Klein Tools 5FW17550 Fox Wedge, Steel, 7-Inch

It runs 7 inches long by 2 inches wide, with a maximum thickness of 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) at the butt end. So driven fully home it spreads a seam about a half inch. Weight is right around 1 lb, so it stays in a tool pouch without being dead weight.

A fox wedge is a driven steel wedge for splitting mating surfaces apart, and it's also used to level machinery and structures before they get fixed in place. The Klein Tools 5FW17550 is the 7-inch steel version: forged and ground blade with a fine edge so it starts into a tight seam. Riggers, millwrights and electricians setting gear on a pad are the usual users.

The blade is forged and ground and heat treated to suit the application, so it's a struck tool by design rather than a soft shim. Standard practice still applies: eye protection and gloves are called for by the manufacturer, for the user and for anyone standing nearby, since struck steel can throw chips.

Yes, that is one of its stated uses. You drive the 7-inch steel wedge under the base to bring equipment level before it gets anchored or grouted in place. With 0.5 inch of thickness at the thick end, it gives you a continuous range of shim heights up to about a half inch depending on how far it's driven. For permanent support, most specs want solid shim stock under the wedge once the level is set.

Klein Tools 5FW17550. That is both the model and the manufacturer part number, and it is the single 7-inch steel configuration in this size. If you're spec'ing a tool crib list, order it by 5FW17550.

For splitting a flange or a mating joint, two wedges driven from opposite sides is the normal approach so the parts separate evenly instead of cocking. The 5FW17550 is sold as a single 7-inch wedge, so plan on ordering the quantity your method calls for. For simple leveling under one corner of a base, a single wedge is usually enough.