1/2" Drive Impact Sockets with Fully Tapered Shoulders?

[roofdweller49]

Which brands offer fully shouldered/tapered down sockets?

I'm referring to Snap on/Williams/Tekton style vs. Sunex, and most other Taiwanese brands.





Should I even be worrying about this difference?

 

[Snapped-off]

Grey Pneumatic offers the full taper/shoulder.

 

[Zewnten]

Koken does as well

 

[MarcSeattle]

I have the Koken versions and I'm impressed. Reasonably priced too.

 

[Wamsutta]

MAC

 

[Retired dozer fixer]

Why??

 

[bcradio]

 

[dnschmidt]

Both styles wallow out the same when you whale on them with a 600 ft-lb impact wrench. The tapered down ones look nicer but basically there is no functional difference between the two.

 

[roofdweller49]

I was hoping the full taper gave me better clearance

 

[charbar]

I was hoping the full taper gave me better clearance

It does and I wouldn't consider any other type of socket. I don't know who all makes them though, all my deep 1/2" drive sockets are Snap On.

I do have a set of early 3/8 deep Tekton sockets and they just have a short taper at the end and then they get fairly big around......drives me insane. Lots of times that I am reaching for a chrome socket to put on my 3/8 impact over the Tekton impacts just for the extra clearance.

 

[dnschmidt]

It does and I wouldn't consider any other type of socket. I don't know who all makes them though, all my deep 1/2" drive sockets are Snap On.

I do have a set of early 3/8 deep Tekton sockets and they just have a short taper at the end and then they get fairly big around......drives me insane. Lots of times that I am reaching for a chrome socket to put on my 3/8 impact over the Tekton impacts just for the extra clearance.

I don't get it. The diameter of the business end is the same for both styles. By the time you get to the drive end of the socket what does the extra 2-4 mm of smaller diameter do for you. If you mean the front of the socket with some brands (most) being drawn down for the smaller sizes like 12mm I get the point. The el cheapo Harbor Freight are made with a cone end on the front of the smaller sizes and that *****. But the better Harbor Freight impacts are drawn down in the front and have the ring on the back which is what I thought we were talking about. Ring or no ring on the back is irrelevant. Tapered or drawn down does matter:

Examples: Drawn down fronts on the smaller sizes: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-325354/3-8-DR-6PT-Flank-Deep-Impact-Sockets-METRIC.html
Cone fronts on the smaller sizes: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-sae-impact-deep-socket-set-13-piece-69560.html

 

[charbar]

I don't get it. The diameter of the business end is the same for both styles. By the time you get to the drive end of the socket what does the extra 2-4 mm of smaller diameter do for you. If you mean the front of the socket with some brands (most) being drawn down for the smaller sizes like 12mm I get the point. The el cheapo Harbor Freight are made with a cone end on the front of the smaller sizes and that *****. But the better Harbor Freight impacts are drawn down in the front and have the ring on the back which is what I thought we were talking about. Ring or no ring on the back is irrelevant. Tapered or drawn down does matter:

Examples: Drawn down fronts on the smaller sizes: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-325354/3-8-DR-6PT-Flank-Deep-Impact-Sockets-METRIC.html
Cone fronts on the smaller sizes: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-sae-impact-deep-socket-set-13-piece-69560.html

I think we are talking about the same thing, just using different wording.

The two on the left are the design I don't like and was suggesting to avoid. I said short taper, you said cone. Far left is a 10mm Cornwell 1/2 drive, other is an 8mm Tekton 3/8 drive.
The two Snap Ons on the right are the ones I prefer. A 5/16 3/8 drive and a 10mm 1/2" drive.

 

[dnschmidt]

Correct! One point to consider is that Tekton changed their impact sockets about two years ago. Their present impact sockets are the drawn type: https://www.tekton.com/impact-drive-sockets/6-point-impact-sockets/6-point-impact-socket-individuals

When Tekton first came on the scene their impact sockets were of the cone type. No longer the case as you can see from the link above.