The Auto Wrench: a HUGE Missed Opportunity from Black and Decker

A review and teardown of Black and Decker Auto-Wrench: a great idea ruined by bean counters

[@jimpolicke7639]

The guy that invented this was a co-worker of mine. He won an inventor's award for it, got his patent, and sold it to B&D. I got one of the early ones and I think it was made a little better. Still a useless, gimmicky gadget.

[@thedoubtfultechnician8067]

Wow, is he still around?

[@jimpolicke7639]

@@thedoubtfultechnician8067 Far as I know. Retired a couple years ago.

[@dafrandle]

Would you call this tool a poor idea, or poorly executed?

[@TishaHayes]

@@dafrandle Poorly executed. As an engineer I have been on development projects where we had the greatest design that had the misfortune of meeting accounting. You ended up with something that was the equivalent of Jello pudding cups filled with cat poo.

[@lassikinnunen]

I kinda want one but with grip lever for the tightening

[@davidsee3553]

You inadvertently answered the question immediately. The reason why there are so many unopened ones floating around is because they did not have the cutting disk technology we have now.

[@PenguinKnightilia]

Well, I guess I just found a Costco version of Avé. The sausage fingers aren't sausagy, but he does have hairier arms. Plus, the jokes are finally a millennial can understand. And since he's poor, he actually has to put things back together. i might subscribe

[@ucitymetalhead]

I swear I was gonna say the same thing. 🤣

[@geniferteal4178]

I believe the similarities are intentional😊

[@geniferteal4178]

You just wasted twenty bucks to make this video😅

[@carlosg1165]

😂😂😂😂😂 I have one it sucks 😊😊

[@daviddavidson2357]

AvE Channel used to be k own as Arduino vs Evil way back when.

[@FZXTCHR]

The actor in the tool ad was the guy that played “Gale” in Breaking Bad.

[@evanjames6473]

Came here to say this! That blew my mind noticing him

[@vanguardcycle]

and the editor from The Sun on The Wire

[@silkroad1201]

If you look closely in Breaking Bad, you can see a Black and Decker auto-wrench sitting on a chair when Gale is setting up the lab for Gus (Not really, but that would be funny)

[@zendell37]

These didn't fail hard. These sold out regularly at Sears stores across the country for several Christmases in a row.

[@RandoWisLuL]

i was gonna say what was he smoking lol Both BD and Sears sold a ton of these for a few years. all the suburbanite white collar dads got them. Then he shits on the wires like it needed 5-gauge wire to push 1.5 volts lol The whole product was made for the aforementioned people i was talking about above. So reviewing it as a serious tool is odd

[@WarneD1]

I think this wrench won an invention of the year award in the 90’s. It was invented to be used on the space shuttle, the motor driven adjustment was meant to be used with the gloves of an astronaut suit.

[@Jaffjv]

I feel like it would be a terrible idea to use adjustable wrenches during a space walk, even if it was automatic. They’ve using expensive torque wrenches and sockets that fit properly

[@NC944er]

I had a similar “ZipWrench” version circa 2004. As stated, it was a “gift” (curse) and came in Billy Mays “as seen on TV” packaging. The slop was so bad it couldn’t be reliably used on any fitting. Thanks for the flashback. 👍

[@TheRealXyzven]

Oversized Dremel to open a plastic shell and blatant disregard for open terminal wires touching (till they do?). A real life Tim the tool man, Taylor! SUBSCRIBED!

[@helidude3502]

As an aircraft mechanic mechanic for much of my career and minor in various other trades, I know the value of a quality tools made to do a task correctly. I have also learned that many lower end tools can successfully perform a task without a high cost or flashy appearance. I have also found that random cheap tools can be used as is or modified to do something they weren’t designed to and accomplish a variety of things. Sometimes they only work once, others routinely speed up installing a fastener in a confined location while the final torque is with the proper tool. I remember looking at one of these when they came out. I couldn’t think of a single task that I would bother to use this for. The cheapest pair of knockoff vice grips would be more valuable than a truckload of these,

[@MikeStavola]

A long time ago, I redesigned one of these for an electromechanical engineering project. Was fully forged using the jaw and gear from an existing wrench design, had a microcontroller to sense when the amperage went up on the motor to shut off, had a lower gearing, and had a 2 level rocker switch to pulse the jaws open or closed if pressed gently, or fully running when you pressed harder. I think the total cost was like 3x more than this, but the apparent profit margins for this were already really high.

