Does anyone else still use a Speed Wrench Driver?

[Ivan the Butcher]

Dad had a Stanly push drill and Yankee screwdriver when I was kid in the 60's, so fresh out of high school, I bought the same stuff. Finding the bits local is nearly impossible! Now days it's all 18-volt Ryobi or DeWalt.

One thing I bought right out of HS was a set of 12 jewelers files (made in Italy)< Dad complained I was wasting my money. I've still got all 12, they are still "sharp", and I use the over once a week on average!

But the greatest invention for a handyman was when Enders tools came out with the 4-in-1 red handled screwdriver! Originally had a lifetime warranty. (but around 10 years nobody honored it anymore.)

I had a maintenance man that had car problems, but he still got to work on time(!) and couldn't get all his tools on the bus. So, he came with a #2 Phillips and straight screwdrivers and two box wrenches that covered 7/16, 1/2, 9/16 and 5/8". Just 4 small hand tools. Over the course of 3 days, he completed 90% of the normal tasks we did! I was surprised.

For basics, I think a 10" Crescent wrench, a 12 Channel Locks and a Lineman's plyers round out the basics. (Maybe a hammer too)

Ivan

 

[chief38]

I also still have a Stanley Yankee Screwdriver but have not used that in 50 years! However I do own 3 Millers Falls Push Drills. I keep one in my electricians pouch for drilling a quick hole or two in wood, plastic, etc. Can't say I use it regularly, but at least once a year when I'm installing an outlet, switch, ceiling fan etc. I also use it when doing a minor job outside and am to lazy to get the electric drill and extension cord. Very convenient and has 8 bits onboard!

I also still have a Brace and many Bits. I have used them on occasion when I need a super long drill bit and do not have one in a conventional drill bit. I used one not too long ago to drill a hole into a 2x4 inside a wall from an outlet hole. I wanted to run another outlet not too far away and had to run a wire through the stud without breaking the sheet rock. I removed the existing outlet then used a Bit & Brace inserted through that hole to drill through the stud - worked like a charm, no sheet rock repairs needed!

 

[sophie]

chief38, interesting thread you started on the use of a speed wrench, and also called a speed handle. I do know exactly what you mean about using a speed handle to give you the feel you want when tightening sheet metal screws or bolts. You get the feeling you want without stripping the attachment.

Yes, I still use a speed handle at times, but not as much as I used to because I retired in 2006 from Cadillac after being a Technician for 47 years. I went to work as a Mechanic and then later we were called Technicians. Funny how that happens.

I have 3 Snap-On and 1 Husky brand speed handles, 18” long that rest in several of my tool boxes.
I have a 37” Snap-On speed handle that has a manufacture date of 1959, as do a couple of my 18” Snap-On’s. The long one stands on its nose beside my tool boxes. They are all 3/8” drive. Have you ever seen a 37” Snap-On speed handle? In earlier years Snap-On used numeric date codes for years of manufacture, changing the numeric number shape ever so slightly for the year in each decade. Later they went to a date code of alpha-numeric, and then to oblivion regarding manufacture date codes.

 

[JohnHL]

Yup! Got all three. (1/2"; 3/8"; 1/4" Craftsman)

Had them for years.

Not everyday usage, but still get pulled out for repetitive jobs.

Certainly not obsolete, as I was watching the 2025 Indianapolis 500 Tests yesterday evening and the Mechanics were using them to pull and re-install engine covers from the cars.

Very commonly seen in the garages at IndyCar races.

If the Mechanics at the fastest race series on earth use them, that is an indication that more folks should.

John

 

[chief38]

Well, glad to see others still using "throw-back" tools also! LOL.

I do have all the modern air and electric tools, but once in awhile the older stuff just makes sense.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

chief38, interesting thread you started

I went to work as a Mechanic and then later we were called Technicians. Funny how that happens.

I did apartment maintenance for 44 years. Everyone treated you like a thief and an idiot. It didn't matter how many degrees I have (2) or how much property I owned (the building they lived in for starters).

I have a friend at church that repairs the machines at a firm that make nuclear medicine for Chemotherapy, he has a master's in mechanical Enginering. And a friend that was in charge of the portable diagnostic monitors for Riverside Hospital. He had a PhD in Electrical Enginering. We all got painted with the "idiot paint brush."

I had a lot of maintenance men that had Dyslexia and could barely read, but they were geniuses at fixing thing they had only seen from a distance.

I wouldn't try to fix the engine in my truck! But I can fix your furnace, A/C, Stove, and Plumbing without breaking a sweat!

AS for the speed wrench: I had one job I repeatedly used mine on. The removing of GE Dishwasher motors and the sump. Used with a Philips #3 bit. Worked better than a ratchet with a 8" and a 4" extension. The factory instructions say pull the whole dishwasher out and turn it upside down. With the speed wrench, I could do it in place, which saved 1 to 1.5 hours.

Ivan

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

Crowfoots were also handy for some distributor hold-downs.

For maybe fifty years I had two special distributor wrenches for Ford and GM. I gave them to my nephew who's into old cars. Also a Heathkit dwell meter/ Tachometer and a timing light. Yeah those were the days you made your own diagnostic equipment.

