Homemade breaker bar?

Hey all, I need to loosen a bolt but I can't seem to get enough torque on it to make it happen. Problem is the bolt is in a very tight spot so I can only fit an open box wrench in there, so no torque wrenches. Do you all have any ideas for making a homemade breaker bar or something that I can slip over the end of the wrench?

Thanks!

 

get a 2' piece of pipe that can fit over the end of your wrench - instant torque multiplier!

 

x2 on the other box ended wrench

 

+3 on the wrench

 

Take that pipe and smash/squash/smish the end so the box wrench slides in. Another trick for all those with stuck nuts....(go ahead, I'll wait)




The trick is to try and TIGHTEN the nut/bolt/screw first. I was an F-15 crewchief. Those who spin/spun wrenches know that it's easier as anything to strip a fastener. My best friend and fireguard was a sheetmetal dude. I always had him out when I couldn't drop a panel. He showed me the trick about TIGHTENING the fastener first and then back it off. A trick that still works for me today.

 

jack handle!

 

X2 with this guy, if its a racthet & socket. i carry a piece of pipe that goes over my ratchets in my tool box in my truck!

 

Thanks for the ideas...I've looked and looked for a metal pipe like that but I can't find anything around here. Where would I be able to buy something like it? I've tried Home Depot, Ace... I used to have one for working on my '92 Bronco but it disappeared over the years.

 

x2.......works awesomely!!

 

what I did years back..go to autozone and buy a short piece of exhaust pipe and then squish the one end down a bit..its cheaper then buying a full pipe from homedepot, but works the same.

 

Somewhere near the pipe at Lowes/HomeDepot, there should be a some boxes where you can get ahold of pipe "remnants" (The short leftovers of pipe that people had cut at the store). I picked up a piece for a few bucks and it was worth every penny. It's some thick heavy duty steel pipe.

 

The PIPE

We've got a piece of galvanized pipe - about 3/4" inner diameter and about 3' long that we use. It was laying around the house when we bought it.
Slides overtop all of our ratchet handles.

Works great! The only time it doesn't work, is when its too long.

 

Yup, the pipe thing works well. You might want to invest in a torque wrench. A must in any garage. Those things work great....

 

I have a 4' length of 2" cast iron pipe laying around for the tough jobs. Meanwhile, while I was out wheeling in the middle of NOWHERE one day, I found a nice 24" 1/2" drive Husky breaker bar just laying on the trail. With that thing, I can sit on my azz and spin lug nuts off like nothing. Karma!!!

 

yep, had a sheet metal dude show me the same thing when I was a young airman. Works like a champ. Not many screws, bolts or nuts I can't get off anymore. Working B-52s all these years, I've had many opportunities to use this technique.

 

You could try heating the bolt, letting it cool some, and soaking it with something like PB Blaster. If you can do it without catching something close on fire with a Berz-O-Matic.

 

In addition to that, it's not common for the bolt or screw head to be stripped in the tightening direction, so you get good purchase on it to break it free.

 

Any fencing contractors nearby? They always have lengths of galvanized pipe laying around, they'll probably give you one. Or at a construction site with chain link fencing.

 

go to Home Depot or Lowes. Black iron pipe fits over ratchet handles perfect. Very strong and it's dirt cheap for a foot or two.