Can anyone tell me why??

[Shocker]

Why does the Harbor Freight Hansen look-a-likes not have a post for a 12mm socket??

I don't get that. Is it just me or is just about every Japanese car screwed together with 12mm nuts/bolts?

I went to get a SAE and Metric set with that $5 coupon, but said WTF when I saw there was no post for a 12mm.

 

[Merkava_4]

This is the Chinese way of getting back at the Japanese for all those years of being smarter than them - frickin Chinese sore losers.

 

[Fedwrench]

You're being punished for shopping at harbor Freight.
One could also ask why Hansen has a peg for a 20mm socket when you'll never use it? Fixed socket racks limit your flexibility and take up too much space.

 

[vette-kid]

This is the Chinese way of getting back at the Japanese for all those years of being smarter than them - frickin Chinese sore losers.

 

[Chris Adams]

You're being punished for shopping at harbor Freight.
One could also ask why Hansen has a peg for a 20mm socket when you'll never use it? Fixed socket racks limit your flexibility and take up too much space.

Or force you to re-label.
I bought the cheaper SAE ones, put my own easy to read labels on them, now I have the socket storage I want for the price I wanted.

 

[MAD]

This is the Chinese way of getting back at the Japanese for all those years of being smarter than them - frickin Chinese sore losers.

.........

 

[fordcragar]

I buy the HF socket racks and re-label then to suit all of the sockets I put into it. Some of the sockets don't fit on the holders because of the high pin, I just grind these off.

 

[fordracing200]

why does everyone use the trays? why not use socket rails?

 

[vette-kid]

why does everyone use the trays? why not use socket rails?

I cant stand rails! There a PITA to get the sockets off of, and a PITA to see the sizes. So much easier to have a tray that lays them out with easy to read identification and you can pick them up with one hand.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I'd have socket tray if they didn't go largest to smallest, left to right. IT'S FREAKIN' BACKWARDS!!!

Socket rails for me..

 

[Uncle Buck]

Old school metal trays with the little bail handles. I had the snap rails for years, and still have a few on them, but I much prefer trays, I don't even care about labeled sizes or anything like that.

 

[volvo420coupe]

Look at the pro's boxes, most everyone who makes a living with their tools uses the hansen trays, they save you time. I too am annoyed at their selection of sizes, and if you want to substitute a used size for the unused size spot, it doesn't fit exactly (i still do it, the socket just has to be a larger size) if you put a smaller size on the empty spot it wont rest on the bottom of the tray. of course the people who store their sockets upside down on these trays would never notice.
If they went smallest to largest on the trays the large sockets would get in the way of grabbing the small ones (only applies to right handers).

 

[jkeyser14]

I have socket rails and I can't stand them. You can never see the sizes. Earlier this week I ordered 3 complete sets of Hansen trays, one for my 6 points, one for my 12 points, and one for my impacts. I don't make money using my sockets, I only save it. A few more repairs to my car and they'll have saved me enough frustration to pay for themselves.

 

[nate379]

It's preference. I like the rails because I can grab a whole rail, get under a car and have all the sockets I need instead of making 4 trips to my toolbox.

I don't usually need to see the size, I just look at the socket.

 

[tcianci]

I customized the whole top tray of my roll around with rails. Installed the sizes I wanted on the rails and then zip scewed them to the tray of the box, eveything is laid out to be seen easily and all you have to do is grab the socket, the rail stays put so it's a one handed operation.

 

[Merkava_4]

Just think if the Hansen trays had removable pegs ... and how useful that would be.

 

[Shocker]

I have been using the Lisle magnetic socket trays. They can be annoying in the box, so I thought I might try the Hansen (with the HF models, I can try them and if I don't like em, I can toss em without a lot of wasted coinage).

 

[Merkava_4]

The MTS trays with the bowling ball holes are excellent, but pricey.

 

[Chris Adams]

It's preference. I like the rails because I can grab a whole rail, get under a car and have all the sockets I need instead of making 4 trips to my toolbox.

I don't usually need to see the size, I just look at the socket.

I carry the 3/8 and 1/4 trays to the site as needed. The 1/2 is too heavy, and it was too heavy when I used rails.

I like rails, but it takes two hands to pull a socket off most of the time, and they take up more space.

Needing to see the size helps if example you are looking at a 9-8-7 or similar size in a deep socket. There is almost NO difference in diameter so they look about the same. Since I have several brands of sockets on each run, sometimes there is NO visible difference. Due to design characteristics an 8 mm Matco might be the same thickness as a 9 mm Craftsman. So you really can't always tell from the side, laying in a drawer.

If you always have two hands 'handy' and can spare the space, rails are great.

 

[Chris Adams]

I customized the whole top tray of my roll around with rails. Installed the sizes I wanted on the rails and then zip scewed them to the tray of the box, eveything is laid out to be seen easily and all you have to do is grab the socket, the rail stays put so it's a one handed operation.

I thought about doing that, but with trays selling for under five bucks each, just wasn't worth it.

Did do something like that with my 3/4, home made tray.

Can you pick a set and carry it to another site? Or did you make it one big mass?

 

[nate379]

I tried the trays once and after I knocked the whole thing over a few times with the creeper and had to picked a few dozen sockets I switched to the rails.

I carry the 3/8 and 1/4 trays to the site as needed. The 1/2 is too heavy, and it was too heavy when I used rails.

I like rails, but it takes two hands to pull a socket off most of the time, and they take up more space.

Needing to see the size helps if example you are looking at a 9-8-7 or similar size in a deep socket. There is almost NO difference in diameter so they look about the same. Since I have several brands of sockets on each run, sometimes there is NO visible difference. Due to design characteristics an 8 mm Matco might be the same thickness as a 9 mm Craftsman. So you really can't always tell from the side, laying in a drawer.

If you always have two hands 'handy' and can spare the space, rails are great.

 

[Chris Adams]

I tried the trays once and after I knocked the whole thing over a few times with the creeper and had to picked a few dozen sockets I switched to the rails.

Interesting. Have not done that yet. Had a creeper hit the 3/8 once but it is pretty wide/heavy and didn't go over. Have spilled a 1/4 all over the floor in the house once while installing a dishwaher, but only took a second to grab.

I think a lot depends on how/where you work.


There is a lot to be said in favor of both solutions.

This is really one where this is no wrong way.

Well, except for all the sockets in the bottom of an ammo can...

 

[bmxr4life87]

i have all my impact sockets on hansen trays and i love taking the whole tray under a truck with me cause then i have deep and shallow plus the sizes are easier to identify too