Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

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SA_SA_SA
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Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by SA_SA_SA »

I would like Dumbbell spanners if any were made of a steel that was stronger than cheese....
Do any Dumbbell spanners made of good metal exist?
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luminova11
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by luminova11 »

Mine came with my 2nd hand Raleigh Chicco I had when I was a young boy in the late 70's. It has no markings on it but is a hard steel that rusts readily (I did have it when I was a kid). Unfortunately I can't give youca maker's name as it has no markings on it at all, so I don't even know if it was original to the bike. I also have a modern one which isn't a patch on it, made from some sort of cheese alloy I would guess as it is only about half the weight. Maybe keep an eye out in junk shops, car boots for an oldie, mine's still good after 40+ years.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my LG-D802 using hovercraft full of eels.
Brucey
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by Brucey »

SA_SA_SA wrote:I would like Dumbbell spanners if any were made of a steel that was stronger than cheese....
Do any Dumbbell spanners made of good metal exist?


Most dumbbell spanners are zinc die castings, not steel of any kind. Steel ones may exist, but I don't think I've ever seen one.

You can check if one is steel or not using a magnet.

cheers
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gxaustin
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by gxaustin »

I have one which is Mazac, I think. It's not great but was OK for removing the wheel nuts I used instead of quick releases, back in the day. I doubt it would be very useful for much now.
Graham
Brucey
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by Brucey »

rear wheel axle nuts often need 20-30ftlbs or more on them to stay put in slotted dropouts. This means 60-90lbs on the end of a 4" dumbell spanner, at which point cheap zinc die castings can just break with no warning.

When I was a callow yoof, one of my chums arranged himself a hospital visit by breaking a dumbbell spanner; the jaggy end went into him when it broke and there was blood everywhere.

cheers
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colin54
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by colin54 »

I found this one made of an alloy with a brass appearance ( rather than bronze ), I'd never seen another one like it.

It is marked 'Inox', meaning stainless, and ' Depose '( with an accute accent on the letters e ) which can mean a trade mark, or deposited metal ( a casting term ? ),

I always assumed it came from a Peugeot or the like's tool kit. Inox can also refer to stainless steel but this is definitely a brass of some description I would say.

It does not ' take ' a magnet.

An old Brooks or the like stamped steel one was a more sturdy tool, I think there must be millions of those still about .

P1060966 (640x403).jpg
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colin54
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by colin54 »

This one on the Tesco site, says steel but who knows it may be an SSO.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/dumbell-spa ... 5-2237.prd

We used to call that Zinc alloy monkey metal .
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rjb
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by rjb »

Colin, your spanner shown looks like a " spark free" tool which were commonly used when working with flammable gases, such as acetylene, hydrogen, etc. :wink:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
colin54
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by colin54 »

rjb wrote:Colin, your spanner shown looks like a " spark free" tool which were commonly used when working with flammable gases, such as acetylene, hydrogen, etc. :wink:


That's a thought , quite malleable judging by this German made one on ebay.Mine cost .20p from a jumble sale.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Solid-B ... SwJkJWh~Yr
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rmurphy195
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by rmurphy195 »

If it is for wheelnuts, you could look for a BRITOOL HALLMARK CXSM15 Extra Short Combination Spanner - I keep a couple with the Brompton toolkit. Sealey make a version called a Stubby.
Brompton, Condor Heritage, creaky joints and thinning white (formerly grey) hair
""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
colin54
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by colin54 »

A bit of a thread revival this . I found this today at the Car-Boot Sale, cast steel, no markings, must be slightly malleable as it's taken a bit of a bend one end, it looks well used. It has a small hex hole on one end and a small square hole the other.This sounds like it might be the one luminova11 describes up-thread .Strangely enough I saw an identical second one on a different stall but even more bent. I just managed to stop myself from buying it ...one's enough.
P1150155.JPG
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De Sisti
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Re: Dumbell spanners any not made of cheese?

Post by De Sisti »

I have a couple of them and don't know how, or when they were acquired. If anyone wants
one, then I'd sell one to them.
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