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This is the sort of wrench I have in mind:

enter image description here

In the Wikipedia article (Socket Wrench) displaying this image, it is described as a spark plug wrench, but there are wrenches of this style in many other sizes, and for many other purposes - anywhere one has no access from the side and a long bolt or stem preventing even deep 'conventional' sockets (having a square socket for a drive on the other end) reaching the nut.

The image itself is labeled "box spanner", but if I search for that at Home Depot, Harbor Freight, etc., I get back the type of wrench that has a closed, 12-point ring on the end of a handle, and if I search for "spark plug wrench", I get tools specifically for that purpose. I suspect that "box spanner" is British usage; is there a term in American usage that picks out just this style of wrench, regardless of its purpose?

Update: Thanks to everyone for your help and advice. As it happens, I was able to make a suitable tool by cutting six notches in the end of a steel pipe. While this was not as good as a real wrench, it was sufficient to grab the points of the nut and stop it from turning, in the manner of a basket strainer wrench (as suggeseted by Jimmy James.).

sdenham
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8 Answers8

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This is a tubular wrench.

Apart from the British "box wrench" term, "tubular" is in my experience the most common generic name for these tools. You can get a full set of them (I have one, though in metric sizes).

It looks like googling "tubular box wrench" is the best way to get the right stuff while eliminating the American meaning of "box wrench".

TooTea
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8

There are some that are made for removing and installing faucet valves.

Shower valve socket wrench.

Alaska Man
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6

That's another

Disposable Wrench

or possibly

Disposable Tube Wrench

Cheaply stamped out of metal tubing, they are sold with products for the single use of installing that product then discarding. You can find them often with furniture and fixtures.

Billy left SE for Codidact
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5

One set I found calls it a "Valve Socket Wrench".

No recommendation of brand or vendor implied or intended

FreeMan
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5

These are also known as a box wrench.

Solar Mike
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4

That's a spark plug wrench. Mostly used on 2 and 4 cycle engines. Chainsaws and trimmers where the plug is recessed this type of wrench is necessary for maintenance.

ojait
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4

Not directly related to your question, but you mention in the comments that there is limited side access and you will need a lot of force to be applied.

Be aware of things called "crows foot" wrenches. These are commonly used in HVAC and heavy equipment (hydraulic) maintenance. crows foot wrench

The wrench is a combination, made up of a "wrench part" and a standard ratcheting handle plus zero or more extension bars to provide depth offset. The wrench part looks like an open-ended wrench with a cut-off handle, where the stub of the handle has a square hole punched out for the ratchet handle to plug in.

For "flared fitting" work -- usually gas piping -- the open-ended wrench may actually have stubs on the ends of the arms, as shown in the photo. General-purpose crows-foot wrenches don't have these stubs, and just look like stubby open-end wrenches.

These wrenches do require a certain amount of space right next to the fitting or nut. But they allow offsetting the lever arm, and they allow using a torque wrench if you desire. As with any ratchet wrench, you can get a truly obscene amount of torque going with a "cheater bar" and a sacrificial helper to hold things steady.

aghast
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0

As a general term I would refer to these as "Tubular socket wrench"

ontrack
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