Why are virtually all the tool kits you see in Halfords, Argos, etc etc always have half and half imperial and metric sockets and spanners? No one uses imperial anymore, there's no need for them. This is a real bugbear(?) of mine.
A friend of mine, who I am teaching how to service his car, proudly announced he had a new tool kit for xmas, which upon inspection had half metric, half imp' sockets but also had 5 spanners all imperial with no metric spanners what so ever! And the small [b]ball bearing[/b] on the bitdriver which (holds the bit in place) fell out on first use, no way could we find the ball bearing.
Any ideas where I can find a replacement ball bearing about 2mm diameter?
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Doesnt sound too good a quality kit imo.
Return it under warranty ?
Always buy best tools you can afford, versus amount of time they are expected to be used for etc.
Better quality tools tend to be metric or imp, not mixed. But.... it is amazing how often an imperial socket can be used to get you out of trouble. i.e. hammering it onto a stubborn fitting for a tighter fit than normal if corners have rounded off etc.
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It's a complete waste of money and manufacturing energy for the majority of of the "generally available to the public" kits to be "half & half".
Those in the know will specifically buy good kits metric only. But Joe Public buying for the first time, or mother buying DS an xmas present will be faced with a vast array of kits 90% of which will be "half & half" and half will remain unused.
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What about the A/F ones;they came between metric and imperial.
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AF is what I mean, they are useless. I don't know the difference between AF and imperial, I always thought AF means Across the Flats, but still with imperial measurements (inches instead of mm).
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Imperial are another range of sizes completely;tend to be found on older UK vehicles.
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Most people take imperial to be inch sizes which are AF. If you're thinking of Whitworth then you'll struggle to get a whit set for cheap money these days.
Most AF sizes are useful for when the metric nut is rounded etc. Got a locking wheel nut off the Porsche the other day by sacrificing a 15/16 AF socket! Most of my work gets done with a set of air sockets from Screwfix which are 3/8 & 1/2 drive and drive on the flats not the points.
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You may find a replacement ball bearing in a bike shop. There is an "old fashioned" push bike shop in our town with a selection of different sized balls in different bins.
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America still works in Imperial measurements..So these would suit the American cars ????maybe
As an engineer i see imperial drawings all the time...Always for the US market.
Us Brits now use Metric measurements......
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sometimes a little bit too much opinion....but its only because i care !!!
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America works in American units-that why their tons and gallons are different.
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I always thought AF means Across the Flats,
IIRC AF means American Fine (referring to the thread).
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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I work as an agricultural mechanic and use both m/m and A/F, this is mostly on John Deeres so some AF is expected. I must agree using a slightly smaller equivelent socket banged on with the trusty hammer can work wonders, although I use a lot of 6-sided sockets that helps with rounded corners anyway. Sealey and Draper (especially expert) are as good as anything IMHO, although the ratchets can sometimes be a bit weak for every-day use on the cheaper sets, but add a good one to the set and you're away, I find them ok, but perhaps that is partly because I'm not thinking how to find 400 quid to pay the snap-on man and we sell above tools in our showroom.
James.
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Never managed to break a Draper Expert socket, rachet, rachet spanner or normal spanner yet, even with my 13 stone of body weight hanging off them.
Now Snap on & Halfords I have broken there stuff before & I wont touch there tools ever again.
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AF = Across the flats
A(N)F = American (National) Fine
It's quite correct to describe a spanner to fit an M8 bolt as being 13 mm AF.
659.
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with all respect 659FBE American National Fine became obsolete in 1948 or there abouts and became UNF or UNC along with UNEF=united national extra fine and UNS united national special not that I have ever come across the latter
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Absolutely right, defender. Old habits die hard, and ANF as it was, was frequently "shortened" to AF - incorrectly and confusingly.
UNC UNF and UNEF (extra fine) are the current "unified" standards.
659.
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in the engineering class many years ago I was taught A F=across flat . I think you are getting confused by UNF threading which is unified national fine ,from memory I think it is 13 threads per inch ,If your theory was correct why dont we also have A C spanners for unified national coarse threads ,now that would be confusing
whitworth spanners were actually based on the diameter of the bolt and believed that all nuts related to bolt size
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my above post was for Hawkeye and it should read whitworth spanners are based on the diameter of bolt threading
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All metric spanners/sockets are measured across flats(A/F).
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Horatio I have just googled "metric socket sets" and came up with dozens of sets. I like the look of the Sealey deluxe sets, have a look at www.toolsinstock.com/index.php?page=2&act=viewCat&...6 . They have alot of metric kits.
The Teng socket sets look good as well.
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Most tool sets get used for other things, not just cars, and metric sizes are not universal.
Also nuts and bolts wear or are not made to their strictly precise sizes, so having a range of "near fits" can be extremely useful sometimes.
Ball bearings in all sizes can be bought at bike shops, perhaps even Halfords.
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Has anyone used Clarke sockets from Machine Mart, are they any good?
For some of the the 'Pro' ones they do Metric only, eg. www.machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=040212495&r=20...1 .
I had thought about buying one of these but then got a cheap set as an Xmas present a few years ago, so never got round to it, and wouldnt use them enough to justify the cost..
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Has anyone used Clarke sockets from Machine Mart, are they any good? For some of the the 'Pro' ones they do Metric only, eg. www.machinemart.co.uk/product.asp?p=040212495&r=20...1 . I had thought about buying one of these but then got a cheap set as an Xmas present a few years ago, so never got round to it, and wouldnt use them enough to justify the cost..
What I did 25 years ago when replacing mine after it got nicked was buy a reasonable set (actually Draper) & then the ones that wear like 10 & 13mm I've binned as they wore & replaced with Halfords Pro which are good value. Although my £37 hex air gun ones from Screwfix probably get more use these days. And in the past I've probably used them more than most amateurs, as I've worked on cars fr part of my living, as well as doing a huge amount of work at home.
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Also nuts and bolts wear or are not made to their strictly precise sizes .........
As with everything else the hexagon size of a nut or bolt has a manufacturing tolerance. No manufactured part is (nor could be) made to an exact dimension.
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L\'escargot.
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The best way is not to buy a set at all, but to buy individual sockets and spanners etc as and when they become found to be needed.
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L\'escargot.
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> The best way is not to buy a set at all, but to buy individual sockets and spanners etc as and when they become found to be needed.
And then discover that you urgently need a new socket at 18.59 on Sun evg, and the car has to work for Mon am. I'd rather have a full set from the start. Normally cheaper to buy by the set than individually.
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Yes, a better approach is to buy a reasonable set, and then, replace any items you break or wear out with tip-top quality items. Or, if you are going to give them serious use, buy a top quality set to begin with.
Number_Cruncher
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In fact I have a large collection of sets and part sets dating back to Whitworth days. Sometimes having a range of sizes to choose from pays dividends, because it is possible to select a socket or spanner that fits better. An old AF ring spanner that makes a really tight fit is often much better than a rather floppy Metric one. Also, as someone said earlier, it is sometimes worth hammering on an old socket in order to shift a stubborn nut.
Some applications seem to use completely non-standard sizes - I can never find an exact fit for a Solex jet carrier for example. Some exhaust clamps seem to have AF on the bolt and then metric on the nut - drives you mad if you only find out having crawled underneath, and all six possible spanners within reach are all wrong.
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