Wrench

“ On the other hand, a quick wrench downward causes but little discomfort. When two adversaries practise this, it will be found that the assailant gives all the advantage to his opponent when employing the downward wrench. ”

“ A novel wrench that will hold a nut of almost any size is made of a single piece of steel, the handle being split so that the jaws are sprung together as a strain is applied.
Snake Poison Fails to Cure. ”

“ That was when I was trying to get the rope I had tied to my wheel, over the limb, so you could pull her out of the mire,” admitted Andy.
“All right,” remarked Larry. “That was just the time the wrench must have dropped out of your pocket, and went souse in the mud, to sink to China. Some day you may hear of [12] an enterprising pigtail man over there taking out a patent on a nice little wrench, warranted never to slip while you work.” ”

“ If the nuts are so corroded that they will not unscrew with an ordinary wrench, we may, if the standing bolts and the wrench are strong enough to stand it, place a piece of gas or other pipe on the end of the wrench, so as to get a longer leverage; and, while applying the power to the wrench, we may strike the end face of the nut a few sharp blows with the hammer, interposing a set chisel, if the nut is a small one, so as to be sure to strike the nut in the proper place, and not rivet the screw end. ”

“ When using a wrench on square of bonnet or centerpiece, use a Stillson or Trimo wrench with a piece of tin between the teeth of the jaws and the finished brass. It may mark the brass slightly, but this is preferable to rounding off all the corners with an old monkey wrench which is worn out and sprung. As the threads on all bonnets or centerpieces are doped with litharge or cement, a sharp jerk or jar on the wrench will start the bonnet much more quickly than a steady pull. Under no circumstances try to replace or remove the bonnet or centerpiece of a valve without first opening it wide. ”

“ Jabez Wrench, High Street, Dinham. She had been to his shop with Mrs Fotheringham, and she remembered Mr Wrench. He was a white-faced man with red hair, and he smiled a great deal. “I shall say I come from Paradise Court,” said Iris to herself, “and then he’ll know it’s all right.” ”

“ Screw or monkey-wrenches are those which have a movable jaw, so that the tool may be adjusted to fit any sized nut within its compass; as shown in Fig. 628. There are many designs of monkey-wrenches. The one here represented is known as the “knife-handle” on account of the identical construction of the handle of this wrench and that of a pocket knife. It is strong and the shank is extra heavy so that it is hardly possible to spring the jaws in fair use. ”

“ The most satisfactory pipe cutter has three knife-edge roller cutters which follow each other around the pipe. Some of these cutters have two flat face rollers and one cutter roller to prevent raising a burr on the end of the pipe. The flat face rollers iron out the burr and leave the freshly cut pipe the same size clear to the end.
Figure 67.—Pipe-Wrench. This type of wrench is valuable for working with the heavier farm implements. It is intended more for holding than for turning. It is rather rough on nuts. Damaged nuts show signs of careless work. ”

“ The trial judge found the evidence to be insufficient to present a jury question whether the wrench was a reasonably suitable appliance, because 'on the theory the grip is worn * * * there is never any mention of the grip in the case * * *.' The Court of Appeals took the same view, saying 'There was no evidence that the open or jaw end of the wrench was in any way deficient * * * (t) he fact that the wrench slipped is not evidence that its slipping was the consequence of some condition in the jaw or handle of the wrench.' 271 F.2d at page 199. ”

“ You take a very sensible view of the matter. Let the matter blow over, and say as little about it as possible,” returned Mr. Wrench, with sudden warmth.
“You have shown great wisdom throughout, and I have once more to return you my most sincere thanks.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that” replied Peace, carelessly. “One thing is, however, quite certain: the gipsy cove was employed by some one to abstract the jewellery from the bureau. There could be but ohe object in this—​to remove the traces of identity.” ”

“ In filing the opposite flats to diameter to fit the wrench or gauge, if one be used, it is best to leave them a tight fit until all are nearly finished, so that any error that may be discovered may be corrected while finishing them. ”

