Got this from the ebay for 50$ including shipping. I bought one of these 6 months ago and it got stolen in the mail, I got a refund at least.


This thing is just about as big as a 24" pipe wrench and heavier.


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## powellmatthew76 (Sep 11, 2019)

skoronesa said:


> I got this sweet new Trimo 21" wrench in the mail today. I have wanted one of these for a long time. Got this from the ebay for 50$ including shipping. I bought one of these 6 months ago and it got stolen in the mail, I got a refund at least.
> 
> 
> This thing is just about as big as a 24" pipe wrench and heavier.


A fellow coworker goes everywhere with his trimo. Never had one though. 

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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

What amazes me is you took the picture on your glass stove in the kitchen...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

powellmatthew76 said:


> A fellow coworker goes everywhere with his trimo. Never had one though.


I fell in love with it the moment I opened it. I oiled it and then punched my name on it with a very nice set made in fall river mass and of a similar vintage as the wrench.



Tango said:


> What amazes me is you took the picture on your glass stove in the kitchen...


SSHHHH...... Don't tell my wife! I wanted the stove top to act as a good size reference. The lighting was good too. :biggrin:


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## powellmatthew76 (Sep 11, 2019)

skoronesa said:


> I fell in love with it the moment I opened it. I oiled it and then punched my name on it with a very nice set made in fall river mass and of a similar vintage as the wrench.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice! !

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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

Nice wrench! I got mine off eBay awhile back also. Pat’d 12-19-11. Wife and daughter said my pics were boring...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

89plumbum said:


> Nice wrench! I got mine off eBay awhile back also. Pat’d 12-19-11. Wife and daughter said my pics were boring...



That's hilaious. Googly eyes do make most things better. I would like the smaller sizes but don't really need them. I have up to a 15" crescent wrench. The upper jaw on this new wrench is almost as big as my hammer and even heavier. I actually used it to punch the letters onto the body!










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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Awesome I've been wanting smooth jaw wrench like that forever... 

I love pulling out the vintage tools... co-workers love them too..


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## powellmatthew76 (Sep 11, 2019)

Awwww ****!









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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

89plumbum said:


> Nice wrench! I got mine off eBay awhile back also. Pat’d 12-19-11. Wife and daughter said my pics were boring...


Your nail polish matches it too.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> I got this sweet new Trimo 21" wrench in the mail today. I have wanted one of these for a long time. Got this from the ebay for 50$ including shipping. I bought one of these 6 months ago and it got stolen in the mail, I got a refund at least.
> 
> 
> This thing is just about as big as a 24" pipe wrench and heavier.



so what exactly in plumbing do you use it for?


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## powellmatthew76 (Sep 11, 2019)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> so what exactly in plumbing do you use it for?


It's a new play pretty 

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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> so what exactly in plumbing do you use it for?


Chrome tail pieces, commercial toilet with chrome flush valves, or free standing tubs...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> so what exactly in plumbing do you use it for?





Well, I use my 15" crescent for holding prv's/regulators and it isn't always quite big enough. Sometimes hex unions too. 



Are you implying I need a reason to buy nice tools? This thing is mint. Even still has the facing marks on the jaws. Doesn't even appear to have been used as a hammer more than once.


If you think buying nice tools I won't use is wrong, than you agree with my wife, shh don't tell her.









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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Chrome tail pieces, commercial toilet with chrome flush valves, or free standing tubs...




It's really too big for any of those. It's basically equivalent to a 24" pipe wrench.










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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> It's really too big for any of those. It's basically equivalent to a 24" pipe wrench.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It didn't seem that big in the picture, so it's only good for 2" black pipe unions???


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

goeswiththeflow said:


> 89plumbum said:
> 
> 
> > Nice wrench! I got mine off eBay awhile back also. Pat’d 12-19-11. Wife and daughter said my pics were boring...
> ...


