Bucket Wrench

sealed bucket lidIf you’ve ever spent several minutes wrestling with a well sealed snap lid you may have experienced what I call “bucket fingers.

There’s actually a trick to opening a bucket lid. Pull out on the lip rather than up. But some lids are so stubborn that even this secret pro bucket-wrangler technique isn’t enough.

Prior to using a bucket wrench, I used to get such bad bucket fingers that for a while I’d lose the feeling in my finger tips!

Your knuckles and fingertips will be spared this suffering with this simple bit of molded plastic.

bucket wrench!

bucket wrench opening a bucket
Bucket wrenches run a measly 4$ on Amazon,  which is actually less than the cost of a single Gamma Seal Lid.

And if you’re a serious bucket opener, check out this bung nut wrench from USA Emergency Supply. This thing has ten times the durability and opens several varieties of buckets and drums.

bung nut wrench

For wrenching buckets open and smacking them closed all in one tool that attaches to the handle, look into the bucket multitool featured in the Multitool article. 

bucket-opener-and-multitool

I’m really interested to know how to bodge a bucket wrench. Will a standard prybar work? What about a scrap piece of rebar? A metal spatula?

I’ve not found a great way to DIY a bucket wrench but the technique has got to be out there. If you’ve found a way to engineer a homemade bucket wrench I’d love your input in the comments.

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3 thoughts on “Bucket Wrench

  1. Would a “C” clamp work? Or perhaps an adjustable wrench?
    Just some thoughts, I haven’t tried either. If I were going to try it (no “c”clamps here), I’d put the adjustable part of the “c” on TOP of the bucked and the lip piece of the wrench on the edge (bottom part of the bucket wrench) and use that for leverage. hth

    • Yeah good point, a c clamp could work. A C clamp is adjustable and seems to be about the right size and shape. I’ll have to try that next time I’m around one!

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