[@TylerSnyder305]

They actually sold these for quite a long time surprisingly, I remember seeing these in a center isle display at Walmart maybe 15 years ago. It never seemed like a good idea to me, but there was a time where I almost bought one of those adjustables with a with a slider that you run with your thumb.

[@spikereynolds8615]

So much wasted potential in this idea. Give this idea to TTI and we'd have a Ryobi version that could actually handle something, and 5 years later we'd have a Milwaukee version that was brutal.

[@Redneck0784]

This tool would be decent if you gear drove it and threw in alittle over engineering but then it would cost $250

[@DanteYewToob]

I actually used to have one of those except it didn’t use electricity… It had a spring and a latch, and you just push a button and it automatically adjusted to the nut size and then reengages the worm gear when you release… I actually loved that tool and apparently someone else did too because it went missing. It had a few flaws, like occasionally it wouldn’t reengage on its own if the teeth and worm gear weren’t properly aligned but all you had to do was wiggle it a bit and it would lock into place. The biggest flaw was user error, the way I tended to hold it, it would hit the button when tightening and the wrench would unlock, pop open and I’d slam my knuckles into something. That was my own dumb ass though, admittedly. Fool myself fifty times and I’m a moron who will get fooled again. Haha It was perfect, no need for electrical nonsense, it still worked normally even if the spring mechanism wore out or stopped working for some reason and it made working on awkward things out of reach really simple. I’ve looked for another one but don’t remember the brand and I can’t find it on Amazon or anything… if anyone knows, hit me up! I’d like to buy another one.

[@Fridelain]

Replace the AAs with a lithium cell from a discarded vape. Some even come with USB-C for charging. That will give the motor some extra oomph. And not leak.

[@patrickrouintree6942]

When I was a little kid, my friend's dad had one and we would squish spiders and bugs with it. It was awesome at that.

[@magictugboat507]

"Now you tell us where the rest of your spider friends are hiding or we'll put the Auto-Wrench to ya!" ...wimpy winding noise

[@BrockHerrin]

Wonder how many patents were wasted on this.

[@magikben]

Hmm, I actually have one and used it in anger.

[@sailawaybob]

i have one it's mounted on a long bolt that holds my other adjustable wrenches, it's the back wrench so i use the two in front first which means i rarely if ever use it .

[@libertarian1637]

I’m a man and I bought one for myself.

[@remcovanvliet3018]

Turn in your card, former Sir. I've had a word with the Commission, and you have been disbarred. I would say that henceforth you are only allowed to drink Bud Light, but that would be cruel and unusual punishment. And, let's be honest, you probably prefer Whiteclaw, anyway.

[@michaelduttry182]

I got one years ago as a Christmas present. It sits in the bottom of an old toolbox in my pickup. It's the last tool I would ever grab to use.

[@rfarevalo]

I own one. It comes in handy when you need to adjust a nut or leveling feet of a machine and can't see the fastener. When the accessible opening is tighter than an open vice grips would allows. I use it to get behind a panel in a privately owned submersible craft.

[@paulmcgrath2175]

I intentionally bought one just because it was so over the top ridiculous.

[@takeohtyme]

My grandfather has one of these. I used to use it to slightly tighten bolts and nuts before using it to find the right sized box end to finish the job.

[@tomji3148]

Great vid man, keen for more.

[@hkr321hkr]

I've been struggling all this time to open stuff and now I see I need my angle grinder 🤔 thank you for the videos ❤

[@callancollins7708]

just got into tinkering with thinks in my shop. subscribed.

[@shockwave_3146]

Found one of these at a garage sale a while ago, figured id try it for the couple bucks it was priced for while not expecting much. Surprisingly mine works well, much better than the one you have. Granted i dont use it on anything that needs a proper gronking but for most things it works well enough.