“ The farmer needs three sizes, one may be quite small, say six inches in length, one ten inches, and the other large enough to span a two-inch nut. And there should be an ironclad rule, never use a monkey-wrench for a hammer. For work around plows, cultivators, harvesters, and other farm machines, a case of S wrenches will be greatly appreciated. Manufacturers include wrenches with almost all farm machines, but such wrenches are too cheap to be of much use. ”

“ He was also seen as Captain Tickall in ‘Husbands and Wives,’ Baron Wolfenstein in the ‘Poacher,’ and Flutter in ‘Belle's Stratagem.’ He had made a great success at the Lyceum in ‘He lies like Truth,’ and was at that house when (16 Feb. 1830) it was burnt to the ground. In 1834, in the rebuilt house, Wrench and Keeley made a great hit in Oxenford's ‘I and my Double.’ On 30 Oct. at the Haymarket he was the first Caleb Chizzler in ‘But however’ by Henry Mayhew and Henry Baylis. In 1840 Wrench was at the Olympic. ”

“ In all wrenches the location of contact and of pressure on the nut is mainly at the corners of the nut, and unless the wrench be a very close fit, the nut corners become damaged. A common method of avoiding this is to interpose between the wrench jaw and the nut a piece of soft metal, as copper, sheet zinc, or even a piece of leather. The jaws of the wrench are also formed to receive babbitt metal linings which may be renewed as often as required. To save the trouble of adjusting an accurately fitting wrench to the nut, Professor Sweet forms the jaws as in Fig. ”

“ Adjustable wrenches are not suited for heavy work because the jaws are liable to spring open under heavy pressure and thus cause damage to the edges of finished nuts, and indeed these wrenches are not suitable for ordinary use on finely finished work unless the duty be light. Furthermore, the jaws being of larger size than the jaws of solid wrenches, will not pass so readily into corners, as may be seen from the S wrench shown in Fig. ”

“ The landlord went to the door of the house, and pointed out the lane in question to his customer.
“There at the further end of that,” said he, “you will find a wooden shed, and in that you will see ’im at work.”
“Thank you,” said Mr. Wrench, who at once proceeded in the direction pointed out by his host.
CHAPTER XXX. MR. DETECTIVE WRENCH AND CHARLES PEACE. Mr. Wrench was a man who pursued his inquiries with the greatest pertinacity; he was not accustomed to let the “grass grow under his feet.” ”

“ For heavier work pipe-wrenches are absolutely necessary. The reason for having so many wrenches is to save time when in the field. It often happens that men and horses stand idle waiting for what should be a quick repair job. ”

“ The thatch which had been secured by birch twigs linked together in the Highland fashion, and kept down by a great stone suspended from the twisted ends, and dangling in front, was half off. The elder bush that had grown beside the shed was gone, and its hollow branches no longer creaked in the wintry blast, for when labour was scarce, and peat was three times its usual price, any thing that would serve for firing was little likely to be spared. The interior of the cottage offered a sad and striking contrast to the scene of joy and plenty it had presented before. ”

“ And the children awoke at night, crying with cold; and one of them sobbed, and said,—“Collie is always warm. Oh! mither, [Pg 25] let me gang sleep wi’ Collie; for Robin and Moggie are like the frost to me.” The father spoke not! but he went to the shed and led in the poor miserable-looking cow, that staggered from weakness as it stepped over the stones at the door. ”

“ But we must stop—just one moment—before we leave home, and look at a wren's nest.
The Wren, although a very common little bird with us, does not build a common nest. She makes it round, like a ball, or a woolly [355] orange, with a little hole at one side for a door. Inside, it is just as soft and comfortable as anything can be. Being such a little bird herself, she could not cover and protect her young ones from cold and danger so well as the larger cat-birds and robins, and her nest is contrived so that there will not be much covering to do. ”

“ Migrations—A common resident except at northern boundary of range, where it is a summer visitor.
This largest of the wrens appears to be the embodiment of the entire family characteristics: it is exceedingly active, nervous, and easily excited, quick-tempered, full of curiosity, peeping into every hole and corner it passes, short of flight as it is of wing, inseparable from its mate till parted by death, and a gushing lyrical songster that only death itself can silence. It also has the wren-like preference for a nest that is roofed over, but not too near the homes of men. ”

