Have you ever looked at the chamfer inside the sockets? 10mm and up, the chamfer is a great convenience because it allows the socket to easily slip over the bolt head. But I have a problem when you get to small sockets in the 8mm, 7mm, 6mm range and below. The chamfer here is a detriment. The 8mm, 7mm, 6mm, bolts and screws have such small head heights and because the chamfer is so deep, the chamfer allows the socket to slip and strip the 'thin' bolt head if it is not seated perfectly square on the bolt. This socket problem is caused by the fact they seem to use the same chamfer tool on the smaller sockets as they do on the larger ones. In other words, the smaller sockets should have very little or no chamfer inside the socket. Anyone know of smaller sockets -SAE or Metric- with little or no inside chamfer? Maybe this explains why many manufacturers are going to the Torx style bolts and screws, especially in the smaller ranges.
Problem with Socket chamfer!
- Thread starter Jim Spahr
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I've worn out a few small sockets using them with a power driver on hardened screws. I "fixed" them by turning off the worn out end on a lathe with a good carbide bit and gotten a lot more use out of them. Obviously no better than grinding them, but more fun
Whatever works is good.I never thinght about it before, but don't remember ever having to fix a socket a second time. Probably because of the big chamfer being gone.
This is a good point. I have actually ground off the end of sockets to get a grip on small screw heads. I also find nut drivers seem to grip the smaller heads better than sockets.
In general I would be just as happy with a nice big hex head on everything. I intensely disliked the reduced heads on many of the bolts on my 92 Grand Am. Have hardly touched my 02 Cavalier, but likely it has the same thing. Instead of having say a 14 mm hex, the bolt will have a finger resistant round flange and then a smaller, 10 mm hex. This may be fine for assembly at the factory, but much harder to work with for repairs and maintenance.
I find the Torx heads much more workable than many other innovations. I have had much less problems with them than the Phillips heads and all the countless variations of them that still don't work and make selecting the right screw driver more difficult.
In general I would be just as happy with a nice big hex head on everything. I intensely disliked the reduced heads on many of the bolts on my 92 Grand Am. Have hardly touched my 02 Cavalier, but likely it has the same thing. Instead of having say a 14 mm hex, the bolt will have a finger resistant round flange and then a smaller, 10 mm hex. This may be fine for assembly at the factory, but much harder to work with for repairs and maintenance.
I find the Torx heads much more workable than many other innovations. I have had much less problems with them than the Phillips heads and all the countless variations of them that still don't work and make selecting the right screw driver more difficult.
Yes, yes, yes... When using "very cheap chinese 40-pc-socket-set for $4" you are asking for trouble. Never had any of the described problems with my Snap-On sockets (of course, for $10 a
socket, there better not be any problems). In my
personal experience, most of the quality expensive
tools are worth every penny, and sometimes even pay for themselves (even if it's only in termes of
time saved, and aggravation avoided).
Kestas
Staff member
The only caveat with grinding through the chamfer is that the sockets will be more prone to breakage in high-demand applications. The sharp edges will be a stress riser.
Kestas has a good point, but in the 8mm and smaller range of sockets, I don't see getting into high demand applications that will stress those sockets into the breaking zone. If I had a metal lathe, I would be willing to try some out. Now on the 10mm and up, I could see that being a problem.
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