Patent ID: 8870161

Claim:
A tool for spreading pipe flanges, said tool comprising: a pair of wedges each having first and second faces, a rectangular end face, and a pair of triangular side faces, said first and second faces converging together to form a tapered end extending between said triangular side faces opposite said rectangular end face, each of said wedges having a through-hole through said triangular sides faces, wherein said first face includes a plurality of guide rails substantially parallel to each other, wherein said tapered end is configured to be forced between two pipe flanges of a pipeline to separate said pipe flanges of said pipeline; and a retainer strap passing through said through-holes for connecting said pair of wedges, wherein said retainer strap, being allowed to move freely along said through-holes, includes a first end loop and a second end loop, wherein said first and second end loops are configured to be looped around a first and second secured locations of said pipeline, respectively, in order to retain said pair of wedges with respect to said pipeline during operation, wherein said first secured location is different from said second secured location.