[@chadbreton4951]

❤the fact that the wrench was unopened is hilarious and speaks volumes. And you are correct about nickelback. I do not hate them however I do not like their music whatsoever

[@coondogtheman]

I have one of these wrenches and yes it is lacking in power but I do use it to tighten and remove the hose from an LPG tank.

[@garbo8962]

I was fortunate to be able to work with best in class mill Wright mechanics, welder, & machnists while an apprentice. Millwrights took my adjustable wrenches from me because they said only halve ass people use those nut rounders. They only used a 6 point socket or box wrench to tighten or loosen hex nuts or hex headed bolts. Mine are collecting dust in one if my top chest.

[@Cr125stin]

I think the last time I saw something come out the box with name brand batteries was 2006. Unless PKcell counts as name brand hahaha

[@peterxyz3541]

NASA use a similar wrench in space. It’s for use while gloved in a spacesuit

[@77cobraii89]

i got mine from my sadly now passed pop-pop new as well. but it def fore makes light work saving time on the bolt/nut size! and that is it! never even tried to wrench with it lol

[@Nebulax123]

Have had much better luck with mine got one from my wife when they came out and been using it since for low torque jobs it opens and closes better too. I did see right away it would not be wise to push it too hard.

[@JDeWittDIY]

Have you figured out what to do with your shop floor yet?

[@thedoubtfultechnician8067]

Yup! I’ll be posting an update video.

[@paulwalsh2458]

Someone bought my Dad that for Christmas or something and I found it to have too much play. The one gimmick tool of that time I really appreciated was the small robogrips. They worked great. The large ones not as much. Even with my hands the grips were pretty far apart.

[@dfwrider3830]

some tape around the adjuster screws drive pulley may increase the torque ratio a bit for you

[@mikekristin7201]

I worked at Sears back in the early 00 when these came out. Couldn't give them away. They all went clearance and still couldn't given them away

[@HDXFH]

Braun shavers used those motors

[@zlcoolboy]

I use crescents at work all the time, this would be useful if it had tighter tolerances.

[@tbcarleton]

Maybe if he put the oil on the screw instead of the handle, he wouldn't have dropped it in the toilet, and he would have been able to adjust it with his thumb without the toilet water rusting the thing up.

[@HDXFH]

Happy meal toys are now made in vietnam

[@KouuToriProductions]

I would actually love to see Milwaukee put out an improved version of this. I'd buy it.

[@Shadow_Hawk_Streaming]

if it was built more like an older style wrench with the nut further down the handle then you'd have room for a good motor and gearing, but also I definitely think a belt is a wise choice because you don't want it to have a catastrophic failure from overtourquing

[@Pilotman28]

was that a Daniel Tosh reference?

[@silkroad1201]

I had no idea Gale was in a wrench commercial

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

Actually yeah, adjustable wrenches rarely work as well as a proper one, this is great for figuring out which wrench first try every time. Although, if we wanted that, a laser would be better

[@madeintexas3d442]

My grandma got one of these for my dad back in the day and it was absolutely useless. It had so much backlash that you would strip any fastener you tried to tighten or loosen with it.

[@Tubbytube6]

I talked my dad into getting one when i was a kid. That thing was completly unuseable. Even at that age I knew it was utter garbage. It was the first poor quality tool I've ever held. Good times.

[@carouselcoinleisure4141]

I have one and I use it quite a bit

[@mech0p]

honestly a modern one would probably be pretty good now days especially if proper made

[@davedemo8229]

inch and metric.woooooo too cool. next look for the old craftsman NiCad electric ratchet. that was a low torque winner too.

[@thedoubtfultechnician8067]

I have to crap on tools with discretion. People get mad sometimes!

[@davedemo8229]

@@thedoubtfultechnician8067 just tell them “lighten up Francis “

[@tbcarleton]

Measuring fasteners? That's what 4-in-1 wrenches or a roll pouch of stubby combination wrenches are for.

[@MMAKingRay]

If i remember right this won innovation awards and all other kinds of accolades in a tool show several years back. As a tool guy just laughed as i think the guy invented it didnt plan on it being just a fatherday gift on end cap at big bix stores. Prob got paid enough to not even care at that point. Atleast i hope he did...

