Who's actually broken Chrome sockets with an impact?

[Blue98GT]

And not a 8mm socket necked up to a 1/2" drive impact. Like an appropriate sized socket for the impact...

 

[Sumboodie]

I've broken a few adapters. 1" to 3/4" and 3/4" to 1/2"

 

[ihateminimumwage]

1/2" 12pt 3/8" drive chrome when I should've been using a driveline socket.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Don’t remember ever breaking one with an impact. Now wallowing out the drive end with an impact yes I have done that before on chrome sockets.


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[sreeb]

Never but I have broken impact sockets with a breaker bar.

 

[RTM]

Something on the brakes on a ‘74 Fiat, in ‘78. Took it back to Sears, got another one.

 

[cvairwerks]

Haven’t needed an impact to break several......ratchet broke them quite easily.

 

[i4ni]

My resume of tools I've broken is quite extensive so I probably have but I honestly don't remember. It's easier to list things I know I've never broken and honestly at 3 a.m the first two things that come to mind are I've never broke a Snap-on wrench or a Snap-on socket and believe me it wasn't because I didn't try lol. I've broken other Snap-on stuff so don't put me in the Snap-on or die club. When you run out of options it's not that difficult to break things.

 

[Oil leak]

Two. A chrome 18mm Cornwell 1/2" drive and a Cornwell 1 1/4" impact socket 1/2" drive. Both with a 1/2" impact.

 

[Ricky Joe]

I have never broken any socket, chrome or impact, with an impact. I have broken chrome sockets by hand. My 3/4” drive Vlcek is cracked, I have broken a few S-K, Walden-Worcester, probably others I don’t immediately remember. I bent a Craftsman wrench into a “c” shape once on a 1960 B model Mack fender bolt trying to remove it. I worked with a guy back in the 1970s who would intentionally put Snap-On sockets in a vise and break them if they looked used, my first exposure to “pretty-boy” mechanics. My 2cents.

 

[seber]

I thought even Craftsman 3/4" socket would stand up to a 1/4" impact driver. I was wrong.

 

[M635_Guy]

I haven't (well, except a sleeved socket for wheels that wasn't impact-rated, which is completely stupid. It's replacement has been fine).

Watched my buddy kill two in a row (short, then long) on a wheel some gorilla had tightened. Neither "shattered" like they say they will, but both were done.

 

[Bogie1632]

Yes. Plenty have split. Never had one blow apart. Had plenty sail across the shop from worn drives/loose fittings. I've also had some used on a regular basis with no noticeable wear and no hesitation to continue using them on an impact when needed.

V/R
Bogie

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I used to use my 3/8 impact and chrome sockets for hose clamps, before I had a hex driver. Obviously there was no impacting going on, just using it as a nut runner. Still broke the 5/16 and 1/4 cornwell sockets I was using.

Most chrome sockets have the drive end so worn out people take them out of service before they crack. I just buy disposable 1/2 drive 12 points to impact on when required.

 

[kylet]

3 or 4 craftsman. 13mm 15mm somewhere around that size with my 3/8 snapon air gun. Long time ago and they were made in USA as far as I remember. That was back when they quit stamping the sizes and it had the acid etched lettering for a short time.

 

[jeepnut24]

A few splits for me.... nothing "catastrophic" though. Now I have dedicated 3/8 impacts to avoid this issue.....

 

[CoogarXR]

Early in my wrenching days I split several cheap chrome sockets with breaker bars, but none with an impact. When I bought my impact I bought impact sockets with it. I have only cheated and used a chrome socket when the deep impacts wouldn't fit, or it was an oddball size that I only had in chrome. That said, every time, it damaged the drive end so bad it wouldn't hold on a ratchet anymore. So I'll probably never do it again.

 

[SeisMec]

At least a couple 3/4" drive back in the '80s. One was a no-name marked "India". Both were 12 point and cracked at a hex corner - no broken away or flying pieces.

Said at least because at least one other broke at the end of an 8' cheater pipe on a 2' long breaker. But the socket had been used many times before on a 3/4" impact gun. And I suspect from the way it failed (immediately with not much resistance) that it was already cracked.

 

[boom10ful]

The only chrome socket that I've broken with an impact was a crappy alltrade socket.

 

[KMdef9]

Broken several 21mm.

And several other 12 point, they're especially weaker.

 

[charbar]

Yes. Most recent that I can remember was a 24mm SK and a 7/8, dont remember the brand.

Any chrome sockets I've broken on an impact all just split down the side.

 

[dnschmidt]

The socket doesn't normally break. It's the drive end that takes a beating. This was previously mentioned above.

 

[BrandoJames]

The poll question is awkwardly framed, the built-in assumption: we all use chrome sockets with impact tools. A lot of us only use impact sockets with power tools, which means the poll results will skew towards "No".

