Tools

well yes actually I broke 2 halfords bi-hex sockets trying to undo a crank pulley bolt (went back and got another one exchanged) it was finally unleashed when I persuaded it to come undone with a 3/4 19mm and 3 foot of power bar and 90 degrees of twist :-0

I've split a six point Elora on Vauxhaul wheel nuts but that doesn'y say anything about the relative strength, it just tells me it wasn't strong enough.

anything about the relative strength, it just tells me it wasn't strong enough.

well, it seems that the halfords 1/2 drive sockets won't take more than about 300lb/ft then :) and the crank bolt? took it up to almost 400lb/ft before it budged (don't ask me how, I'm used to doing up lorry wheel nuts)

Was this through applying an axial rather than rotary load? I've seen sockets broken like this when trying to remove a tight wheel nut - the trick is to support the lever with a second jack or whatever so it's only turning and not applying a sideways load to the socket.

Din Spec for a 19mm 1/2" drive socket is (6pt or 12pt) 531Nm, or 391 lbft. So Halfords fail the cut.

Cheapo socket sets (ala Argos and the like) tend to come in 12 point (bi-hex) only where as more expensive stuff you either get a choice or 6 pointed only, generally this is why a 6 pointed socket has thicker walls than a 12 sided one. If you think about it, a 12 sided socket is basically a

When a nut is a bit non-hexagonal (rounded off a bit or rusted away) or very tight, a six sided socket will distort less than the equivilant 12 pointed

Yes - although once only cheapies were 6 sided (apart from impact types) so tended to be thicker because of probably poorer materials.

Yup. But I prefer bi-hex for general use.

maybe, but only just :) does it matter if they are deep or regular sockets then?

i don't know what that means it was on the pulley there was a 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch size adjuster thing on it as well the T bar was on it there was a 3 foot scaffol pole on the end of the T bar it wasn't loose or anything but it was the actual socket that cracked ( the first one in two places) and then slipped

and rounded off nuts will still fit inside a 12 pioint socket, whereas the 6 side one will struggle

If the t-bar is spaced away from the socket it will tend to lever the socket sideways instead of just turning it. Of course, this is normal to a certain extent, and a socket should cope ok with a normal sized t-bar, or breaker bar straight onto the socket. But add an adaptor which spaces it out further and then use a scaffold pole...

In message , dojj writes

Particularly if its of the "flank drive" type that Snap-On and others use. All my sockets at work are 12 point because a lot of the bolts and nuts are also 12 point.

Shouldn't , it just makes it harder to apply torque without psuhing the socket sideways so to speak.

Although the longer the lever the less this is an issue :-)

That is clearly not true, for a 12 point socket to fit where a 6 point would not you would have to displace the corners of the nuts to the centre of the flats. Perhaps a poorly sized, poorly made socket will fit where as a good quality socket will not.

-- James

bi-hex are easier to get onto nuts and the like so maybe they are nicer to use, but when something is rusted up or a bit rounded off I a have found that a hexagon socket is more likely to shift it without just taking the corners off. The downside with hex sockets is that when they do take the corners off a nut, they take much more of the corners off than a bi-hex, i.e. round a nut off with a bi-hex socket, maybe you can still shift it with a hex socket, but round it off with a hex and it's angle grinder / welder / drill time.

The chamfer on the inside of the base of the socket makes them easier to put onto nuts, my sockets all have this chamfer and I don't like it. Britool sockets don't have the chamfer because if you don't have a lot of nut exposed it reduces the amount of socket you get onto the hex of the bolt, personally I rate Britool over Snap-On.

My 1/4" and my 1/2" socket set are both "wall drive" type hex, I went to the trouble of making sure I bought hex and not bi-hex because in my experience it makes a lot of difference. Admitadly my 3/4" set is bix-hex, but on 3/4" sockets you don't get a lot of choice in the matter unless you are paying a lot of money for your tools, and it tends not to be so critical on larger stuff.

-- James

but rounded over wheel nuts (fitted too tight) won't come undone with a 6 point socket put the 12 pointer on it and they come off with no problems :)

It's probably an indication that the hex socket is smaller than the bi-hex, which is closer to the correct size is an entirely different matter, personally I prefer sockets to be a little tight rather than slack because a tight socket can usually be got on where as a slack socket will more likely round stuff off when the load put onto it is big all other things being equal.

Have you ever put a set of vernier / dial / digital calipers inside both the

-- James

I bought a set of "really" cheap 6 sided things once from the way that they tended to bulge out when I tightened stuff, I didn't really want to be putting my faith (and my knuckles) in them :)

they were great for using as drifts though, deformed at an exact rate with hammer blows :)