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6pt or 12 pt whats better and why?

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arkangel06

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Ask her

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MotoDave

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jabberwoki said:
6pt or 12 pt whats better and why?
Click to expand...

Are you turning 6 point or 12 point bolts? :)

I prefer 6 point sockets on regular (6 point) bolts, especially if they are old/stuck/rusty. Also helps not to round off the head on crappy (Grade 5 or lower) bolts that are soft.
 
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BWright

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In all seriousness though, we probably get one of these threads every other week asking the exact same question and we all give the exact same answers. The search function should be your first resource. Once that is exasperated, then post. :thumbup: It will save you a lot of smart *** comments. :lol_hitti
 
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arkangel06

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Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, in which we are imaginations of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather
 
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MattT

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With flank drive I haven't noticed much, if any, difference. Older sockets with "square" corners 12 point definitely rounded worse.
 
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RbrtAWhyt

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Ooohhh...I like flank...

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DARKSCOPE001

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as it was said before 6 point for 6 point bolts and 12 for 12 point bolts. I think most cheep sets are built up with 12 point because They are verry uncommon and dont have a high demand and therefore are cheeper. But I dont know for sure. But yes in a high loading condition a 12 point socket on a 6 point bolt is a great way to round it off. Do yourself a favor use the right tool at the right time. With todays ratchets the old trick of using a 12 point and rotating it to the next notch is obsolete.

GOOD LUCK
Sean Scott

P.S. Dear god those ***** are EPIC! :thumbup:
 
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Indy_500

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DARKSCOPE001 said:
as it was said before 6 point for 6 point bolts and 12 for 12 point bolts. I think most cheep sets are built up with 12 point because They are verry uncommon and dont have a high demand and therefore are cheeper. But I dont know for sure. But yes in a high loading condition a 12 point socket on a 6 point bolt is a great way to round it off. Do yourself a favor use the right tool at the right time. With todays ratchets the old trick of using a 12 point and rotating it to the next notch is obsolete.

GOOD LUCK
Sean Scott

P.S. Dear god those ***** are EPIC! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

my HF 65 pc. socket set came mostly w/12 points, i never thought of what u said before!
 
7

737mechanic

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Like most have said 6 point for 6 point and 12 point for 12 point. The only exception is if you are in a tight area and need that extra fine turning radius that a 12 point will give you.

If you have a 6 point bolt or nut that is already partially stripped then you better find a 6 point wrench or socket to try to remove it or you are likely to cause more damage and will be grinding or drilling it off.
 
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mrholeshot

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To answer the question let me say this. People are really down on 12 point. The thing they fail to realize is that just about every wrench is 12 point and it's very rare you have an issue with one unless the bolt is just Fubar. I use a lot of 12 point because I build a lot of engines using ARP 12 point hardware. I have no problems using a good quality 12 point socket just like I have no problem using a 12 point wrench. The rounding th corners of is the biggest buch of **** Ive heard. Gearwrench uses 12 points and I've kicked some of them to loosen a bolt. I have a st of 12 point snap-on sockets in 3/8and 1/2 inch drive in deep and shallow metric and standard. In 20 years I have yet to break a single one. I use them as intended and have been fault free. When I want to abuse a socket (chrome on and Impact I reach for the 6 points. I bet all these guys who tell you how bad a 12 point is havnt looked in their wrench drawer and took a good look. I've had a 4 foot pipe hooked to Snap-On 12 point 17mm wrench and broke the bolt off with it.
 
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wafrederick

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12 point rounds off exhaust fasteners.I have seen damage what a 12 point socket will do.I have seen rounded off bolts so bad that they had to be cut off.One was on a 1993 Ford fullsize van,owner used a 12 point socket and rounded the **** out of an alternator bolt.Had to weld on a socket to get the bolt out and broke the whole bracket and a trip to the junkyard was the next trip for an used alternator bracket.Harley Davidson use 12 point fastners too.12 point sockets do break,took one back to sears to get replaced,broke in half.Another one was a proto 12 point 12mm shallow impact socket.
 
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Randy_che

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mrholeshot said:
To answer the question let me say this. People are really down on 12 point. The thing they fail to realize is that just about every wrench is 12 point and it's very rare you have an issue with one unless the bolt is just Fubar. I use a lot of 12 point because I build a lot of engines using ARP 12 point hardware. I have no problems using a good quality 12 point socket just like I have no problem using a 12 point wrench. The rounding th corners of is the biggest buch of **** Ive heard. Gearwrench uses 12 points and I've kicked some of them to loosen a bolt. I have a st of 12 point snap-on sockets in 3/8and 1/2 inch drive in deep and shallow metric and standard. In 20 years I have yet to break a single one. I use them as intended and have been fault free. When I want to abuse a socket (chrome on and Impact I reach for the 6 points. I bet all these guys who tell you how bad a 12 point is havnt looked in their wrench drawer and took a good look. I've had a 4 foot pipe hooked to Snap-On 12 point 17mm wrench and broke the bolt off with it.
Click to expand...