I try, lol


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> Well, I use my 15" crescent for holding prv's/regulators and it isn't always quite big enough. Sometimes hex unions too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Im a tool hound and have a ton of tools....buy anything your heart desires ...if you got the dough then dont let it go....


im just asking myself when would I use that tool....I havent had the need for it yet, so I figured you do some specialized something that you would get use from it...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> It didn't seem that big in the picture, so it's only good for 2" black pipe unions???





No, I'd grab it for 1-1/4" too. Ball valves have flats too ya know ;0








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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

the standard wrench with teeth has a much wider range of use, so to take up room on the truck with something you may use once in a while...eh, I say no...but to buy and have it because you want it and may use it around the house..sure why not...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> the standard wrench with teeth has a much wider range of use, so to take up room on the truck with something you may use once in a while...eh, I say no...but to buy and have it because you want it and may use it around the house..sure why not...





Maybe it's just the way I move my hands but sometimes the pipe wrench just seems to not let go and you have to struggle each time to get it off and readjust it. I think most of it is the play in the jaw, it can swing left/right a lot in addition to foward back. Sometimes I find a flat jaw much easier to use.


















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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> Maybe it's just the way I move my hands but sometimes the pipe wrench just seems to not let go and you have to struggle each time to get it off and readjust it. I think most of it is the play in the jaw, it can swing left/right a lot in addition to foward back. Sometimes I find a flat jaw much easier to use.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Squeeze the cogs below the adjustment wheel, this will make the pipe wrench release it's grip.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Squeeze the cogs below the adjustment wheel, this will make the pipe wrench release it's grip.





I get what you're saying and my first thought is thanks, I know how to use a pipe wrench, moving the jaw back by squeezing the tail of the upper jaw to the body is a common movement.


My second thought is what the heck are you calling cogs? To most americans a cog is the same as a gear or sprocket. It's a circle(sometimes oval) with teeth on it. Are you calling the teeth cogs?




Is french your first language or english? Both?















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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> I get what you're saying and my first thought is thanks, I know how to use a pipe wrench, moving the jaw back by squeezing the tail of the upper jaw to the body is a common movement.
> 
> 
> My second thought is what the heck are you calling cogs? To most americans a cog is the same as a gear or sprocket. It's a circle(sometimes oval) with teeth on it. Are you calling the teeth cogs?
> ...


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*A cog is a tooth of a gear or cogwheel or the gear itself.*

I would say teeth(hook jaw based on the net) are those that hang onto the pipe. Cogs would be the threaded shank, like you said, round/circle with teeth.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> Is french your first language or english? Both?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The only time I use English is here and maybe once every 3 months at a customer's house, restaurant or in a store. Oui Oui. :wink:

I went to an English school but all the kids except a few were all French, the teachers would go nuts as we spoke French all the time in and out of classes . :vs_laugh: Some of us would get caught by teachers who were peeved and received disciplinary homework. Our parents sent us there to learn a secondary language...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> *A cog is a tooth of a gear or cogwheel or the gear itself.*
> 
> I would say teeth(hook jaw based on the net) are those that hang onto the pipe. Cogs would be the threaded shank, like you said, round/circle with teeth.



Your definition says it can be the whole gear or just the teeth on the gear. I have never heard cog refer only to the teeth on the gear. Really cog is regarded as an outdated/unused word in my world.


Yes the jaws have teeth that grip the pipe but gears also have teeth. Technically the shank of the jaw is not a gear but a bolt. This means it doesn't have teeth or cogs on the shank but threads. They may be interrupted threads but they are still threads and that is why they have an adjustment NUT. 



Short answer, a pipe wrench has no gear or cog, only an interrupted helical screw and a nut.






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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> Your definition says it can be the whole gear or just the teeth on the gear. I have never heard cog refer only to the teeth on the gear. Really cog is regarded as an outdated/unused word in my world.
> 
> 
> Yes the jaws have teeth that grip the pipe but gears also have teeth. Technically the shank of the jaw is not a gear but a bolt. This means it doesn't have teeth or cogs on the shank but threads. They may be interrupted threads but they are still threads and that is why they have an adjustment NUT.
> ...