Impact sockets are so cheap that anyone here can afford a complete set. I don't know why this issue keeps popping up. The only exception I've seen: Eric O of SMA was using an impact socket with an impact gun to remove a starter, and had clearance issues. He then had to switch to a chrome socket. That's a reasonable exception, which should be rare.

 

[PMD1966]

Have broken several sockets with a 24 inch breaker bar.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Had a few crack, 1 or 2 cheapys waller out internally, and a number of extesion ends break off in the socket... I guess it depends on how much work you do.

 

[Flared Base]

The poll question is awkwardly framed, the built-in assumption: we all use chrome sockets with impact tools. A lot of us only use impact sockets with power tools, which means the poll results will skew towards "No".

Impact sockets are so cheap that anyone here can afford a complete set. I don't know why this issue keeps popping up. The only exception I've seen: Eric O of SMA was using an impact socket with an impact gun to remove a starter, and had clearance issues. He then had to switch to a chrome socket. That's a reasonable exception, which should be rare.

This is exactly how I have broken chrome sockets. My deep impact wasn't deep enough to zip off some rocker studs so I put on my chrome one that was deep enough and promptly split it up the side. I was surprised because I checked one by hand and they didn't seem particularly tight, so I was just going to zip the rest of them off to save some time.

 

[ItsNemo]

What do you answer if you've never used chrome on an impact to break one?

Generally though, I can't remember the last time I ever broke any socket other than a couple bit sockets which are fragile to begin with. If you use the right size drive and length of ratchet/bar and realize that just adding more torque until something breaks is stupid, then it's pretty rare to break anything in the first place. Right tool for the job and all...get out the liquid wrench or torch or whathaveyou rather than throwing a cheater on it.

 

[AJHD]

....

 

[Doward]

Split multiples.

Never had a shatter...

 

[u3b3rg33k]

I usually see chips come out of the socket end and they just get looser and looser.

 

[Rabid Badger]

The drive end on the only chrome socket I ever used on an impact showed significant wear after one brake job. I went down to Walmart and picked up some cheap Stanley impact sockets that I still have almost 20 years later.

At the beginning of the job I told myself I didn't have enough money to buy impacts. And the end of the job I realized I really didn't have the money to replace my chrome sockets and buy impacts.

 

[whateg01]

Yes. Plenty have split. Never had one blow apart. Had plenty sail across the shop from worn drives/loose fittings. I've also had some used on a regular basis with no noticeable wear and no hesitation to continue using them on an impact when needed.

V/R
Bogie

That's how mine have failed when they do. It's not usually the little ones that this happens to because the small bolts twist off before there's much force, but the bigger ones will split eventually if used with an impact for tough jobs a lot it seems.

 

[whateg01]

What do you answer if you've never used chrome on an impact to break one?

Generally though, I can't remember the last time I ever broke any socket other than a couple bit sockets which are fragile to begin with. If you use the right size drive and length of ratchet/bar and realize that just adding more torque until something breaks is stupid, then it's pretty rare to break anything in the first place. Right tool for the job and all...get out the liquid wrench or torch or whathaveyou rather than throwing a cheater on it.

lots of times, the impact socket won't fit in the space so I use a regular one. But I do so knowing that it could split, or that it could at least shorten its life. Sometimes I even use impact sockets for non-impact work!

 

[RivennHewn]

Broke the head off a few lag bolts using chrome sockets on my impact.

Does that count?

 

[fsae0607]

Plenty of times. In my old tire shop days, we used and abused many 7/8" chrome deep sockets for GM truck/SUV lug nuts. When some idiot in the shop lost the 7/8" impact sockets, we had to run to the Home Depot close by to purchase a chrome one to get us by until the next supply order.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've wore/rounded out a few with my M18 1/4 hex impact. 12pt don't last long until they are completely rounded out. 6pt get loose/sloppy on in the hex and square drive.
Driving or removing screws/lag bolts from wood seems to be the harder on them than regular threaded fasteners.

 

[Kscardsfan]

I’ve seen and handled a few that were being returned that had been wallowed out and broke apart on an impact gun, but I’ve never personally done it. But I’m also super paranoid about impacting chrome sockets.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Guilty as charged. Stopped when the local Sears closed down. Told the family to buy specified impact socket sets for Christmas.

 

[TTMotorsports]

Hell I broke a cheapy import Metric 19mm deep socket with my M18 Impact and just tig welded the crack up and has been using it still to this day years later.

 

[Max]

I’ve rounded several sockets driving tapcons with a M18 drill (non-impact). Nothing flew off, but the interior of the socket was so rounded off that the socket was trash. I use impacts for tapcons now.