Black & Decker AAW100 8-Inch Auto Wrench Adjusting Wrench

The Auto Wrench is not meant to replace specialty tools like pipe or torque wrenches, but the jaws open wide enough (up to 1-1/4-inch) so that it could conceivably replace a range of manual wrenches sitting in your toolkit. This is an ideal product for someone looking to buy a wrench that's both easy to use and versatile. At 8-inches, you could toss it in the silverware drawer and whip it out when you need it.

The area where this wrench really shines is in hard-to-reach spots where mobility is obscured, such as under sinks. A typical situation where the Auto Wrench would help might be one in which you're awkwardly reaching for a nut underneath the kitchen faucet. With a comparable manual wrench, it's conceivable you would fumble around with the adjusting mechanism for minutes on end, and then toss a fit. With the Auto Wrench, you'd simply press a button (positioned where you rest your thumb) and the jaws would open or close to your specifications.

We were a bit skeptical when we learned the Auto Wrench takes AA batteries and doesn't include a rechargeable battery. This means you'll need to keep some extra batteries around the house - or buy some rechargeable batteries -- if you use it frequently. However, the wrench isn't a power hog by any means. Black & Decker says you can get 650 cycles out of two AA batteries, which should be plenty for most people.

What's in the box
Wrench, AA batteries

The Black & Decker Story
Two young entrepreneurs, S. Duncan Black and Alonzo G. Decker, founded a small machine shop in Baltimore, Maryland. They called it The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company. Their shop has grown beyond anything they could have imagined. Today, Black & Decker is a global marketer and manufacturer of quality products used in and around the home and for commercial applications. It is also a major supplier of information systems and services to government and commercial client's world-wide. With products marketed in over 100 countries and approximately half of its revenues from outside the United States, Black & Decker's product lines hold leading market share positions in their industries. The company is the world's largest producer of power tools and accessories. Its household products business is the U.S. leader and among global competitors in the small household appliance industry