| Sk Suregrip Pry Bars - Tool Of The Month
Pry bars. The general misconception in the automotive community is that the best pry bars in the world are screwdrivers and other similarly shaped implements. You know, the stuff emblazoned with lawyer warnings that say, "Do Not Use as a Pry Bar." But we do anyway, and invariably these tools do bend and break when used as pry bars. The thinking do-it-yourselfer may one day ponder, "What the heck is supposed to be used as a pry bar, anyway? And, what is a pry bar?"
I remember the first time I was working at a shop that had real tools and real pry bars. I was replacing the front sway bar on a BMW 2002 that was older than rust. It was your classic "chairs and flares" ride, with little more than an ashtray in the way of creature comforts. Dude was running a 20mm front bar from a 2002 Turbo, but wanted the 22x19mm Suspension Techniques bars instead-good move. Thing was, the rest of the front suspension was crapola. It needed control arms with bushings, new ball joints, strut rod bushings, steering links, and various and sundry other bits. Well, I forget exactly what I was prying on at the time using my trusty old bent screwdriver, when the owner of the shop walked over clutching a full set of four SK pry bars: "What the hell are you doing? Here, use these," he said, opening his grip and sending the pry bars clanging off the concrete next to my head.
I picked up the littlest one, sprayed a little silicone on the frame and, voil-in went that godforsaken little strut rod bushing I was struggling with. No skinned knuckles, no bent screwdriver, no huffing, no puffing. Lo and behold, the best pry bar in the world is really...a pry bar. It was like the clouds parted, rays of sunlight shone down, harps played and angels sang. Cool.
Not only that, but I learned there is actually a little pry bar world out there. Well, before too long I had all of them. If you spend any appreciable amount of time underneath festered old cars tugging on this and that so you can replace it with something newer, bigger, stronger or more powerful, then you should have pry bars, too. Pry bars are so good that the scumbag who broke into my garage last year stole only one tool: an SK 17-in. pry bar. It is, no doubt, a far superior burglar tool than what he was using before-probably a screwdriver.
Now, the thing about pry bars is, the more you use them the more you will use them. You will come to see situations where a pry bar will work wonders, and you will reach for just the right size tool every time. Moreover, you will use pry bars for bigger and bigger things. The day will come when you have the biggest pry bar you can buy-some 37-in. in my case-wedged in a precarious place like under the rear coil spring in an E30 3 Series BMW as you and your heaviest buddy bounce up and down on it, trying to get that rusty old bastard out of there (no spring compressor required, my ass). So, you don't necessarily want to cheap out on pry bars. On the other hand, there's really no need for the $100,000 sales truck to stop by. I'll let you know when it's time for the $100,000 sales truck. In this case, a medium-priced set of pry bars will suffice.
The standard-issue pry bar is comprised of a handle and a bent-tip, flat-bladed bar. Various lengths are available. SK SureGrip pry bars come individually in 12-, 17-, 25-, 31- and 37-in. lengths, and two sets. Each set includes 12-, 17- and 25-in. (part number 6093), and 12-, 17-, 25- and 31-in. lengths part number 6094), respectively. The Big Daddy 37-in. unit is sold alone (part number 6636). These are the most common types of pry bars.
Line-up pry bars have a tapered round point instead of a handle at the end opposite the bent-tip flat blade. These are used for aligning and adjusting, particularly for bolt holes. Say you have to install a trailing arm and the bushing has to line up with the brackets on the suspension carrier. You can use a line-up pry bar to torque the bolt hole into position, essentially moving the entire trailing arm until it lines up.
Rolling head pry bars use a 90-degree angle rolling head to provide leverage opposite an angled lip. These are used to lift things or separate one part from another. They are somewhat less useful in automotive work than the regular or line-up pry bars, in my opinion. And for automotive use, the smallest size line-up and rolling head pry bars are probably all you will need. However, I would have a full set of standard pry bars.
If I ever catch that burglar, we can talk about the 17-in. pry bar's suitability for facial modification.