+1. Nobody says boo about breaking loose a tight bolt with a 12 pt wrench, but a 12 pt socket gets the red-headed step child treatment every time it is mentioned here.
 
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blarf

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Randy_che said:
+1. Nobody says boo about breaking loose a tight bolt with a 12 pt wrench, but a 12 pt socket gets the red-headed step child treatment every time it is mentioned here.
Click to expand...

I must be the only one then. When I needed to break a nut loose with a wrench (I had started to round it with some Craftsman flare wrenches), I sought out a 6 pointer. The only ones I could find were the SnapOn ones, so amongst my collection of Southeast Asian wrenches is one shiny SnapOn.
 
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Skin

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the newer designs that place the pressure toward the middle of the bolt head are far improved from the cheap stuff and the designs of a few decades ago. Those older sockets/wrenches did indeed round off bolts since the pressure was always on the corners.

I'd still use 6 point on 6 point bolts though, mainly for wear. I had some 12 points that worn so bad they were almost a perfect circle. A 6 point would take wear abuse better than a 12 point simply due to the greater contact area.
 
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isr2kba

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mrholeshot said:
To answer the question let me say this. People are really down on 12 point. The thing they fail to realize is that just about every wrench is 12 point and it's very rare you have an issue with one unless the bolt is just Fubar. I use a lot of 12 point because I build a lot of engines using ARP 12 point hardware. I have no problems using a good quality 12 point socket just like I have no problem using a 12 point wrench. The rounding th corners of is the biggest buch of **** Ive heard. Gearwrench uses 12 points and I've kicked some of them to loosen a bolt. I have a st of 12 point snap-on sockets in 3/8and 1/2 inch drive in deep and shallow metric and standard. In 20 years I have yet to break a single one. I use them as intended and have been fault free. When I want to abuse a socket (chrome on and Impact I reach for the 6 points. I bet all these guys who tell you how bad a 12 point is havnt looked in their wrench drawer and took a good look. I've had a 4 foot pipe hooked to Snap-On 12 point 17mm wrench and broke the bolt off with it.
Click to expand...

+1 on writing what most any mechanic should think every time this topic comes up. I always think to myself, "Gee there must be a lot more six point box wrenches out there than I thought."

If the bolt head/nut is f'd then patience is gonna get you a lot closer to removing it than the number of points on your socket.
 
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geaugafletcher

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Anybody who's never rounded off a fastener with a 12-pt tool has never lived in the rust belt. In that region, EVERY exposed nut and bolt is FUBAR after three winters. Nonetheless, you have to get them loose and most likely will re-use them. Answer? Six points ALL THE DAMN TIME. 12 point anything guarantees swearing and extra repair time.

If you're lucky enough to live outside Corrosion Central, be a little more circumspect in your pronouncements.
 
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shotgunfatcat

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Go on Snap-On's website, half(over-exaggeration) of the wrenches they have aren't even offered in 6 pt.

Flank drive plus
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=520&store=snapon-store
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=517&store=snapon-store

long handle
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=525&store=snapon-store
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=523&store=snapon-store

shorty's
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=526&store=snapon-store
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=524&store=snapon-store

Half moon
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=548&store=snapon-store
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=549&store=snapon-store

Wow, maybe I wasn't over-exaggerating.
I could go on.....
 
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gkring

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geaugafletcher said:
If you're lucky enough to live outside Corrosion Central, be a little more circumspect in your pronouncements.
Click to expand...

I feel better now. I was starting too feel inadequate in my lack of 6 point sockets. Another reason to live and work in Texas! For some dean almost all my short sockets are 12 point and all the deep ones are 6.
 
7

737mechanic

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If you have ever dealt with a fastener that was over tightened and I would say that most fasteners are over tightened more than they are not tightened enough then you will have less of a chance of rounding the head using a 6 point.
Thats not to say that a 12 point won't work in most cases if the fastener is a grade 5 or better and in good shape but all it takes is that one time when you spin the wrench on the nut or bolt and now a 12 point won't even come close to removing it and you are reaching for the 6 point to do the job. If the 6 point was used in the first place you would not be cursing and have blood flowing from your knuckles.

Point of topic is use 6 point for 6 point and 12 point for point from the start and save yourself some headache.
 
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