# Homemade Tools > Basic Homemade Tools and Tips >  more adjustments; Basin Wrench

## Toolmaker51

Plumbers may not be actually human; in view of constrained areas they demonstrate entrance to and chose to work. There are a few companies that cater to the rest of us, constructing tools to operate where conventional items just won't.
Friday last; faucet replacement. Predicament was dependable 35 yr old faucet/basin wrench impeded by undersink hardware and lack of universal joints in elbow/ shoulder.  :Head Scratch:  This model 1017 had four adjustments, 10" to 17" in 2 5/16" increments. Holes receive spring loaded detent pin. Neither 12 5/16" or 14 5/8" lengths allowed the jaws to reach AND loosen faucet fittings. 
 :Idea:  Maintain same spacing offset by half, drill 3 additional holes opposite face of 4 original locations. 
 
Used original hole to duplicate centerline, flipped the sleeve 180 degrees, centerpunch and drill as described. New effective intervals are 1 5/32". Didn't take 15 minutes, and saved extensive anger-tinged  :Angry: vocabulary for later.
Plumbing itself and it's respective tools are somewhat unlike those other trades depend on...but accept re-assignment readily :Wink: . The others, so-to-speak, are less inclined to help out :Headshake: .

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Jon (Jun 5, 2017),

Seedtick (Jun 5, 2017)

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## Frank S

I hear you about the not human part I think most can spot a plumber by their butt cracks extending about 6 inches above their waist this also must give them the ability to have reverse elbows and thumbs on the wrong side of their hands. because any time I ever had to do any basin repairs it seemed that no matter which hand I used my elbow wouldn't flex in the right direction and my thumb needed to be where my little finger was. The last basin I worked on on my own home I simply pulled the entire cabinet works and counter away from the wall to gain access The wife was not impressed when she saw a 12 ft counter top and lower cabinets sitting half way out in the middle of the kitchen But hey it worked and I didn't even need to tap into my colorful expletive vocabulary all and all the job probably took half as long to finish doing it that way

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## Toolmaker51

> The last basin I worked on on my own home I simply pulled the entire cabinet works and counter away from the wall to gain access The wife was not impressed when she saw a 12 ft counter top and lower cabinets sitting half way out in the middle of the kitchen But hey it worked and I didn't even need to tap into my colorful expletive vocabulary all and all the job probably took half as long to finish doing it that way



And, finish even faster with "Honey! It's that kitchen island you always wanted..."

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## Frank S

If it had, the cook top in it instead of the kitchen sink I might have been tempted to cut it down to about 8 ft and adding a breakfast bar on it. Still trying to think of a gentle way of approaching the subject of an Island.
Our kitchen/ dinning area is a 21 by 19 ft room so there is more than ample space

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## Jon

Interesting. This is one of the single most awkward house fixit tasks. If your cursing abilities ever get rusty, this is the job you do to sharpen your skills.

If you could just lie flat on the floor, it wouldn't be too terrible. But you're constantly working at a terrible angle, and the job has to be done perfectly.

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## Frank S

A while back there was a guy here who was trying to design a plumber's creeper while the idea is intriguing. with the already severely limited space the application would prove detrimental in most cases. 
Access to working areas under the kitchen sink or the lavatory in a bathroom are almost always further reduced by the poorly designed plumbing fixtures we find as American standard even high end fixtures are little more than fancy versions of the cheaper varieties Traps and drain locations, (IMO) have never been well designed 
When I was working un my kitchen I wanted to incorporate a more European trap 7 drain system but to do so would have meant tearing out the entire back wall, ripping up a section of the floor and rerouting just about everything. Not an expense or time element I was willing to commit for just so I could have a cleaner under sink cavity.and even that would not have been without its problems later in life since almost everything now days is made of plastic

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## Jon

Yeah, I always stick a $10 battery-powered water alarm in under-sink cabinets. Learned that lesson the hard way, but at least I learned it.

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## Frank S

I have alarms for carbon-monoxide smoke detectors gas leak detectors electrical fault sensors, and now it seems that I might want to invest in water detectors 
Thanks Jon I hadn't thought of them.

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## Toolmaker51

Jon, our prolific administrator posted "Yeah, I always stick a $10 battery-powered water alarm in under-sink cabinets. Learned that lesson the hard way, but at least I learned it". 
That prompted 



> I have alarms for carbon-monoxide smoke detectors gas leak detectors electrical fault sensors, and now it seems that I might want to invest in water detectors. Thanks Jon I hadn't thought of them.



Yes, if placed in a pan under a drain.

I'll endorse them too. As $10 the going price, far better than same amount wasted on an insurance policy. Sure the detector is reactive, but what alarm isn't? Rather clean up a 50 gallon spill or 500? There should be a business opportunity coupled to a smart water control valve....
Most common in basements. I'll suggest them in drain pans surrounding inside air conditioner/ furnaces too, announcing sump pump failure. 

With the components about, making them is simple. A small sealed 'pontoon', 9v battery and horn, two leads exiting the side. Water completes the circuit and she wails. Assembly needs to be light and stable enough to float, keeping the leads in contact with pooling water.

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## mklotz

I can still remember a design from _Popular Mechanics_ seen when I was just a kid. It consisted of a (spring-type) clothes pin, the two wires wrapped around the tips. The pin was clamped onto an aspirin tablet. When it got wet the aspirin dissolved, the wires touched, and the alarm was sounded.

