Homemade Water Pump Wrench

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
WaterPumpWrench_zps91a15d15.jpg


I'm not fond of the thin steel water pump wrench being sold, and the local used tool store never gets in the correct spanner wrench, so tonight I decided to make my own from a piece of 3/8" thick aluminum. I'm surprized Ford didn't have a water pump wrench in every tool kit.:confused:

I drew the outline on the aluminum, then drilled dozens of 1/8" holes along the outer edge of the sketch. I used a small chisel to connect the holes, then used a milling bit in my drill press to make the outline smooth. Wish I owned a mill, but the drill press worked OK for this job. I had to hand file around the tang. I used my finger and a small piece of sandpaper to give it a poor man's finish. If I didn't make my own wrench from 3/8" aluminum, I would have bought 3 of the thin steel wrenches and riveted them together.
 
Come on over and use my Bridgeport any time. I love that machine. I made a jig to bore out intake manifolds to model B size the other day, and it works great.
 
Nice job Tom! The "poor man's finish" can be enhanced by polishing with a fine wet or dry on a steel, or glass plate. We used this method in the Model Shop on all our parts.
Terry
 
I'm curious! Where is the machine? In your garage, cellar? or at a separate location? Do you have three phase current, or single phase, or a phase splitter? I'd love to have my own Bridgeport, but besides the space considerations, I never wanted to tangle with the power requirements.
Terry



2manycars said:
Come on over and use my Bridgeport any time. I love that machine. I made a jig to bore out intake manifolds to model B size the other day, and it works great.
Click to expand...
 
Motor cycles use about the same size wrench for adj. the rear shocks? ken ct. It did come out nice Tom.
 
Tom I am with you. The thin water pump wrench is a horrible design. This looks sweet.
 
Tom has found a new business!! :D Gold plating should not add much to the cost after you consider your time, and profit! (Very nice Tom!)
 
Terry said:
I'm curious! Where is the machine? In your garage, cellar? or at a separate location? Do you have three phase current, or single phase, or a phase splitter? I'd love to have my own Bridgeport, but besides the space considerations, I never wanted to tangle with the power requirements.
Terry
Click to expand...

I have the machine in the machine room of my shop, which is in my barn. It is a WW2 machine, with single phase motor. I would hate to install one in a cellar unless it had a garage door. It was a major project to get it into where it now is.
 
The wrench came out beautifully. I think that Ford didn't include a water pump wrench in the tool kit because you can use the screwdriver to tighten or loosen the nut.
 
Tom,

Dusty(the "Kid" that runs the CNC machine next door to my shop) and I give
you a 4 star rating! Have them laser cut from 7075-T6(tough stuff)!
Very nice, Dudley
 
Terry, I was using my finger and sandpaper to put swirls in, like engine turned. It actually looks better that way than the picture shows it, but I will try to make the finish better. I just glued a 1/2" diameter sandpaper to a piece of 1/4" foam, which is stuck to the head of a 1/2" diameter flathead screw. After the glue dries overnight I'll stick it in my drill press and try to give it an engine turned finish.

Dudley, Thanks, but I'm not up on metals. What is 7075-T6?
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
...Dudley, Thanks, but I'm not up on metals. What is 7075-T6?
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Aluminium alloy 7075 is an aluminium alloy, with zinc as the primary alloying element. It is strong, with a strength comparable to many steels, and has good fatigue strength and average machinability, but has less resistance to corrosion than many other Al alloys. Its relatively high cost limits its use to applications where cheaper alloys are not suitable.
7075 aluminum alloy's composition roughly includes 5.6–6.1% zinc, 2.1–2.5% magnesium, 1.2–1.6% copper, and less than half a percent of silicon, iron, manganese, titanium, chromium, and other metals. It is produced in many tempers, some of which are 7075-O, 7075-T6, 7075-T651.

7075-T6
T6 temper 7075 has an ultimate tensile strength of 74,000–78,000 psi (510–538 MPa) and yield strength of at least 63,000–69,000 psi (434–476 MPa). It has a failure elongation of 5–8%.[2]


Probably more than you wanted to know. Used a lot in aircraft.
 
Thanks Carl! I would have written something too the effect,.." it's a high grade
Aluminum that machines a lot like steel...good stuff...but not cheap!"...
 
Which is why we find so many housings that are cracked or broken.

Will N said:
The wrench came out beautifully. I think that Ford didn't include a water pump wrench in the tool kit because you can use the screwdriver to tighten or loosen the nut.
Click to expand...
 
d.j. moordigian said:
Thanks Carl! I would have written something too the effect,.." it's a high grade
Aluminum that machines a lot like steel...good stuff...but not cheap!"...
Click to expand...
My wife worked in Metals Sales for a number of years. At the same time I worked in Aircraft Manufacturing. She wouldn't have ever let me get by with a simple explanation, although yours makes more sense to me in the long run.
 
Tom does nice work. But if any of you plan to do milling on a drill press be sure to have the part clamped down. It is amazing how quickly the milling bit can dig into a piece of hand-held aluminum and it is GONE in the wink of an eye! I have scars to prove it.
 
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