Two-Headed Wrecking Bar Better Than One

Two-Headed Wrecking Bar Better Than One C.J. Shortridge turned a standard wrecking bar into one with two heads to straighten joists while flooring a porch. Adding a large socket at the connection point lets him use a ratchet handle as the pry bar on the clevis-type heads. “I needed jaws that would grab onto the 2-in. joists that were twisted and take the twist out,” he says. “I’ve used a pipe wrench for the job before, but with the socket and ratchet handle, I have more flexibility in the angle of the handle.” Shortridge used the two ends of a bar to make the jaws, one with a 90-degree curve and the other with a slight curve. He welded them together with both curves in parallel, placing the socket on the back side of the clevis. “The curves give me more leverage,” says Shortridge. “The length of the jaws is just shy of 3 1/2 in., so it won’t stick past a 2 by 4, and the opening is sized to slide over the edge of 2-in. width lumber.” Shortridge points out that while a pipe wrench travels only 80 degrees, the ratchet can be adjusted to any angle. Shortridge credits his dad for his welding skills and his fix-it attitude. He notes that his dad was always making and fixing things, and he does the same. “I made the two-headed bar because I needed it,” says Shortridge. “The way I grew up, if you needed something, you made it or you did without.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, C.J. Shortridge, 29146 Piney Neck Rd., Dagsboro, Del. 19939 (ph 443-359-0199).

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