When is the written exam on this? :vs_laugh:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> *A cog is a tooth of a gear or cogwheel or the gear itself.*
> 
> I would say teeth(hook jaw based on the net) are those that hang onto the pipe. Cogs would be the threaded shank, like you said, round/circle with teeth.



heres a better definition...a bar or wheel...













_noun_
noun: *cog*; plural noun: *cogs*




a wheel or bar with a series of projections on its edge, which transfers motion by engaging with projections on another wheel or bar.




each of the projections on a cog.









Phrases
a cog in the machine — a small or insignificant member of a larger organization or system."copywriters have been seen as just a cog in the big advertising machine"




Origin


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Seems we have a few interpreters in this group, maybe you guys could become lawyers, they say about lawyers it's the way you interpret things. :wink:


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## V.A Hydro-ooter (Oct 14, 2018)

Tango said:


> Seems we have a few interpreters in this group, maybe you guys could become lawyers, they say about lawyers it's the way you interpret things. <img src="http://www.plumbingzone.com/images/smilies/wink.png" border="0" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" />


They might even be able to be religious scholars seeing as how that saying applies to those holy books as well, haha.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

V.A Hydro-ooter said:


> They might even be able to be religious scholars seeing as how that saying applies to those holy books as well, haha.


YES! Ancient Aliens theory...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> Seems we have a few interpreters in this group, maybe you guys could become lawyers, they say about lawyers it's the way you interpret things. :wink:


if lawyers it would be how you WANT to interpret it..for your benefit.....not what it was meant to be...:vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

Ridgid still makes jawless wrenches.
We use this one.
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/hex-wrenches
This one is pretty much identical to your Trimo.
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/spud-wrench


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Plumbus said:


> Ridgid still makes jawless wrenches.
> We use this one.
> https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/hex-wrenches
> This one is pretty much identical to your Trimo.
> https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/spud-wrench





I have the ridgid hex wrench. Both of those are half the size of my trimo. 



Also, my trimo is special, almost as special as me :laugh:








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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

My antique spud wrench, early 1900's small an has a wide jaw. Love it


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

canuck92 said:


> My antique spud wrench, early 1900's small an has a wide jaw. Love it





I have like 7+ of those. That is likely post ww2. They are usually called "auto" wrenches because for included them in tool kits with their model A, T, etc, vehicles. The ford versions have a squareish nub off the tail for unscrewing oil plugs or something.










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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> canuck92 said:
> 
> 
> > My antique spud wrench, early 1900's small an has a wide jaw. Love it
> ...


Cool, learn somthin new everyday, picked it up last year for 5 bucks


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> I have like 7+ of those. That is likely post ww2. They are usually called "auto" wrenches because for included them in tool kits with their model A, T, etc, vehicles. The ford versions have a squareish nub off the tail for unscrewing oil plugs or something.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



same here, over the years I have just ended up with a bucket full of those type wrenches, I cant remember the last time using them for anything..
its strange to see the obsoletion of tools as time goes by, how many old plumbing tools used 50, 60 or 80 years ago are still used now..or if we have ever seen what they even looked like...and what will be the next tool to go extinct???


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> skoronesa said:
> 
> 
> > I have like 7+ of those. That is likely post ww2. They are usually called "auto" wrenches because for included them in tool kits with their model A, T, etc, vehicles. The ford versions have a squareish nub off the tail for unscrewing oil plugs or something.
> ...


The next tool to go extinct will be a copper cutter lol


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

canuck92 said:


> The next tool to go extinct will be a copper cutter lol







Hardly, We still plumb some houses in copper. Baseboard is done in copper a lot too. So many houses have copper and while it can be a pain sometimes not to burn a house down, when a fitting in a bad spot leaks sometimes you can't fit press or crimp tools in that space where a torch will fit without opening more wall.





