Basic Hand Tools: Supplemental Resources Block 2

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering aircraft hand tools, proper tool usage, maintenance rules, socketry, and shop equipment based on the AIM curriculum.

Foreign Object Damage (FOD)

The risk or occurrence of aircraft components being damaged by debris, loose hardware, or unaccounted-for tools left behind in aircraft areas such as engine bays.

Ball Peen Hammer

A striking tool featuring a flat face on one side for striking and a rounded peen on the opposite side, commonly used for riveting and shaping metal.

Deadblow Hammer

A specialized non-marring hammer designed to deliver heavy striking force with reduced rebound and vibration, preventing surface damage to sensitive components.

Slotted Screwdriver

A manual hand tool equipped with a single flat blade designed to drive fasteners with a linear screw slot.

Phillips Screwdriver

A driver featuring a cross-shaped point intended to intentionally cam out when high torque is reached, preventing over-tightening.

Torx Screwdriver

A driver with a 6-point star-shaped tip that allows technicians to achieve consistent, high torque transfer while significantly resisting cam-out.

Robertson Screwdriver

A driver with a square-shaped tip that fits into recessed square-headed screws for positive engagement.

Starting Screwdriver

A specialized screwdriver designed to hold small screws securely at the tip to start threading them into tight or hard-to-reach locations without dropping them, preventing Foreign Object Debris (FOD).

Impact Driver

A heavy-duty hand tool that converts the downward blow of a hammer directly into high-torque rotational force to loosen stubborn or frozen screws.

El Brutus "Johnson Bar"

A specialized leverage screw extractor tool designed to grip and remove stubborn, stripped, or damaged aircraft fasteners.

Cheater Bar

A prohibited pipe or extension slipped over a wrench or tool handle to artificially increase leverage, which risks breaking the tool, shearing the fastener, and causing injury.

Open-End Wrench

A wrench with two parallel, open flat jaws that slides onto a fastener head from the side when there is no top clearance.

Box-End Wrench

A wrench with a closed ring opening that fully encloses a nut or bolt head on all sides to apply high torque without slipping or rounding fastener corners.

12-Point Box-End Opening

A box-end configuration that can be repositioned every $30^\circ$, providing flexibility and ease of alignment in cramped aircraft areas such as turbine engines.

Combination Wrench

A versatile hand tool having a box-end on one side and an open-end on the other, where both ends are identical in size.

Line Wrench (Flare Nut / Tubing Wrench)

A hybrid wrench with a partial opening designed to slip over lines and grip five of the six sides of hydraulic, brake, or fuel line fittings, preventing rounding ("buggering") of soft aluminum or brass nuts.

Crowfoot Wrench

A compact open-end or flare nut wrench head without a handle, designed to attach to a socket extension and ratchet for fasteners located in obstructed areas.

Offset Wrench

A wrench designed with an angled shank (typically around $40^\circ$ to $55^\circ$) to clear surrounding aircraft obstacles and protect the technician's hands.

Adjustable Wrench (Crescent Wrench)

A variable-size wrench featuring a movable jaw controlled by a worm-screw; when in use, force must always be pulled toward the fixed jaw to prevent jaw spreading and slipping.

Pipe Wrench

A heavy-duty plumbing tool with serrated, hardened jaws designed to dig into round pipes; it is prohibited on precision aircraft hardware and fasteners due to severe surface gouging.

Hexagon Key Wrench (Allen Wrench)

An L-shaped hexagonal steel bar used to turn internal-drive socket head cap screws and set screws on control linkages, interior panels, and instruments.

Interlocking Slip-Joint Pliers (Channel Lock)

Pliers equipped with curved, tongue-and-groove adjustment tracks along the pivot that provide multiple jaw opening positions with high parallel gripping force.

Needle-Nose Pliers

Long, tapered-jaw pliers utilized for electrical, avionics, and safety wire work in deep or congested aircraft spaces.

Diagonal Cutting Pliers (Dikes)

Cutting pliers with angled cutting blades designed to cut wires and cotter pins cleanly and flush to surrounding surfaces.

Locking Pliers (Vise Grips)

Adjustable, compound-leverage clamping pliers that mechanically lock onto workpieces to serve as an extra hand or clamp during fabrication and assembly.

Snap Ring Pliers

Specialized pliers with pin or serrated tips that either contract internal retaining rings inside a bore or expand external retaining rings over a shaft.

Safety-Wire Pliers (Twisters)

A precision aviation maintenance tool used to grip, tension, and twist stainless steel safety wire to lock critical fasteners against backing out from vibration.

Aviation Snips Color Coding

The industry standard color identification for compound sheet metal shears: Yellow snips cut straight, Red snips cut curves to the left, and Green snips cut curves to the right.

Deep-Well Socket

An extended-depth socket designed to reach nuts situated on long threaded studs or deeply recessed bolts.

Impact Socket

A heavy-duty, thick-walled socket with a matte black finish engineered from ductile steel to withstand the hammer-like blows of pneumatic or electric impact tools without shattering.

Breaker Bar (Flex Handle)

A long, rigid socket handle with a pivoting square drive used to safely break loose stubborn or high-torque fasteners without damaging ratcheting mechanisms.

Speed Handle

A crank-shaped socket handle designed to rapidly spin out or run down loose fasteners under light torque.

Universal Joint

A pivoting swivel adapter inserted between a socket and handle or extension to access fasteners at an angle when a straight-on approach is blocked.

Center Punch

A pointed striking tool with a $90^\circ$ conical point used to create a starting indentation in metal that prevents twist drill bits from wandering or "walking."

Cape Chisel

A cold chisel with a narrow, tapered cutting blade designed specifically for cutting keyways, narrow slots, or grooves.

Left-Hand Drill Bit

A cutting bit designed to rotate counterclockwise, commonly used to extract broken bolts or studs by backing them out as the bit cuts.

Stepped Drill Bit

A conical cutting bit with progressive diameter steps designed to drill and enlarge clean, deburred holes in thin sheet metal without snagging.

Tap and Die

Threading cutting tools where a tap is used to create or repair internal threads inside a hole, and a die is used to cut or restore external threads on a rod or bolt.

Vise Soft Jaws (Vise Caps)

Protective copper, aluminum, or plastic jaw covers installed on a bench vise to prevent hardened steel serrations from marring machined or finished aircraft workpieces.

Mechanical Fingers

A flexible shaft tool equipped with spring-loaded expanding claws designed to retrieve dropped non-magnetic items such as aluminum, stainless steel, or plastic parts.