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Toolmaker51 (Jun 7, 2017)

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## Frank S

> I can still remember a design from _Popular Mechanics_ seen when I was just a kid. It consisted of a (spring-type) clothes pin, the two wires wrapped around the tips. The pin was clamped onto an aspirin tablet. When it got wet the aspirin dissolved, the wires touched, and the alarm was sounded.



 That was published back when Popular Mechanics was still about mechanics

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Toolmaker51 (Jun 7, 2017)

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## mklotz

> That was published back when Popular Mechanics was still about mechanics



Even as a grade schooler I waited anxiously each month for the postman to bring the latest issue which I devoured as soon as my Dad laid it down. So sad to see it, and _Popular Science_ become nothing more than a collection of advertisements.

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Toolmaker51 (Jun 7, 2017)

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## Jon

Yes, the magazine era as a whole seems to be fading rapidly. I do miss their glossy polish, readability, and careful curation, but they can't keep pace with the sheer volume of information we now require for intellectual satisfaction. _Farm Show_ was and is still good for homemade tool ideas, but now forums are a much more valuable modernization of the classic "Readers' Tips" sections of such magazines.

That is an interesting point about using water alarms to self-insure. There are some indicators of insurance companies recognizing the value of such alarms. Of course the ideal system shuts off the water in the event of a leak, instead of just sounding an alarm that's only audible to people present in the house at the time of the leak. There are commercial systems available, like Floodstop, but their cost limits their utility to niche applications like a 2nd floor washing machine.

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Toolmaker51 (Jun 7, 2017)

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## mklotz

With everyone (except me) in possession of a smart phone, there must be an app that would allow the water sensor to telephone you at the first drip. Then, even if driving in the fast lane, you could use another app to adjust the wi-fi equipped water shut-off valve.

A quick Google indicates...

https://hackernoon.com/how-much-time...7-e5f90a0b10a6

that folks now spend four hours a day on their smart phones.

It boggles the mind.

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## Toolmaker51

In response to Jon, Marv, and Frank S laments on demise and degradation of print material...
None are old enough to be members of the real surge of print, yet share our vast individual creative foundations on it never the less. 
In fact, a memorable series of HMT.net posts ascertain it. 
Just as others continue to do, I hunt out printed reference material on a regular basis. Only the condition is important, age not a concern. It's no generalization older material has more valuable content; to infill, reinforce, categorize, and preserve our personal trove. 
As such, we experience a 'golden age of print' one by one, commencing with first realization of "I want that".

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## Frank S

a friend of mine saw fit to send me a new subscription of popular mechanics. While I thanked him for the thought we were both taken aback with the lack of content. 
Advertising has led to the demise of many printed media. Just as commercials breaks has just about killed television 
Does anyone remember how the Alfred Hitchcock hour used to air? back in the day the He would come on in the beginning of the show give a short narrative of the upcoming program then warn us of the commercial break then the program would run to about mid story he would break in and have a series oc commercials then right near the end another set of ads would air just before the we found out who done it
If you watch a rerun of those old programs today there will be no less than a dozen such breaks between his telling of the impending breaks. 
I was trying to watch a documentary on something a while back that I really wanted to see but the 1 hour documentary took 2 1/2 hours to air it was broken up so bad that I found it nearly impossible to even remember is the show was still on or if it had gone off and another had taken its place.
I finally found where the documentary had been published on line and downloaded it sans any ads

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## Toolmaker51

Trash and hype seem to prevail, against our wishes. 
It's slow at work, imminent layoff. So along with a cover/ resume update, I've dropped in on HMT.net for relief. Then back to the web for leads. I'd forward to any who'd like some dry reading... :Popcorn:  maybe  :Beer2:  probably  :3 Stooges: 
Like the ruin befalling Popular Mechanics and such, you can search jobsites for "Toolmaker, Precision Machinist, Prototype, Machinery Maintenance, Millwright -CNC". Quotes, -filter and all.
Upon returning to email, there will be the _we've found x amount for you_ that includes waiters, baristas, clerks, sales, Avon and any number of franchise names, Uber and Lyft...So out of 387 whatever, 10 adhere to the search, MAYBE within the driving radius specified. Turns out naught but a ploy to present advertisement plastered all over desired content. 16 pages deep to boot. Opinion: The pattern described originates with LinkedIn and Facebook. Despite 'recommendations' I have NO presence at either.
WTF? Are there more than one Kansas City, MO and 64131 zip? I try to locate leads, then circumvent the site by accessing the actual company.
I'll not comment on the commercials touting same websites to HR dipshits, making their job sound so tasking, inundated with applicants. 
Ooops, did it again.  :Soapbox:

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## mklotz

Here you go TM51. Don't wear yourself out ranting. Let the professionals do it for you...

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Toolmaker51 (Jun 7, 2017)

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## Frank S

Good one Marv funny how excerpts from old movies always seem to be timeless

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## Toolmaker51

Marv and Frank, yep ol' Peter Finch pretty well nailed the tone of Beale character. What a performance.
I suppress it, but it simmers below the surface continually. I'm hardly the only one with same affliction.
I remember that night in the the theater. Few had seen it, spoilers hadn't been invented yet. Audience raised the roof for that scene; after the initial shock.

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## DIYer

Thanks Toolmaker51! We've added your Basin Wrench to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Toolmaker51's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:















Basin Wrench
 by Toolmaker51

tags:
wrench, hand tools

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Toolmaker51 (Jun 13, 2017)

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## Toolmaker51

Yayy. Every one counts, and I gotta lotta catching up to do.

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