[@wotmate]

Hey, I actually bought one of those just so I could say that I had an electric shifter!

[@IceBlue3111]

There’s AVE from a different universe when he was a dingle jerkin teen.

[@zaxdadeer23]

Petition to make it a federal crime to refer to anything manually actuated as “meat powered”.

[@jacobishii6121]

Yeah,I was around the mortgage industry and saw what the crash was caused by.The people that took bad loans knew they were bad.So many signatures required to proved that you been warned if you BS you may loose it

[@cmelft2463]

3:17 earned a new subscriber 😂

[@alext8828]

Mine works fine. Maybe because I didn't try taking it apart and wrecking it.

[@brycedonfrancisco2926]

Thank God I have sponsor skip installed because I only had to watch a third of this video to get the same amount of content

[@Huwbacca]

It's like hearing my dad's opinions from my son's voice.

[@acex6164]

OMG... I bought one one of these... for myself... ... ... ... I was young... sigh. It... It didn't ever work well.

[@ColtonBlumhagen]

If anyone’s looking for a similar boat way better executed concept, Look at the knipex auto adjusting water pump pliers.

[@BigT5]

"Suspiciously great deal on this mortgage"

[@MikFrith]

This old Tony and ave is in he’s blood

[@bad_kojima]

Проблемы имперической системы... Как же я люблю миллиметры.

[@waltertur9731]

Not really sure you had to break the grinder out

[@SharpForceTrauma]

"you can use this to measure bolts and grab the right sized wrench the first time" soo what im hearing is, the best use this thing has is being calipers but worse 😂

[@M.TTT.]

This is like a fidget toy for mechanics

[@CrazyMagicHomelesGuy]

Somehow, a bad tool is worse. I don't trust adjustable wrenches that much , but I absolutely would not outside of novelty purposes

[@camerontechstuffs]

I had one of these a long ass time ago

[@spencer963]

Lol I bought my Dad this as a kid for fathers day

[@eriksnel6461]

I always had an opinion about these. If you are too lazy to open and close the jaws on your wrench, you probably are too lazy to do any wrenching at all! I do however get it when a proper designed one is meant for astronauts

[@nathanalaneller]

swap out the parts fror a reliable wrench & make the belt into a metal gear driven

[@neelthehuman3548]

2:03 letz get you guys out of there Picks up massively long screwdriver

[@THNKKY]

My mom gave me one of those!

[@andrewr6861]

That wire stripper sucks just as bad.

[@WhiskyCardinalWes]

@1:32 "Time!"

[@mowgli2071]

No, I act like I hated them and I did.

[@moseshancock3336]

I remember those 😂😂😂😂😂

[@danmayberry6717]

Opening that shit AVE style. I like it

[@crassbusinessman3122]

OH SHIT I have this stupid gimmick.

[@soapboxtech]

AvE light.

[@annoyedok321]

The problem is it's replacing a hammer, and a electric hammer will never be as durable.

[@Kurazaybo]

This may be the autism talking but I kinda like how it is fat and orange

[@CerealFork27]

How are you this funny.

[@willemidaho]

Did you open that with a fucking angle grinder? You are the most badass person I know of.

[@davefoc]

That was great. was still laughing when he was done with the bit.

[@AB-ot3bc]

Well at least yours finally found it’s home 🗑️ 😂

[@RGV2300]

Crescent wrenches are useless enough, no need for a battery powered one.

[@montgomeryfitzpatrick473]

Was neat idea for home gamers but even excluding the electronics the wrench jaws werent tough enough for real work

[@AlexAnom420]

gimmick tools... shovelware

[@djksfhakhaks]

You watched one too many AVE videos didnt you.

[@davidbrewer7937]

Look at it... it is HUGE. Like trying to do heart surgery wearing boxing gloves... tgat is why.

[@user-lw6sp5pk1y]

Naawww. Give to Dewalt. Much better electronics.

[@carlymars]

You’re the millennial AvE and I mean that as a compliment.

[@sublime2craig]

No. I hate and still hate Nickelback, that band is the bane of my existence.

[@baker3794]

Bro this is ave plagiarism

[@alexpartridge1989]

Totally copying “aVe” channel lol