Mechanics: what are your most common tools?

The more teeth a racket has will give you the most angles. There have been ratchets that do not use teeth.
THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN POPULAR FOR SOME REASON.

 

Oh gosh I didn't realize we were going straight for the theoretical math tool. I'll take 25 please.

 

So it looks like padroo would choose the 28-tooth ratchet and LJMcC would go for 25.

Anybody else?

-Chap

 

I'll take 600 in this theoretical exercise. But in real life I do not shy away from 12 point sockets at all as long as they are of good quality. It really depends on the situation and I would opt for a 6 point wrench on a 6 point fastener if practical, but I have had very good use cases for a 12 point wrench on a 6 point fastener. No rounding at all as I strictly observe the "good quality" rule for my tools as much as possible. That really is the key to not stripping or rounding fasteners. Cheap tools aren't good and good tools aren't cheap. But you do not need to replace all your tools with Matco or Snap-On. Most big box stores sell decent enough quality tools nowa days. Just look for ones that offer lifetime warranty. Those tend to be of much better quality. Sears Craftsman used to only sell one quality level with lifetime warranty and I have a set from those days (80's) which I have been using a lot and have broken a few sockets and had them replaced no questions asked. I don't remember the last time I rounded a fastener with this set. I think never in more than 30 years of fixing and maintaining my own cars.

So it's not a number of points on your socket. It's knowing how and when to use the appropriate tool. 12 point sockets certainly have their place in my tool box.

 

Seriously, have you ever worked on a car? Like, have you ever tried reaching up from underneath a Prius to put a socket on the PCV valve?

Here’s the thing: They don’t put the engine in the car and THEN put the engine together. So... sometimes, those }^]+}+{^-ing bolts are NOT in any kind of remotely mother-#^+]+]^-ing easy-to-reach location, and when you’re flat on your back with oil dripping on your face and you’ve got 8 inches of extension and one of those flexi things and you can barely reach that }€%+]+^-ing bolt, YES, I want the 12-point socket, ok? It’s definitely easier to get on the bleeping bolt!

 

I’m pretty certain that you’ve never worked on a car.
In the first place, Steven Hawking, turning the socket 90 degrees doesn’t help, and if it did, why do I want to pull the wrench off and take off the socket three times?

Never mind... this is ridiculous. You’re probably well-meaning, but I don’t think you’ve ever done any serious car work. Most times, it’s way faster and easier to use a 12-point socket. I think my impact sockets are all 6-point; I’m pretty sure that’s standard. But even my 1/2-inch drive sockets are 12-point.

 

I can't recall saying ever saying "my kingdom for a 12 point socket", lol. If access is so insanely tight that that angle matters, and it's not going on, you bring the socket back out, turn it a click or two, and try again.

The only 12 point sockets I have now are grab-bag of odds-and-ends sockets I got from Value Village, most of them are 12 point, mostly small, a lot of them odd-ball inch sizes.

 

I agree with most of what you say. Sears, the ones still open, use to sell "ok" tools. Then they went with a cheaper version.
They are CRAP! Craftsman are okay for someone for minimum use. They use to have commercials that said:
WHEN they brake, they are replaced for free" Which was a pain to do. Snap On said "IF" they brake.....
I started with crapman tool and they worked good, until I started working at a dealership. I spent all my lunch breaks, and afterwork
time at sears fighting with them to replace the broken tools. EVERYDAY! The cheap chrome would chip off into my fingers.
I still have and use SnapON tools from 1985. Only a few of them broke, quickly replaced without question from SnapON.

"It's knowing how and when to use the appropriate tool." THIS IS THE KEY!
The correct tool for the job, used the correct way.

No need to spend that much money for SnapOn, Matco, or Mac tools if you are going to use them to change your oil
once every 6 months. But if you are going to be using them everyday, they will pay for themselves.

 

Not that I need to prove anything to you, but I've been working on cars, motorcycles, boats, and machinery for more 30 years, so while I certainly don't know everthing, I get by pretty well. I do however learn new things all the time from people with more experience or different experience than I have. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times.

The "gripping power" of a 6 point socket is so far superior to that of a 12 point socket that it's not even worth discussing. Certainly we can agree on that.

If you're trying to fit a socket on a fastener with the ratchet handle attached, you can spin the ratch mechanism backwards (clicking sound) to make it line up. The 30 degrees less that you have to spin the 12 point is inconsequential compared to the functionality you're giving up to the 6 point socket.

BTW, if I'm removing the PCV valve on a Prius, I'm doing it from the top, but that's another discussion.

 

What makes you say that, I wonder? It helps when I do it. It helps when Leadfoot does it (see #43). Have you tried it ever, or drawn a simple picture? Does a hexagon turned 90° have its corners in the same places?

You never would. Once does the trick. A second time takes you back where you started (a hexagon turned 180° does look the same). A third time is no different than the first time. Post #40 offers the quick way to figure that out without drawing pictures.

You end up with only, exactly, the same every-30° position choices you would have with a 12 point, with the head contact area of a 6 point.

If you're ever stuck with a 6 point socket (on a trip maybe, having to use somebody else's tools?) in a tight space, give it a try.

-Chap

 

+1
It works when tvpierce does it too!

 

I've posted this on Priuschat elsewhere but it's worth repeating here...

 

Do you keep the Corona in your tool chest?

 

I keep it in the fridge, then in MAH BELLY!!!

 

I’ll always try to get by with whatever tools I’ve got at hand, but luckily my days of driving beaters that I had to fix on the side of the road are long behind me.

Today’s ratchets have very fine teeth, so you can just twist the socket or extension a bit to fit. But for most work, generally, I greatly prefer 12-point sockets, because it’s much easier to get them onto hard-to-access bolts. I’ve done tons of car work where I have to put the socket on by feel, and it’s definitely faster and easier with 12-point sockets.

A Prius spark plug change, for instance, means loosening about 20 bolts with an extension, and it’s a lot faster with a 12-point. I don’t really care how you work on your car — freedom and liberty and all that — but I don’t think 12-point sockets are evil, I think they’re generally better.

Granted, I live in California, so we don’t get a lot of rusted bolts. But I have an impact wrench and sockets for that, and, yes, they have 6-points. Lug nuts, exhaust bolts? I’m ready for them.

 

Air or electric impact? Just curious.

 

I'm still wondering about what you said back in #66.

Have you had a chance to check that?

-Chap

 

A GOOD Multi-meter, something like a Fluke 88.

 

I was suddenly reminded of this thread, thought to check back and see what answers came back. Still only 2 takers?

 

What on earth could suddenly remind a person of this thread?