I think the torch would go before the cutter. Propress breathed new life into copper pipe and that copper pipe will get repaired at times with a torch because of space constraints. Also, even when we do jobs in propress there are some joints we sweat because they have almost no nipple between fittings and if one joint leaked we would have to cut out a bunch of fittings.










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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> same here, over the years I have just ended up with a bucket full of those type wrenches, I cant remember the last time using them for anything..
> its strange to see the obsoletion of tools as time goes by, how many old plumbing tools used 50, 60 or 80 years ago are still used now..or if we have ever seen what they even looked like...and what will be the next tool to go extinct???





I could think of one tool that should go extinct.....lolz jk man :biggrin:


Those wrenches are worth a bit, at least on ebay $10+shipping. In good shape for a given size they're worth more than a new crescent wrench. I like them. I don't think they're obsolete, they are usually thinner than a crescent wrench so they fit in more spaces. They also open wider. Sometimes that 90 degree jaw is a life saver.


Like an E pipe wrench, sometimes that different angle is what you need.












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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> I could think of one tool that should go extinct.....lolz jk man :biggrin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



gee, dont be so hard on yourself....:vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> I could think of one tool that should go extinct.....lolz jk man :biggrin:
> 
> 
> Those wrenches are worth a bit, at least on ebay $10+shipping. In good shape for a given size they're worth more than a new crescent wrench. I like them. I don't think they're obsolete, they are usually thinner than a crescent wrench so they fit in more spaces. They also open wider. Sometimes that 90 degree jaw is a life saver.
> ...


ill make you a package deal on them..lol...I havent come across anything i couldnt get apart with a standard stillson wrench....and crescents go pretty small if needed...and large...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> ill make you a package deal on them..lol...I havent come across anything i couldnt get apart with a standard stillson wrench....and crescents go pretty small if needed...and large...





Thanks but I am good for now, I have like 7 of those auto wrenches scattered around.


Like I said, the angled head of an E wrench is very rarely needed but when it is it can save you a bit of work. The most common example is exposed pipe run tight to a corner. Sometimes you can't fit the upper jaw between the pipe and the wall or if you can it's a smaller wrench than you would like. Around here galv/black steam/water/gas pipe is often run in the corner in older homes that have lots of plaster. It was easier for them to do that before drywall.



With the addition of my new trimo my pipe wrench/pry bar/cheater box is full so the next heavy metal thing I buy for the work van will be replacing something.


Today I actually used the trimo on a prv today. I added a new main valve, removed a galv nipple, added a 3/4x1/2 tee for a new line I ran to a new hosebibb I added.


Check out the sweet line out to the shed I think? That's a green garden hose on an insert adapter coming from the right. It attaches to a boiler drain on a cold line.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

I've been looking for a smooth jaw wrench like those old style dont come across them much here... my grandfather had all those tools sadly...

I was younger and they gave all those tools to my cousins need them nearly as much as I do..


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Venomthirst said:


> I've been looking for a smooth jaw wrench like those old style dont come across them much here... my grandfather had all those tools sadly...
> 
> I was younger and they gave all those tools to my cousins need them nearly as much as I do..





There's another 21" on ebay but the guy wants 99$. Looks much older than mine, has a slight bend to the neck, prolly isn't as good steel.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/153449183987


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> What amazes me is you took the picture on your glass stove in the kitchen...



New years eve the glass cooktop cracked. We have a vintage stove in sweet shape from 1975 now. 40$ at the thrift shop. We love it.


