Warning: I used a regular wrench on my cassette lockring and almost stripped it

I was trying to swap my cassette last weekend and used a standard 12-inch adjustable wrench, which slipped and chewed up the lockring's notches. I borrowed a proper lockring tool and a long-handled wrench from a friend, and it came off with one smooth pull. Has anyone else found a good way to get enough torque without the right tool, or is buying the tool the only real fix?