Tool Stuff, That I Was NEVER Taught, EVEN After 70 YEARS!!

[CobyRupert]

Ahhh,, yes,, BUT,, 19mm and 3/4" sockets are perfectly identical, (within 0.05") and interchangeable,,
Why they never stamped both sizes on that socket always amazed me,,

…but there’s also a difference in being “close enough” if you’re using a 6 sided socket vs a 12 sided socket.
I might risk it with one but not the other, depending on how much torque I thought might be required.
I think it’s a lot easier for a 12 sided socket to slip around the bolt head than a 6 sided.
Now if I could just find my 10mm…

 

[Jstpssng]

Now if I could just find my 10mm…

I believe that you left it at my house. Along with about 8 others... the only time that I’m not tripping over a 10mm socket is when I need it.

 

[jmc]

…but there’s also a difference in being “close enough” if you’re using a 6 sided socket vs a 12 sided socket.
I might risk it with one but not the other, depending on how much torque I thought might be required.
I think it’s a lot easier for a 12 sided socket to slip around the bolt head than a 6 sided.

Yep, but in this case, 19mm and 3/4 inch are only .002 inches different- identical, within wrench tolerances.

 

[Oaktree]

…but there’s also a difference in being “close enough” if you’re using a 6 sided socket vs a 12 sided socket.
I might risk it with one but not the other, depending on how much torque I thought might be required.
I think it’s a lot easier for a 12 sided socket to slip around the bolt head than a 6 sided.
Now if I could just find my 10mm…

Lot easier to round off a bolt head with a 12 point socket too. I avoid using them when I can.

My 10s generally stay pretty close to home, but 13 wrenches wander off all the time.

 

[Whenu]

Interesting post. It is proven once again that history repeats itself.

I loved running a manual lathe (many years ago) and having a tool & die background, I once did some research on how toolmaking all started. I expected it to trace back to blacksmithing. What I found went back into the late 1700s and that the British navy was desperate for nuts and bolts to build ships.

The issue was that each village machine shop made their own version of a nut and bolt, and thread pitch. So their bolt screwed into their nut but probably not the one made by those in the next village. So, not only was there a shortage that made them buy differing bolts and nuts, they had to keep them matched, and also had to try and identify and purchase a matching nut or bolt if one was lost. I don't have the link but it referenced a boy who kept running away from the fields to watch the machinists hand file the nuts and bolts with a vise. He became a master at his craft and eventually developed the first screw machine where the travel of the tool holder was tied to the rotation of the headstock. It was the beginning of standardizing thread pitches. After reading some of this thread, it appears that we have managed to outsmart ourselves back into the 1700s. I have since seen other versions of how the first screw machine was invented and no idea which is true but it does seem that history is repeating.

A good book to read is "Exactly", by Simon Winchester, it's about precision measurements from John Wilkinson to the present day.
Has a chapter on the problems that armourers had with interchangeability of parts.

 

[dfkrug]

A good book to read is "Exactly", by Simon Winchester, it's about precision measurements from John Wilkinson to the present day.
Has a chapter on the problems that armourers had with interchangeability of parts.

Published in the US as The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

I have read numerous Winchester books, and liked them. Added this one to my to-be-read list.

 

[IndyJay]

I had a 1968 Suzuki (X6 Scrambler) and a 1971 Kawasaki 500 that used "Phillips" screws on the side casings. Soft metal too. Hated Phillips screws ever since. Finally started using a hammer driven impact driver on them. Maybe I just had the wrong screwdriver? (the rinky-dink screwdriver in their toolkit wasn't good for much)

Hah, reminds me of dirt bike days in the 70's... we replaced all the "Phillips" head screws (yes, using the hammer driven impact driver) and replaced with socket heads. We didn't realize it was a different style of head, just that the buggers rounded out way too easily.