Question about using an adjustable wrench on brake bleed fittings

Been wrenching for 7 years and just realized last week you're supposed to use a flare nut wrench on Shimano bleed nipples. Spent an hour fighting a stripped one on a neighbor's bike before I looked up the torque spec.

3 comments

3 Comments

sage_dixon12d ago

Seven years and you never wondered why your adjustable wrench was leaving little crescent moon marks on everything? Welcome to the club, we meet on Saturdays to swap stripped nipple horror stories.

gonzalez.reese12d ago

Got a buddy named Carl who used a crescent wrench on his guitar tuning pegs for three years, convinced he was just really aggressive with his tuning style. @sage_dixon, he had those little crescent moon craters all around the bridge, thought it gave it "character." Took him bringing it into a shop for a setup before the guy laughed and showed him how the jaws were just slightly flared. Carl still uses that same wrench on his plumbing, just won't touch his guitars with it anymore.

the_evan12d ago

Hold on though, I kind of get it. You can actually get way more torque out of a crescent wrench than a little guitar peg wrench if you're not careful, and Carl probably just figured it was all the same tool for twisting metal. @sage_dixon Ive seen guys strip out oil pan drain plugs with the same wrong socket because "it fit well enough." The real question is if the craters actually changed the tone. A little marring around the bridge could dampen the vibration just enough to give it that warm, old sound. So maybe Carl was onto something, he just stumbled into it instead of planning it.