 

[Bald1]

Been there, done that……… wait. Still doing it.

 

[fiasconva]

I haven't used one in a while but they were great for changing sparkplugs.

 

[JohnHL]

Well, glad to see others still using "throw-back" tools also! LOL.

I do have all the modern air and electric tools, but once in awhile the older stuff just makes sense.

You're a "tool guy", chief, so I'll see those "speed wrenches" and raise you:

Tee-Handles!

I've got more than a full set of metric tee handle deep socket wrenches hanging on the pegboard behind my "overhaul bench".

I got them in the early 1970s when I first got in to the motorcycle business.

I'll admit they rarely get used, however the two handed tee grip is great for breaking loose a fastener and they are "lightning fast" when the shaft is held in one hand and the tee is spun with the index finger of the other hand.

Just some more "fun with tools"!

John

 

[SMSgt]

Used one a gazillion times removing wing panels on B-52s and KC-135s. Couldn't use an electric tool on the planes, and pneumatic tools were the realm of the sheet metal guys. Still have one in my toolbox, although the need for is rare.

 

[cherrypointmarine]

Speed handle is what we always called them . In the Marines we used them for taking panels off planes . Then later at the Cape we called them door tools . The one in the picture still has the Allen tool that fit the fasteners in the panels on the Titan , the air Force's old heavy lift rocket . They wouldn't let us use battery drills , they couldn't calibrate them . They got us air tools , but carrying those heavy things plus air hoses , just wasn't worth it . We all carried speed handles and could put on a panel quicker with a speed handle than with an air tool .

 

[Nevada Ed]

I use a Bit Brace, a Yankee Screwdriver, and sharpen some tools,
with a Hand Cranked Grinding Stone. Keeps the temper and is quiet.
Milwaukee makes ratchet screwdrivers, long and stubby.
Use them most every day.
I also have a small rowboat and some homemade kayaks for fishing.
Snapper shopping, Channel 2, early '90s.
Still in use.
Did I say quiet.

As a youngster, I finally learned the Hard Way,
how NOT to use a Yankee screwdriver,
after it made hamburger out of my left hand !!

Sure glad I was right handed, but it was a painful 22 days.

I used the square "C" a lot for spark plugs, back in the day.

 

[anoblefox]

I used a 1/4" speed wrench just today while tightening the oil pan bolts on our 77 bronco 302 v8. And yes, I still have two Yankee screwdrivers, although they don't get much use nowadays.

 

[GaryS]

I have one that I bought at a yard sale a few years ago, but haven't actually used it.

I did some work on my garage door to improve the weather sealing and one of the YouTube videos I used specifically said not to use an electric drill/driver on the sheet metal when installing the new hinges. A couple of them were already egged out and i had to find alternate mounting holes and improvising.

Back to tools. I have several that I'm not sure that I'll ever need again, but I'm not letting them go. They'll go to my kids when I'm gone. Some of them I got from my father or father in law when they left us.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I have a 3/8 speed handle that I have used but not in many years. Also a bit brace that I inherited from my grandad. Only used it a couple times, but it's staying with my tools until I leave this world.

As far as them being used today, I see the oil change guys use them to remove the bolts holding the air box cover on when they check the filters.

 

[chief38]

You're a "tool guy", chief, so I'll see those "speed wrenches" and raise you:

Tee-Handles!

I've got more than a full set of metric tee handle deep socket wrenches hanging on the pegboard behind my "overhaul bench".

I got them in the early 1970s when I first got in to the motorcycle business.

I'll admit they rarely get used, however the two handed tee grip is great for breaking loose a fastener and they are "lightning fast" when the shaft is held in one hand and the tee is spun with the index finger of the other hand.

Just some more "fun with tools"!

John

I do not own a complete set but I do have a few individual T handles. I usually use them in the 1/4", 5/16" & 3/8" sizes only.

I have Mac 1/4" drive and IR 3/8" drive air wrenches too however I almost never use then because of the noise. Need to preserve all the hearing I have left! For big HD jobs I have a Snap-On 1/2" that I use more than the small ones.

 

[AJ]

Speed handle is what we always called them . In the Marines we used them for taking panels off planes . Then later at the Cape we called them door tools . The one in the picture still has the Allen tool that fit the fasteners in the panels on the Titan , the air Force's old heavy lift rocket . They wouldn't let us use battery drills , they couldn't calibrate them . They got us air tools , but carrying those heavy things plus air hoses , just wasn't worth it . We all carried speed handles and could put on a panel quicker with a speed handle than with an air tool .

Cherrypointmarine, you beat me to it. We called them speedhandles too. Have a couple in my toolbox. Still use them on occasion.

 

[Mercury]

If you don't already have one of these, I recommend it. It makes your Yankee screwdriver more versatile by allowing the use of hex bits.
Lee Valley is the vendor.

 

[Jeff423]

Like a lot of other people the only time I've used one was in the Navy. USS Saratoga, CV-60, 1972, Tonkin Gulf. I used it to lower and raise the center avionics compartment on an RA5C.