“ On this day, when the wren came up from the dark nest pocket and found me below, she called back to her little ones in such distress that I felt reproached. By gazing fixedly through my glass into the dark hole I could see the head of a sprightly nestling pop up and turn alertly from side to side as if returning my inspection. The old wren's calls made me think of a human mother who can no longer control her big wayward offspring and has to entreat them to do as she bids. ”

“ The little nut-brown wren—nut-like, too, in his smallness and round, compact figure—with cocked-up tail and jerky motions and gesticulations, and flight as of a fairy partridge with rapidly-beating, short wings, that produce a whirring noise if you are close enough to hear it, is a familiar creature to almost every person throughout the three kingdoms, and is even more generally diffused than the house-sparrow. ”

“ We have all kinds of bird houses and nests. The sparrows, who are great abusers of hospitality, insist that their nests be immovable—that they do not sway in the wind; the wrens like swaying nests. So we mounted a number of wren boxes on strips of spring steel so that they would sway in the wind. The wrens liked the idea and the sparrows did not, so we have been able to have the wrens nest in peace. ”

“ Wren is a very industrious builder. One day I was resting inside an old tumble-down summer-house built into a steep hillside in a Surrey park, when, to my consternation, I saw a big black feather coming straight as a partridge towards me. There was not a breath of wind blowing at the time, and [Pg 65] the whole thing struck me as being most uncanny. Presently it stopped in a little bush, and I saw a wee brown wren behind it. ”

“ Pierre, the first born, was now old enough to fly, but timidly stayed in the nest. Mrs. Wren noted with great anxiety that no sooner did she leave the tin-pot but up popped six little heads, and out upon a curious world gazed twelve little bead-like eyes.
"Do be good children while I am gone," she would entreat, when ready for market, "do keep your heads inside of the house. Pierre, put your head down in the nest instantly, do you hear me!" and little Mrs. Wren would stand on the edge of the tin-pot and fussily cry krup, up, up, which in Wren language means, you naughty, naughty, birds. ”

“ Stick that valise on top my desk.... Sit down, Mr. Wrenn. You see, it’s like this: I’ll tell you in confidence, you understand. This letter from Bryff ain’t worth the paper it’s written on. He ain’t got any right to be sending out men for cattle-boats. Me, I’m running that. I deal direct with all the Boston and Portland lines. If you don’t believe it just go out in the back room and ask any of the cattlemen out there.”
“Yes, I see,” Mr. Wrenn observed, as though he were ill, and toed an old almanac about the floor. “Uh—Mr.—Trubiggs, is it?” ”

“ The house wren is fond of a snug place for a nest. If a wren box is to be had, he will take that; but if not, he will seek some cozy nook, which he will furnish, mostly with fine twigs, and then wait for his mate to appear.
Sometimes the bird takes queer places to live in. I once found a wren family inside a hollow iron hitching-post in a city street. The birds went in through the hole for the hitching-strap. I wondered how the wrenlings would get out through the long, dark passage. Another nest was made in an oriole's hanging cradle, after the young orioles had flown. ”

“ Yet the wren is a hardy little bird, a resident all the year round in the coldest parts of our country, and one of the few songsters which may be heard in all seasons. Even during a frost, if the sun shines, the wren will sing as gaily as in summer. His song is his greatest charm. It is unlike that of any other British melodist—a loud, bright lyric, the fine, clear, high-pitched notes and trills issuing in a continuous rapid stream from beginning to end. ”

“ They had laid loving hands upon the hay, remarking, “Well, I guess!” when they heard from a low stable at the very back of the lot:
“I say, you chaps, what are you doing there?”
A reflective carter, who had been twisting two straws, ambled out of the shadow of the stable and prepared to do battle.
“Say, old man, can’t we sleep in your hay just to-night?” argued Morton. “We’re Americans. Came over on a cattle-boat. We ain’t got only enough money to last us for food,” while Mr. Wrenn begged, “Aw, please let us.”
“Oh! You’re Americans, are you? You seem decent enough. ”