• 13 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Wrench

A combination wrench, an adjustable wrench and four more kinds, each part and kind named.

Parts of a Wrench

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Open end
  2. Box end
  3. Handle
  4. Jaws
  5. Points
  6. Offset
  7. Fixed jaw
  8. Movable jaw
  9. Worm
  10. Open-end wrench
  11. Box wrench
  12. Pipe wrench
  13. Hex key

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a socket wrench

All 13 parts on the diagram

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Combination wrench 6

  1. Open end The end with an opening in its side.
  2. Box end The closed ring. It surrounds the nut or bolt head.
  3. Handle The bar between the two ends. It is also called the shank.
  4. Jaws The two prongs of the open end.
  5. Points The notches around the inside of the box end. Most have twelve.
  6. Offset The bend that lifts the box end above the handle.

Adjustable wrench 3

  1. Fixed jaw The jaw that does not move. It is part of the head.
  2. Movable jaw The jaw that slides along the head to fit the nut.
  3. Worm The knurled screw in the head. Turning it moves the jaw.

Four kinds 4

  1. Open-end wrench A solid wrench with an opening in one or both ends.
  2. Box wrench A wrench whose ends surround the nut on all sides.
  3. Pipe wrench An adjustable wrench with toothed jaws, for round work such as pipe.
  4. Hex key A six-sided bar that fits a six-sided hole in a screw head.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) US Navy, Tools and Their Uses (1971), full text at https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED132362 : open-end, box and combination wrenches; jaws; handles, straight or offset; the box wrench's points or notches in the head; the adjustable wrench's fixed jaw and movable jaw and its thumbscrew; the pipe wrench. (2) US Army, TM 9-243, Use and Care of Hand Tools and Measuring Tools (1983), full text at https://archive.org/details/use-and-care-of-hand-tools-and-measuring-tools-1983 : open jaws; jaw openings offset from the shank; box wrenches with 6-point and 12-point openings; combination wrenches; the adjustable open-end wrench's fixed jaw, adjustable jaw and knurled worm gear; pipe wrenches; the hex key wrench. (3) Wikipedia, Wrench and Adjustable spanner, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrench and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjustable_spanner : open-end, box-end and combination wrenches; handle; 12-point; offset handles; fixed jaw, movable jaw and the worm; pipe wrench; hex key. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's tool, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A combination wrench has an open end at one end of its handle and a box end at the other. The second view is an adjustable wrench. The third shows four more kinds.

Read the full guide

The combination wrench

The open end has an opening in its side, between two jaws. The box end is a closed ring that surrounds the nut, with notches called points around the inside. The handle joins the two ends. Seen from the edge, the box end is bent up out of line with the handle. That bend is the offset.

The adjustable wrench

One jaw is fixed and is part of the head. The other jaw is movable. Turning the worm, a knurled screw set into the head, slides the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw or away from it.

  • The worm is also called the thumbscrew. The quiz takes either name.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a wrench called?

On a combination wrench: the open end with its two jaws, the handle, and the box end with its points. On an adjustable wrench: the fixed jaw, the movable jaw, the worm that moves it, and the handle.

What is a combination wrench?

A wrench with an open end at one end of the handle and a box end at the other. Both ends usually fit one size of nut.

What is the round end of a wrench called?

The box end. It is a closed ring that surrounds the nut or bolt head on all sides. A wrench with a ring at both ends is a box wrench.

What is the screw on an adjustable wrench called?

The worm, or worm gear. It is a knurled screw set into the head, and turning it moves the movable jaw. It is also called the thumbscrew.

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