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

Our old stove was 42 years old, but still worked perfectly fine, but my wife insisted that it didn't cook right. It was the operator, she's never been a good cook. I finally relented even though I hate replacing something that still works perfectly fine. I don't care if it was 1970s avocado green. She insisted on a glass cook top. Hate them, they stain and scratch, now I have to work gingerly around it for fear of cracking it. Supposedly it needs a special cleaner too. I'm all for new technology if it makes my life easier, not more difficult.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

goeswiththeflow said:


> Our old stove was 42 years old, but still worked perfectly fine, but my wife insisted that it didn't cook right. It was the operator, she's never been a good cook. I finally relented even though I hate replacing something that still works perfectly fine. I don't care if it was 1970s avocado green. She insisted on a glass cook top. Hate them, they stain and scratch, now I have to work gingerly around it for fear of cracking it. Supposedly it needs a special cleaner too. I'm all for new technology if it makes my life easier, not more difficult.


My wife is a great cook, but most of the good cooks I know are men. Maybe you should find one of them since you seem to be constantly disappointed with your wife. Not sure I've seen you type one good comment about her.

I wish I was gay. No kids and someone to go hunting with!


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

goeswiththeflow said:


> Our old stove was 42 years old, but still worked perfectly fine, but my wife insisted that it didn't cook right. It was the operator, she's never been a good cook. I finally relented even though I hate replacing something that still works perfectly fine. I don't care if it was 1970s avocado green. She insisted on a glass cook top. Hate them, they stain and scratch, now I have to work gingerly around it for fear of cracking it. Supposedly it needs a special cleaner too. I'm all for new technology if it makes my life easier, not more difficult.



Weiman glass top cleaner using paper towels. In combination with a painter's razor blade to scrape the residue. Don't use anything else to scrub the glass top. I clean it like this every 2 weeks and looks near mint.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

Tango said:


> Weiman glass top cleaner using paper towels. In combination with a painter's razor blade to scrape the residue. Don't use anything else to scrub the glass top. I clean it like this every 2 weeks and looks near mint.


That’s how I clean my glass top gas stove top, 409 and a razor blade


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

The neighbor was cleaning out his garage and asked if I needed some pipe wrenches. A couple Ridgids, a craftsman, and a Stillson


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> My wife is a great cook, but most of the good cooks I know are men. Maybe you should find one of them since you seem to be constantly disappointed with your wife. Not sure I've seen you type one good comment about her.
> 
> I wish I was gay. No kids and someone to go hunting with!


I'm beginning to see why that other guy doesn't like you.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

goeswiththeflow said:


> I'm beginning to see why that other guy doesn't like you.


Schit? He loves me, we constantly break balls over politics. We're just one big happy family here XOXOXOXO


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

Yeah, the Adams Family. Or the Manson Family? No,..... All In The Family.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

goeswiththeflow said:


> Yeah, the Adams Family. Or the Manson Family? No,..... All In The Family.


Are you calling me Edith? I do like those dresses....lolz


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

No, Meathead, the resident liberal.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

goeswiththeflow said:


> No, Meathead, the resident liberal.


Well that won't work, I am vehemently Pro-Semiautomatic firearms. I also believe we should have pursued vietnam more/differently. I am pretty right of center on immigration, agreeing with most of what trump did except most of the physical wall. And I think we need to aggressively police the welfare systems.


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## goeswiththeflow (Feb 24, 2018)

Wow, who knew? You go to such extremes just to piss schitt off that I had a completely different impression.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

goeswiththeflow said:


> Wow, who knew? You go to such extremes just to piss schitt off that I had a completely different impression.


I don't think you're reading into our relationship very well. With how little you're on here you've only read a fraction of our conversations.

We like political debate, we're not going to constantly post "Oh yes, I agree", that would be boring, so of course we only respond to each other when it's a critique. Disagreeing with someone doesn't mean you don't like them.


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## Sstratton6175 (Jan 10, 2021)

canuck92 said:


> My antique spud wrench, early 1900's small an has a wide jaw. Love it


I think just about every man likes ‘em small with a wide jaw.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> so what exactly in plumbing do you use it for?


I've been fixing a lot of campbell yard hydrants lately and it's perfect for the square bodies. Doesn't put teeth marks in the paint. I only carry one 24" pipe wrench.


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