Print In Place Adjustable Wrench

I designed this model based on a Crescent brand adjustable wrench I use often. It requires supports and is not the easiest print.

Before you ask me to upload a version without the “CS” on it, let me explain why it is there.

The wrench this model is based on was my grandpa's. He was a person that loved tinkering with things, figuring out how they worked, and using this knowledge to fix things whenever applicable. He passed away when I was 12. I had lived with him my whole life up to that point. At that time, I wasn't interested in building things other than playing with lego bricks.

Time passed and I eventually moved away for college. I had a minimal mechanics tool set that I used to work on my bicycle. I eventually misplaced the majority of the pieces and needed new tools. On a trip home, my grandma told me to check the old toolbox if to see if there was anything I could use. I grabbed a few tools, one of which was the adjustable wrench this model is based on. My grandpa had engraved his initials, CS, onto the wrench to mark ownership of it.

I have had it in my possession for a little over a decade at this point. While I never used this wrench while my grandpa was alive, I know he used it to work on things that I used as a child. He used it to make sure the things I needed were in good working condition. Now that I have it, I've used it for many projects. Repairing my family's vehicles, working around the house, etc. I know that it's a bit silly, but when I use this wrench for projects, I feel like a little bit of my grandpa is working on the project with me.

I love tinkering with things now. I love figuring out why and how things work. I love making things. It's so much fun. I wish I had been able to do these things with my grandpa when he was alive, but I just wasn't interested in that stuff yet.

My grandpa is buried in a cemetery 5 hours away from where I live. In 2023, I took a trip to visit his grave with my grandma and my sister. I wanted to leave something more meaningful than flowers. I decided a week or so before the trip that I wanted to leave him the wrench. I was sad to leave it with him because it was so important to me. 

Three days before the trip, it hit me that I could make a copy of the wrench for him. This wasn't just so that I could selfishly keep the original tool, but so that I could use my love of figuring out how things work to make the copy. A shared love of tinkering to make a copy of the tool that has helped me many times.

I spent hours frantically trying to get the design just right so that I could print the wrench in time. I failed a few prints, but ultimately ended up with a successful print a few hours before I had to leave. It's almost certainly a blob of melted plastic now, but I was able to leave the wrench for him as a tribute.