Tightening Tools

Screwdrivers
• There are different types
of screwdrivers (manual
or powered) that are
used for screwing and
unscrewing (inserting or
removing) screws.
Parts of a Standard Screwdriver
 Common Screwdrivers
Slotted Screwdriver
Also known as: flat blade, flat head, straight
• Most popular
• Chisel-shaped blade
 Common Screwdrivers
Phillips Screwdriver
Also known as: cross head
• Most preferred type of screwdriver
• designed to cam out
• Angled tip
 Common Screwdrivers
Torx Screwdriver
Also known as: Torx plus version, Torx security version, star
• Originally used for security functions
• Popular in commercial fields
• Drives resemble a rounded off star or flower
 Common Screwdrivers
Hex Screwdriver
Also known as: Allen wrench, hex key, hexagon, security hex version

• Hexagonal-shaped tip
• Driving bolts and screws with a hexagonal
socket
 Common Screwdrivers
Robertson Screwdriver
Also known as: square head
• least common of the common screwdrivers 
• highest torque tolerance
• Square/box type
 Other Types of Screwdrivers
Clutch Head
Also known as: bow tie
• slots resemble a bow-tie 
• mostly find these screwdrivers in use throughout the automotive industry

Frearson
Also known as: Reed and Prince
• angle of the tip is closer to a 45 degree
• sharp point
• higher torque than a Phillips 
 Other Types of Screwdrivers
JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard)
• cruciform similar to Phillips but are designed to
resist camming out 
• often have a small mark or dot near the slot to
help identify them

Nut Driver
Also known as: hex screw drive
• designed with a socket instead of a blade and
tip
• low torque applications 
 Other Types of Screwdrivers
Pozidriv
Also known as: pozi, pozidrive
• can be identified by the four additional lines
radiating from the center
• have a blunt tip and small ribs among the blade
between the main edges

Spanner
Also known as: drilled head, pig-nose, Snake-Eyes
• designed for tamper-proof functions
• flat-headed screws have two rounded holes on
opposing ends of the head, making it nearly
impossible to remove without a proper tool
 Other Types of Screwdrivers
Triangle
Also known as: TA
• frequently used in electronics, toys, and
appliances
• design makes it difficult for people to tamper
with safety covers, adding a degree of security

Tri-point
Also known as: 3-Prong, Y-type, Y-tip
• three-edged blade that resembles a Y set at equal
120-degree angles
• can find these screws in Apple products, Nintendo
handheld gaming systems, and similar devices
 Other Types of Screwdrivers
Tri-wing
• resembling a pinwheel
• have a triangular socket
• originally developed for
aerospace engineering but
are now most commonly
found in home electronics
 Styles
Electric
1. Battery-Operated
• Many electric drives use battery power, allowing
them to be extremely compact. These don’t have
the same degree of power as other types, but
they take up far less space in your tool belt.
2. Corded
• These aren’t very popular simply because they
require tethering, but the amount of power they put
out is constant. This makes them extremely useful
at a busy workstation.
 Styles
Electric
3. Cordless
• Use a rechargeable battery pack. Unfortunately, they
also have some of the disadvantages of both, being
bulkier than battery-operated and slowly losing torque
as the battery pack runs out of power.

Magnetic
• feature a magnetic tip which holds the screw
• allowing to place or extract a screw with only
one hand
 Styles
Ratcheting
• allows the driver to turn screws in one direction
only
• can shorten work times by preventing the screw
from being turned the wrong way when adjusting
the driver

Right Angle
• allows to work with screws in locations where
there isn’t enough room to fit a straight handle,
making them extremely useful in the automotive
industry and similar fields
 Styles
Jeweler’s
Also known as: eyeglass, watch
•  class of precision screwdrivers
• designed to work with tiny screws, such as
those you find in eyeglasses or pocket watches

Computer
Also known as: electronics
• have precision-sized screwdrivers in a wide range of
blade types
• common and uncommon blade types (such as tri-point
and Torx) can be found in a computer screwdriver set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zye1yuMTgVg
 Wrenches
• tool, usually operated by hand, for
tightening bolts and nuts

• Basically, a wrench consists of a stout

lever with a notch at one or both ends for
gripping the bolt or nut in such a way that
it can be twisted by a pull on the wrench at
right angles to the axes of the lever and
the bolt or nut.
 Classes of Wrench
Key
• usually very specialized and most often appear as an old-fashioned key without teeth or as a T-shaped
socket that may have a male or female tip. Allen wrenches, bottle openers, and window cranks are all
types of key wrench.

Socket
• may refer to either a single piece or a handle which attaches to cylindrical sockets. The socket fits
over the head and turns either vertically or horizontally, depending on the handle’s orientation.

Spanner
• used to turn a spanner head and have a design that has pins or hooks instead of a normal end. The term is
most commonly used in British English to describe wrenches in general, although it has seen some use in the
US as a subgroup of wrench.
 Common Wrench Types
Adjustable Wrench
• More commonly referred to as a crescent wrench
• one of the most popular wrenches available
• have an open end with a spiral screw embedded that
opens or closes the crescent as you turn it

Allen Wrench
• Also referred to as a hex key
• may be either L-shaped or T-shaped
• this fits into the heads of screws and bolts that have a
hexagonal recess
 Common Wrench Types
Box-Ended Wrench
•  have a closed loop at both ends
• The closed ends are designed to fit either hexagonal
or square bolts, and are different in size

Combination Wrench
• One side is a closed loop for hexagonal or square nuts,
while the other end is an open U-shape
• Used most often for difficult nuts, the closed end
loosens the nut so that the open end can be used to
quickly unscrew it.
 Common Wrench Types
Crowfoot Wrench
• have no handle
• the single head is designed to attach to a ratchet handle and
socket extension, allowing it to fit into very tight spaces.
• great for handling bolts located deeper on a machine’s body
when you don’t want to remove nearby parts first.

