Quick tip that saved my dive yesterday in the Gulf

I was fighting with a stuck valve on a pipeline repair 40 feet down off Galveston, couldn't get my wrench to bite. I remembered an old guy telling me to wrap the valve stem with a rubber strap from my toolkit, and it gripped perfectly on the second try. Anyone else have a weird trick like that for stubborn underwater hardware?

3 comments

3 Comments

perez.willow12d ago

Wait, you actually got a rubber strap to work underwater? I used to think those were just for keeping gear organized, not for actual grip. But I guess if it's thin enough and wraps tight, the rubber really does bite better than bare metal down there. Totally changed my mind on what counts as a real tool for underwater work.

tessa_clark7412d ago

I rebuilt an old 1960s diver's valve once and tried using a 2mm thick rubber strap. Thinner is definitely better, I found anything over 3mm just floats around too much and loses that bite. But you're right about rubber biting metal, especially when things get slimy or greasy down there. I will say though, it's not really a replacement for a proper wrench on anything tight, it's more for getting that last little turn or holding something without scratching it up. Your point about changing minds is spot on though, it's amazing what a little rubber can do when everything else is slick.

grantadams9d ago

Three years back I would have laughed if someone told me rubber could out-grip a wrench down there. Then I had a corroded bolt on a buoy anchor off Mustang Island and my crescent just kept spinning, so I stripped a neoprene patch off my drysuit and it bit that thing like it was made for it. Guess I owe that old timer in the original post a beer, because it's definitely one of those tricks you got to try before you believe it.