Socket Wrench Use for the Dummy Mechanic

What lever, Cameron?

We freely admit that our staffers find some of the questions "answered" by the contributors at eHow.com (and the niches to which Leaf Group has moved that content) are just plain stupid. What's worse, however, is that at least some of the philosophy and journalism majors DMS¹ paid to write their content were just as clueless as the people who asked the question. take, for instance, Cameron Easey, who tried to answer the question, "How to Loosen a Nut with a Socket Wrench." You can find it at niche site OurPastimes.com.

This being eHow, Easey was required to dump out 300 or so words in three steps plus an introduction. Cameron managed to stretch the answer to five "steps" and 214 words. In doing so, Cameron demonstrated that he could read an owner's manual, but that he had limited exposure to the tool. Why do we say that? Here are a couple of reasons, plucked from Easey's post:

• "Match the opening on the socket with the drive on the wrench. These openings are typically 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch."– Half-inch drive sets are a lot less common than the size you omitted, Cameron: think ¼ inch.
• "Set the lever on the handle to 'Loosen' by positioning it to the left."– Just an FYI, Cameron, only teardrop ratchets have a "lever on the handle." To begin with, it's not on the handle, it's on the head. FWIW, round head ratchets have a bar or other fixture on the back to change directions, not a toggle.
• "Pull the handle counterclockwise to loosen the nut" – We aren't that sure "pull" is the correct word. Perhaps "turn the nut" instead of "pull the handle"?
• "...spray the... nut with lubricating spray..." – We know you mean WD-40, Cameron, but in reality you should use penetrating oil.

While we're at it, Cameron, did you ever notice that socket sets often come with a breaker bar handle as well as a ratchet? No? Maybe you should look into that some times... Based on the mistakes in and omissions from his answer, we suspect that Cameron had limited exposure to socket wrenches before attempting to get rich quick at eHow. Perhaps his most glaring omission is any mention of using a second socket, an open-end or box wrench, or even pliers (ptui!) to hold the head of a bolt while trying to loosen a stuck nut. That omission is all we needed to know that Easey is prime Dumbass of the Day material.

¹ Demand Media Studios, the parent company of eHow: you can't spell "dumbass" without "DMS"!

copyright © 2018-2021 scmrak

SE - HAND TOOLS