The New Hotness

Decades ago, one jaw on my little 1/4 inch wrench that fits 4-40 nuts broke off. I brazed it back on, fully aware that one day it would break off again, because brazing isn’t really a suitable repair technique for a wrench, even one labeled as “Precision” in that time-honored manner of all low-cost tools.

Time passes, I’m tightening screws against 4-40 nuts, and the jaw gives way:

So I sawed off a strip of bedframe steel that fit the nuts better than the original stamped steel, did a bit of hand filing, and came up with a reasonable replacement:

I rammed it into the handle, just as they’d done with the original stamped steel shape:

That should last approximately forever…