I have a need for a HARDENED open end tool, wrench. . to remove the fluid nozzle on one of my paint guns. At some point I used to have one that came with the gun. I quit loaning my paint equipment and that is what I believe happened to it. I contacted HF as they used to supply a tool for removal of the fluid nozzle but they do not do so any more,,!! How to HARDEN this tool,,??

 The slot on the fluid nozzle is 1/8" wide and is kin to a 11/16" open end wrench. This "tool" will have to be hardened as the open end wrench I ground down the points just opened up when I tried to break the fluid nozzle loose,,,There are two machined surfaces right next to the slot for the wrench,,so one has to be very carefull to not ruin thse surfaces on the nozzle,,,??

 Any ideas,,,??

 Yes,,KMAG, The fluid nozzle is most likely an aluminum alloy and I did NOT want to even try to heat the nozzle up as there is a gasket under it and O-rings in the fluid passage the nozzle screws into.

 I;m gonna try to machine an 11/16 box open wrench to fit in the slot in the nozzle, then heat it like you suggest,,,will it help the more times I do that,,,??

 That sounds like a great idea,,,Steve,,!!  I'ma gonna rig up tomorrow to give that a whirl,,,  Thanks,,

 I'm not near my shop this week or could check my Craftsman set's 11/16" for thickness. 

 IF you grind down a wrench to fit slot, keep dipping it into oil or water to keep heat buildup low. 

watched enough 'forged in fire' to wonder WHY guys 'cool with water'....

normally you get the metal orangy-yellowy  in colour, then quickly into oil.

Also if you don't get it right the 1st time, you stand a 99/44% chance of destroying it doing a 2nd heat treat.

you might try grinding an open end wrench. 1st get the proper sized one, I suspect METRIC, since gun came from HF....... then use hand file to 'thin' it down, spalshing cool water on it often. The wrench IS already heat treated so if you reduce with grinder, you'll destroy the heat treat. I've done this with 7/16" wrenched to hold the 1/4-20 nuts on B&S starter electrical studs.

  SAY,,,!!!  I just thought of maybe what to use,,,how about a piece of a lawn mower blade,,?? They are fairly thin and most likely already hardened and wouldn't take much more careful grinding to get to correct thickness and shape,,,??

 I'm liking Steve's idea of heating in water,,,,

 You are correct and I have two of them,,,HMMmmm have to remember where they are,,,,,?

some of those wrenches are actually a STRAP with a notch in the side as compared to a "normal wrench"..

 Well,,,you guys ain't gonna believe this but as I  was looking for a piece of 1/8" stainless and decided to try  Steve's idea of heating the head of the paint gun in HOT water and after two trys,in Boiling HOT Water,,, 30 minutes later,,,,the dang nozzle broke free,,,!!!  YEA,,!! Many THANKS fellows,,,!! 

I'm still gonna make a wrench with some hardened material,,,prolly SS,,, Thanks Again,,,!!!

  After trying and bending two make shift wrenches and not even budging the stuck nozzle,,I realized the "WEAK" points were at the juncture of the "EARS" on those make shift wrenches,,,,!!! Steve's idea is what Im going after using a section of a lawn mower blade with minimal grinding on the notch which will easily remove that XCFDT%$$#^            stubbern nozzle,,,,!!!!!

 

   Pipe wrench,,,,??    PIPE WRENCH,,,!!!!!??? 

 Holie Chit,,, Mr Adams,,,here we all are trying to finesse this " specially machined chunkof meta" off the spray gun and,,,,and,,,,AND   you want us to destroy the nozzle in one fell swoop with a friggin pipe wrench,,,,my goodness,,,,!!!

  Yes,,,ole Shameless just did not have very much patience with stubborn things and even less with stubborn people,,,,

  I sure miss that guy,,,,,

Lawnmower blades are NOT hardened EVER.  They're high-quality steel, but in the realm of alloys, they are referred to as NON HARDENING.

Here's why:

Hardening is a state of crystalline structure. 

Making something hard, means removing the malleability.

Malleability is what allows a mower blade to whack a rock, or a stump, and still remain in one piece.

IF you were to 'harden' it, it would whack a few soft things and develop stress cracks... it would hit a few hard things and shatter off pieces...

Then it would be off balance, and shatter... sending sharp pieces of metal out the sides of the deck at 217mph.

A hardenable alloy is found in springs, SOME shafts (axle shafts), gears, etc.,  BUT... usually the hardening is very limited, frequently just enough to make an abrasion resistant surface for lip seals, more durability on splines, etc.

IF the nozzle came off simply by applying a little thermal exercise, then the proper 'tool' for getting the nozzle free, is a little thermal exercise.

The flex you saw in your prior wrench attempt, is elastic response to what amounts to a lever (the wrench handle) and a cam (the flats) turning the jaws into a spring.  IF a wrench fits a nut really loose, it will do exactly this.  If the wrench fits really tight, it won't be as likely, because there's not enough play to allow the 'cam' to rotate in the FIRST place.

 Hey Dave Kamp,, thanks for that info,,, actually it was not a simple application of a little thermal eexcercise,,,I had to get the water boiling really hard and took several attempts with the makeshift tools to get the nozzle broke loose,,,I was NOT gonna fess up that I had to use a big pair of vise grips to hold the ends of tool ears closed so they would not open up and after several attempts,,it finally broke loose,,,but I do not want to have to do that to break it loose on future uses,,,, 

 I think I may have an old leaf spring that is 1 1/2" W  by 3/8" ,,,would that be a qualified candidate,,,?? 

 On second and maybe even 3rd thought,,since I have the lawn mower blade cleaned up,,,I'm gonna make a tool similar to Steve's suggestion with just the simple notch to grab the nozzle and more than enough "MEAT"  on the ends to break the nozzle loose. 

  I thought about tackling the real issue as to WHY the dang nozzle is so hard to remove and it must be the threads are not exactly kosher. 

  This is one of the best spray guns I've ever used and has the Best spray pattern that rivals two of my Binks Guns and it being a gravity feed and HVLP is why I want to save it,,,,,

as for 'why', my guess is it's cause you didn't properly clean it last time and leave the nozzle OFF. ANY amount of residue paint or cleaner in the threads becomes 'locktite' overnight.

I HAD a $400 airbrush for years, always cleaned and kept it disassembled until next time.... loaned it out, came back 'clean and assembled'. it went into circular bin as NOTHING got it apart.

  Well,,,Jay,,We just got to fess up to a "Soft Heart" for our fellow man as far as loaning our treasured tools. After loaning one of my spray guns to my brother years ago,,,,,I made him take it back THREE times for recleaning. My Motto is,,,"IF I can tell what color paint you used with MY gun,,then it ain't CLEAN  enough!!  He never come back to ask to borry it,,,!!! Suits me.