Sockets-Any ideas for making the size easier to see?

[armalites]

I'm sure there is something wrong with all my sockets, when I pick up any of them the size markings are always 350 degrees from the first glance

 

[bigegg]

i use nail varnish.

 

[Parm]

i use nail varnish.

What do you mark your sockets with ?

 

[Munkul]

standard ISO hex head 8.8 fasteners are mostly always:
M6 - 10mm
M8 - 13mm
M10 - 17mm
M12 - 19mm
M16 - 24mm

With vehicles and OE fasteners, there's some variation - M6 can be 9 to 11, M8 can be 12-14, M10 can be 16-18, etc. So after a while you can just tell by head size.

Other fittings - ie. oil fittings use 22mm and 27mm, off the top of my head.

Mind you, I ALWAYS play the guessing game with allen keys and socket cap heads!

As said above - generally one or two of your sockets wear visibly a bit more than the others, ie. 13mm and 17mm, and I count from those.

 

[bigegg]

What do you mark your sockets with ?

blood from my knuckles, as often as anything.

 

[Carl Wilson]

Gear Wrench make of sockets have the sizes engraved on in large letters.

 

[Carl Wilson]

I worked on a certain British aircraft that had fasteners that were BA and BSF. It had had some system upgrades in the early 80s and where a 2BA bolt would have been used the manufacturer used a UNF size with an 11/32 AF head. Very similar to 2BA.

Then there was the fact that the original manufacturer (De Havilland) used 0BA bolts in some places where later on 1/4 BSF was used...and then there was role equipment that might be metric...so I got to be good at recognising bolt sizes!

 

[Robotstar5]

I'm useless at guessing the right size first time, particularly with hex keys I'm usually OK at work, but when it comes to my hobbies I find Japanese bikes seem to use fasteners that are 1mm less A/F than ISO standard and when it comes to my stationary engines I can find a mix of BSF, BSW and BA on the same engine!.

 

[Wightsparks]

Someone posted this recently, seems like a good solution (!)

 

[brightspark]

that's ok marking socket sizes but the nuts and bolts you use aren't marked up the size so u just look and guess

 

[Carl Wilson]

I think it's common on Japanese bikes to have different (non standard) sized AF dimensions on metric bolts. So an M8 ends up having a 12 mm AF hex instead of 13 etc.

 

[ajlelectronics]

I think it's common on Japanese bikes to have different (non standard) sized AF dimensions on metric bolts. So an M8 ends up having a 12 mm AF hex instead of 13 etc.

Ford do a little of that too.

 

[Carl Wilson]

I wonder why? Surely it's cheaper to use off the shelf standard parts.

 

[steveo3002]

I wonder why? Surely it's cheaper to use off the shelf standard parts.

they are standard in japan

 

[Ashley Burton]

Love working on the MX5 track car I currently have as a project. Seems 12mm & 14mm seem to be their version of 10mm & 13mm in the european market! They could be imperial fasteners, But metric seems to be working for me.

 

[Carl Wilson]

It's funny because 12 is close to 1/2 inch and 14 is close to 9/16 inch.

 

[Ashley Burton]

It's funny because 12 is close to 1/2 inch and 14 is close to 9/16 inch.

Don't even get me started on metric & imperial

 

[Sean]

they are standard in japan

JIS Jap Industry Standard ( and "some Fords" are Mazda so JIS)
The flanged nuts or bolt heads always seem to be half a mil smaller - wonder if its so they sit in the power drivers used on the production line , the flange would stop you loosing the nut up the socket.

 

[Carl Wilson]

I have a vague idea that some of those bolts have a taper on the hex, maybe so they grip inside the production line socket tool?

 

[Munkul]

Love working on the MX5 track car I currently have as a project. Seems 12mm & 14mm seem to be their version of 10mm & 13mm in the european market! They could be imperial fasteners, But metric seems to be working for me.

They are definitely metric It seems to me that they used 12mm headed M8 bolts in less critical applications, and 14mm M8s in more critical areas... but no way of proving one way or another. They still use plenty 10mm headed M6's.

Some say its because they're superstitious of the number 13...