Small project

[LCHIEN]

I like to do things to solve problems.
One was a spanner wrench to fix a pesky door at work.

I designed and made this spanner wrench.

At one point I had to drill a radial hole at a weird angle in an oddly shaped piece. Got out all my clamps for this one. How to kludge up a Clamp fixture for one time use.

Used a piece of wormy hardwood i had - that explains the random holes, ha.

[cgallery]

Neat! What kind of door repair requires a spanner wrench?

[LCHIEN]

Its the front door at work. The handles are simple chromed metal rods folded into U-loops on both sides. There's 2 threaded studs going through the door. On one side there's matching chromed nuts top an bottom that draw the two handles together on the studs. The nuts are smooth chromed round donuts same diameter as the handle rods, they rotate using a simple hole and a spanner wrench. The pin in the wrench ID fits the hole. and that's about the only way to tighten this up.

So the story is, for three years now it drives me nuts that the handle is always loose. A couple of times I tighten it up by rotating the ring but there's no way to get any real leverage on it without a special spanner wrench.

Its probably really the responsibility of building services (leased space) but its never tight and I mention it to the receptionist that some one should fix it and its never done or doesn't last. I finally decided last week I was going to make me a tool to fit. I'm thinking about sneaking some loc-tite in too.

The real reason it comes loose is it's also got a bend in it, so pulling on it puts a side load on the base which causes it to work loose.

But, I mean, the first tactile impression you get going to visit a company is touching the door handle. if it's loose what does that tell you about the company???

[bthere]

But, I mean, the first tactile impression you get going to visit a company is touching the door handle. if it's loose what does that tell you about the company???

At my company, I have to worry more about the loose nuts with loose screws we have making an impression on visitors.

[lrogers]

That was quite a jig you came up with.

[scmhogg]

Loring,

You get this week's "MacGyver" Award.

Steve

[cgallery]

But, I mean, the first tactile impression you get going to visit a company is touching the door handle. if it's loose what does that tell you about the company???

That you don't have a good handle on things?

So is this a solid glass (frameless) door?

[RodKirby]

Great stuff Loring.

BTW Wrench=Spanner in Oz. (We don't use the term "wrench")

[scmhogg]

Spanner in England too. I always that a wrench served you drinks in an inn.

Oh.. Oh... Never Mind. [RIP Emily Littella]

Steve

[LCHIEN]

Great stuff Loring.

BTW Wrench=Spanner in Oz. (We don't use the term "wrench")

I know the English connotation of a spanner as any wrench.

In my experience, here in the US a spanner is a special wrench that looks like these:

http://www.tpub.com/content/aviation/14001/css/14001_21.htm

using a curved arm with pins or hooks to engage features in the circumference of a fastener.

whereas a wrench is the whole class of leveraged fastener turners including spanners. Most typically for hex-head bolts and nuts as in open end, box end, offset and combination, adjustable (Crescent), and socket wrenches.

as in this on-line dictionary (www.freedictionary.com):
span·ner (spnr)
n. 1. A wrench having a hook, hole, or pin at the end for meshing with a related device on another object.
2. Chiefly British A wrench.

[LCHIEN]

good news and bad news.

The door handle is pictured for those who wanted to see it.
At the base where it meets the door is the locking nut. I assume its connected to a rod that has right-hand threads one end and left-hand threads on the outside to pull the two handles together.

As you can see the wrench fit absolutely perfectly and I tightened the lock nut.

But as I really torqued down on it the pin blew out of the wood as you can see the in the third picture.

It split along the grain, there's a lot of force on the pin, a #2 screw, it even bent some.

Compare to the original position as shown.

I'm thinking I really need to make this out of Aluminum or steel.
But I'll make one more try... lengthen the nose so there's more wood in front of the pin. I'm going to cross drill the spanner where the pin goes thru and insert a 3/16" dowel so that the pin goes thru the side of the dowel, this will give it some cross grain to hang onto.
I'm going to install a #2 nut in the top and bottom (I'll have to recess it in the spanner) so that the machine screw is hanging onto steel threads rather than the wood threads. Probably hopeless. I can already visualize where the cross dowel goes it will be pretty thin, especially if I add the nuts, so the main curved piece will probably break there.

Any suggestions? Harder wood, maybe maple or brazilian cherry?

[Stytooner]

You could use stronger wood and make the outside diameter of the spanner end a lot bigger.
Aluminum would be the next choice.

[SawDog]

<snip> How to kludge up a Clamp fixture for one time use. <snip>

The spanner's very cool - nice work! I also got a kick out of the term "kludge". I never used that when referring to woodworking, but it *does* fit. (Sometimes more often than it should, but that's another story! <s>)

Hal

[cgallery]

I think the problem is you're going to have problems finding material that can handle the forces involved, short of aluminum or steel. Which makes this a different kind of project.

I'd take two 2" x 12" (or so) pieces of hardwood and clamp them together to make a 4" x 12" piece. Drill a handle hole (what is this, about 1"?) approx. 3" from one end of the clamped together pieces of wood. The hole should be centered on the joint between the two pieces of wood, so when you separate the pieces they each have half of the hole.

While the pieces are still clamped, drill two 1/4" holes through the edges of the pieces, on either side of the handle hole, to use to join the pieces around the handle.

Separate the pieces, add a hardened machine screw as your new pin, and clamp this thing around the door handle using 1/4" bolts and nuts.

If all else fails you can order a spanner for $10, too. But I do understand why you started this.

[LCHIEN]

actually i did look for one, i could not find one with a 1" dia. an a .100" pin.

the other problem is that the ring is only 3/8" wide, the pin is 3/16th from the edge so there's not much support material, esp. if you want to be able to go on and off.

Probably the door handle mfg makes one to go with the door, but who knows where that is.