Colleen: of caps and crescents

[mdlbear]

Finally was able to remove the recalcitrant FloLock cap from Colleen's PICC line -- it's supposed to be changed every day, and it's been jammed ever since I overtightened it on Thursday.

The tool that finally worked was an 8" Crescent wrench (based on Colleen's original idea of using an open-end wrench, but the Crescent's longer jaws and adjustability were essential). The port on the PICC line has a narrow neck with two little wings - you can sort of get a grip on it, but not if the cap is stuck. Puttiing the wings against the wrench jaws lets you hold it firmly while turning the cap, which has a large enough diameter to let you apply enough torque with your fingers.

I am vastly relieved.

Comments

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

It's so cool when you figure out the right tool! :-D

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

There are very few things that can't be at least temporarily fixed with Vise-Grips™, duct tape, WD-40™, or cyanoacrylate glue. (If none of those work, use a Non-Adjustable Adjusting Tool, sometimes also known as a BFH.)

[mdlbear]

Two of my mantras are "if you can't do it right, use Vise-Grips" and "if it doesn't fit, use a bigger hammer".

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Very close to one I learned way back when I was a child... "Don't force it, get a bigger hammer". And my son says I can fix anything with either duct tape, Photoshop, or butter ;-D

[mdlbear]

Heard it that way, too. I shudder to think of the really tough jobs that require all three.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Actually, almost everything I need to fix, assemble, install, adjust, open, connect, or build gets done with my Leatherman Juice (http://www.leatherman.com/multi-tools/pocket-tools/juice-xe6.aspx) - yes, it's purple! When I moved to this house a few years ago, I put together a whole lot of flat-pack furniture, put up curtain rods, installed a bunch of phones (and re-wired the system six times, as various problems with the pre-existing wires made themselves known), and set up the home LAN, with no other tool but my Leatherman. I could have used more conventional tools - we have plenty of them - but I just sort of got into seeing if I could do it all with the Juice. Now, if it only included a soldering iron...