Cool Plumbing Tool

I love gadgets and tools. If they’re more than just a novelty and can make my job easier, then I’m really happy. One thing I won’t do, though, is give a nod to a product that I haven’t tested in my own real world situation. With that said, I gotta tell you that I just had a chance to use a hand tool from RIDGID that, in all honesty, made me nod in approval several times! This is RIDGID's Faucet and Sink Installer.
I was replacing a sink faucet for a segment of our television show and decided to give it a try. It’s specifically designed to remove and fasten those plastic basin nuts, supply line nuts and 7/8” & 1” hex nuts. It can also grab hold and turn the supply line valves. What you’ve got is a rugged piece of high strength plastic about 10 inches long, so it’s easy to slip up into those hard-to-reach places behind the sink. On each end there are different size slots that will fit 2, 3, 4 and 6 tab basin nuts. The tool also comes with two aluminum inserts. One is for turning angle stop handles and the other will hold a strainer basket in place. One of the features that I really like is the fact that there’s an opening down the entire length of the tool about 1” wide so you can slip it over existing supply lines to reach those mounting nuts. This particular model can be found at The Home Depot for close to $20. I personally think it’s a great investment. My only complaint is that once I finished the job, the tool had to go back into Danny Lipford’s tool box, and not mine. Otherwise, a big thumbs up!