Impact Wrench
• Part of the socket family
• can apply high torque to remove stubborn nuts or bolts.
• great choice for handling multiple nuts (such as when
mounting wheels on a car)
 Common Wrench Types
Lug Wrench
• either “L” shaped with a single socket
opening at the end or a large, “X” shaped
design (also called a spider wrench)
• used to tighten or loosen lug nuts on cars,
earning them the nickname of “wheel
brace”.
• longer the lug wrench, the more torque
can be generated when applying force to
either tighten or untighten
 Common Wrench Types
Open-Ended Wrench
• most common types of wrench attach them either vertically or
• U-shaped ends, with one being slightly horizontally onto the target fitting.
bigger than the other • downside is that they are more likely to
• used for hard-to-reach nuts and bolts, round the edges of a nut than box-ended
and the open design makes it possible to wrenches.
 Common Wrench Types
Pipe Wrench • big brother of adjustable wrenches
•  F-shaped design
• Used mainly by plumbers on metal pipes and fittings, the
serrated jaws of this hefty tool can easily leave scratch marks
behind.
Ratcheting Wrench
• have at least one end that has a ratcheting device inside of it.
• allows to turn the wrench to tighten or untighten without having to
remove and readjust the position if the wrench handle hits an
obstacle after each turn. It makes working in tight areas a lot
easier.
 Common Wrench Types
Socket Wrench
• foundation for any socket set, a socket wrench (or ratchet)
uses a ratcheting mechanism to allow you to quickly tighten or
untighten nuts or bolts without lifting the wrench off the
fastener.

Torque Wrench
• designed to deliver a specific amount of torque without
overtightening
• commonly used for automotive work
• can also be used on bicycles, farming equipment, or any instance
where tightening a nut or bolt to a specific torque specification
 Other Wrench Types
Alligator Wrench
• named due to the way it gripped nuts
• top of the jaw is serrated, while the bottom is smooth.
• handle looks more like a pointy fang than its modern cousin, the
pipe wrench

Bung Wrench
• socket-style wrench
• also called a drum plug wrench
• designed specifically to remove the plastic or metal bung (cap)
on drums or barrels.
 Other Wrench Types
Cone Wrench • wide and flat wrench
• used on the cone portion of a cup and cone hub
• mostly used for bicycles or adjusting the leveling feet of washing
machines, but sometimes employed on other gentle projects
where a normal open-ended wrench is too thick.

Die Stock Holder Wrench

• two-handed wrench grips the die in the middle using a screws to
secure it.
• used in creating the threads on nuts and bolts
• They are the basis of any tap and die set
 Other Wrench Types
Fan Clutch Wrench • U-shaped opening at one end
• designed specifically for removing fan clutches on cars
• Some also have a squared opening at the other end, allowing
them to double as a clutch holding tool while a second wrench is
used to turn the hex nut.

Flare Nut Wrench • Sometimes referred to as a line wrench

• opening is just wide enough to fit around a tube, but it still grips
nuts like a box end
• useful on softer metals prone to damage from open-ended
wrenches, such as those used in plumbing.
 Other Wrench Types
Hammer Wrench • Also referred to as a striking wrench
• short, thick wrench (box end or open end) that has a block end
that is used for hitting with a hammer or sledgehammer to
transmit a high amount of force
• commonly used to help tighten large flange fittings and
fasteners. can also be used to help release stuck or rusted nuts
Monkey Wrench and bolts through high force

• older form of adjustable wrench similar to an alligator

wrench, but with smooth jaws and rounded handle
 Other Wrench Types
Pliers Wrench • the flat-edged jaws are at an wrench to be adjusted to fit
angle and each is attached to different sizes of head
a handle, which are •  name comes from the way
connected by a bolt this tool is gripped, which is
• bolt can slide between two or the same as a pair of pliers.
more positions of an opening
on the upper jaw, allowing the
Plumbers Wrench
• the jaws are shaped to fit hexagonal nuts
• jaws are adjustable to fit a variety of pipe fittings
• used exclusively in plumbing for work on pipes and fixtures.
 Other Wrench Types
Spanner Wrench
• These have pins which allow them to be used on
a variety of items, from spanner head screws to
retainer rings.

Spark Plug Wrench

• requires a T-bar handle to use
•  it is designed to fit onto spark plugs and found anywhere that
performs automotive, lawnmower, or other engine repairs and
maintenance.
 Other Wrench Types
Stubby Wrench
• referred to as a short body wrench in polite circles
•  a shorter version of a combination wrench, allowing it
to fit into more confined spaces.

Tap Wrench
• This key fits the square drive of taps, which are used in
cutting female threads (such as those inside a nut)
• The shape of these wrenches may be either T-shaped or a
double-handled bar with the attachment socket in the middle
 Other Wrench Types
Tension Wrench
• the “key” component in lockpicking and can be found in
a wide range of designs
• can be rigid or flexible and are used to apply tension
while the pick does its job.
Torx Key
• sometimes referred to as a star-headed key
• this cousin of the hex key wrench is designed to fit
into the star-shaped heads of certain bolts and screws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfTZpEmnys