Adjustable wrench facts for kids
An adjustable wrench (called an adjustable spanner in the UK) is a handy tool. It is a type of wrench that has a "jaw" which can be made wider or narrower. This means you can use it to turn different sizes of nuts or bolts. People in different parts of the world might call this tool by other names.
Many people are said to have invented the adjustable wrench. One of them was Edwin Beard Budding (1796–1846), an engineer from England. On September 22, 1885, Enoch Harris received a US patent for his spanner. His design allowed both the jaw width and the angle of the handles to be changed and locked.
Some countries call it a "Swedish key." This is because of a Swedish inventor named Johan Petter Johansson. In 1891, he received a patent for an improved adjustable spanner. This design is still used today! Johansson improved an earlier invention from 1842 by another English engineer, Richard Clyburn.
Monkey Wrenches
A monkey wrench is a heavy type of wrench. Its jaw width was set by a spinning ring located under the sliding lower jaw. Loring Coes, a knife maker from Worcester, Massachusetts, invented it in 1840. His design was based on wrenches used on English coach wheels in the 1700s. Coes patented his invention in 1841. These tools were sold in the United States as "monkey wrenches."
Related pages
Images for kids
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An adjustable spanner
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Adjustable wrenches from 1892 (bottom) to today (top)
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A type called a French key in some times and places
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A hand-forged monkey wrench from the early 1900s, called an English key in some times and places
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The keyway of an adjustable wrench
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A Chrome vanadium adjustable wrench
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An adjustable wrench for hexagonal ("hex") fasteners
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A modern pliers wrench with parallel-gripping jaws
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A pair of adjustable wrenches of a box-end style
See also
In Spanish: Llave inglesa para niños
