What Kind of Crowbar Should You Use?
By: The Working Man
The most typical crowbar you will come across is the cylindrical
goose neck crowbar. It is about as long as your arm and comes to
a hook at one end. Sometimes the other end will be pointed, other
times not.
The hooked end comes to a flattened fork with a split down the
middle that is used for nail pulling. Often these come along with
a lug wrench in car kits for tire changing. The goose neck
crowbar can be purchased in multiple lengths and with different
ends on the non-hook end. They can also come in different shapes
of beam.
The chisel head crowbar has a chisel on one end and can have the
other end as something else, most often it comes to a point or
has a handle for the shorter ones. This type of crowbar is mainly
used to lever away nailed-in boards. It will get you into the
tightest of spaces to start pulling away the unwanted wood. These
come in short versions mostly.
The claw bar crowbar is used for pulling up nails, especially
nails that have been driven flush into the wood. One side of the
claw is usually flat so the claw bar end of the crowbar can be
driven under the nail to pull it out of the wood. This is a
precision tool to use when you really must get all the nails out
of the wood. The claw bar usually only comes in the smaller
lengths of crowbar.
The pinch point crowbar is typically classified as a wrecking
bar. It has one end that is flattened so as to make it easier to
pry under objects. This bar can withstand a lot of weight and
usually comes in longer lengths. This bar is also used by
emergency workers for extracting injured people from wreckage.
These are heavy crowbars, if you aren't used to hefting a lot of
weight you may want to get a different type of crowbar.
The rolling head crowbar comes to a ninety degree angle and is
shaped like an "L" on one end. This type of crowbar is supposed
to give you more leverage when prying apart an object. They are
excellent if you have a lot of levering you need to do. This crow
bar comes in a lot of lengths and typically the longer the
crowbar the more weight it can pry apart without damaging the
crowbar.
The straight bar crowbar can be used for two different purposes.
It can be used to line up your materials when you are nailing
them down, or it can be used with a hammer to force the end under
whatever you are prying. These can be long or short depending on
what you choose.
The trim-puller crowbar is used to pull trim off of houses. It
has a wide, thin blade that is designed to slide under trim. It
can pull trim off of a house without damaging the trim if you are
careful. It can also pull siding off of a house without damaging
it.
There are many types of crowbars, but if you want to use the
crowbar you buy for multiple purposes then getting a utility bar
crowbar is probably your best bet. Always take care when prying
apart objects with a crowbar and wear proper personal protective
equipment.
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