6 point wrenches

[Paul_NJ]

Does anyone, besides Snap-On, make 6 point box wrenches? Have searched online and eBay, but haven't found them yet.

Just finished replacing the front wheel bearings/hubs on my 02 Yukon, and I would have killed for a 6 pt 15mm, instead of my 12 pts, for breaking the tough bolts free without rounding corners. I prefer double box's over combination wrenches cause they're longer. More and more I wish everything I have had 6 points instead of 12 because they're stonger and less likely to damage hex heads. Anyone have this experience too?

Snap-On makes them, but $35 is alot for a single wrench.

 

[krusty the clown]

why not use a socket?

 

[expatriated]

Craftsman makes them. But I agree with Krusty.

Why is a double box stronger than a combo wrench, if you're comparing box end to box end? I realize the open end is not as strong as a box end but if you're comparing the box end of a combo wrench to the box end of a double box, what's the diff?

 

[Vinko]

Armstrong too.

 

[Old Donn]

What KC said. Was there access problems preventing using a socket? Don't know about the rest of you, I've rounded off fasteners with 12pt sockets and open ends, never with a box wrench.

 

[Merkava_4]

Craftsman makes them. But I agree with Krusty.

Why is a double box stronger than a combo wrench, if you're comparing box end to box end? I realize the open end is not as strong as a box end but if you're comparing the box end of a combo wrench to the box end of a double box, what's the diff?

He said he thinks double box wrenches are longer than combination wrenches - not stronger.

 

[krusty the clown]

Was there access problems preventing using a socket?

i use a swivel impact socket on them after i have used a hub puller to push the half shaft in a bit.

 

[xroad]

Go to www.nepros,.net ..... Japanese. Do a search on Nepros and you can find a thread on what I went through to get it. Not too difficult but their web site is not up to date. If you see some thing not listed, email the rep and they may actually have it.

I purchased some FLAT double box end 6 point metric Nepros wrenches. Beautifully made.

The reason I stress flat is that they need to be flip over during use. Notice most open end wrench have a 15 degree tilt on the head? That tilt allow the wrench to e flip over to get a 30 degree arc swing. If the box end is not flat (have offset) and no "tilt" at the head, then the 6 point wrench have some limitations.

I do not recall finding any other brand that makes what I was looking for other tan Nepros. Maybe Snap-On but the price was way out of my range.

 

[expatriated]

He said he thinks double box wrenches are longer than combination wrenches - not stronger.

I stand corrected. I guess scotch before 9 am does, in fact, have its disadvantages.

 

[Rickster]

Probably the most cost effective US tool would be the Craftsman 6 pt combo wrenches. Problem is they are not the long version, only the standard length. But being Craftsman, you won't feel bad if you have to tap one with a small hammer to break something loose.

 

[philw]

Check out SK. I have a set of LONG combos that are 6 point. The 15mm measures 8 7/8 versus my Craftsman Pro box which was 9 1/4.

They still list them on their website. Part# 88715. The whole set is part # 86127 and mytoolstore.com has it for $171. You may be able to find it less expensive.

I have used the 8mm a ton for brake bleeders and it works great.

 

[xroad]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41126&highlight=nepros&showall=1

Nepros

 

[Monte]

But only the sizes from 3.2 mm to 5 mm

 

[posaune]

Probably the most cost effective US tool would be the Craftsman 6 pt combo wrenches. Problem is they are not the long version, only the standard length. But being Craftsman, you won't feel bad if you have to tap one with a small hammer to break something loose.

^^^ That is what I did. Working on a car with over 300k in the northeast, I found myself wishing for 6pt wrenches a lot. For under $20 a SET (when on sale), you can't do better than the Craftsman raised panels. I've beaten them with a (big) hammer and haven't broken any.

 

[njfl]

Tip of the day:

Get a standard length 6-pt combo wrench, then use a similar size wrench along with it in the configuration shown below to extend the length. Just watch your knuckles the first few times you try this.

 

[purplehavoc]

Ultra pro makes decent 6 point wrenches.
Prices aren't bad either.Only thing i don't care for is they could be slightly
longer.
Purchase all mine through local Napa.

 

[CitySlicker]

CRAFTSMAN, months ago picked up the 154 piece set for my truck box, all 6 pt - sockets and wrenches, $89. sale , or you can p/u 6 pt combo wrench set for under $40 (Cheaper if on sale) at the store

 

[superautobacs]

Snap-on and Nepros both have their broaching offset 15*, making them functional with a 30* working angle. Both are zero offset; parallel with the beam.

AFAIK, nobody has a configuration that these Kowa's have: 12pt/6pt double box combo
10mm is 22cm long

 

[xroad]

Snap-on and Nepros both have their broaching offset 15*, making them functional with a 30* working angle. Both are zero offset; parallel with the beam.

Superautobacs,

Finally learn the proper terminology .....

"broaching offset" is the 15* tilt at the head to allow for a 30* working angle, if the wrench is "zero offset", meaning the wrench is flat, or "parallel with the beam".

Did I get that right?

 

[xroad]

Superautobac,

Since I made the purchase of the Nepros wrench based on your intro in another thread, I really enjoy using them. Great tool.

 

[xroad]

Paul NJ,

If rounded nut is the issue, have you considered spline wrench? They do very well with rounded nuts. Even crappy quality spline wrench or sockets works well on rounded nuts. Good quality with good finish is expensive, however.

 

[Paul_NJ]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I couldn't squeeze a socket in there. As has been mentioned, hard-stuck nuts and bolts are common on older equipment in the Northeast "road salt belt", and it's hard to beat a 6 point grip. If I had to do it all over, I'd buy all 6 pt sockets instead of 12pt. The Nepros wrenches look great, but they don't offer 15mm for some reason. GM vehicles are big on 15 and 18mm fasteners. I happen to prefer double box wrenches over combinations, but SnapOn is too rich for me to justify. Guess it will be a trip to Sears.

 

[Paul_NJ]

P.S.

(1) The 12 point box I was using was Craftsman. I had to hit it with a hand sledge to break the nut free, and being in an awkward location it was easy to hit the wrench off of the bolt. A 6 pt would have held more solidly.

(2) I never heard of a "spline" wrench. What is it?

 

[alex71]

Tip of the day:

Get a standard length 6-pt combo wrench, then use a similar size wrench along with it in the configuration shown below to extend the length. Just watch your knuckles the first few times you try this.

That's a good way to bend the beam on a wrench. It works (I've done it my self in a pinch), but IMO it should not be standard practice. Also works on hex keys, same caveat.

 

[xroad]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I couldn't squeeze a socket in there. As has been mentioned, hard-stuck nuts and bolts are common on older equipment in the Northeast "road salt belt", and it's hard to beat a 6 point grip. If I had to do it all over, I'd buy all 6 pt sockets instead of 12pt. The Nepros wrenches look great, but they don't offer 15mm for some reason. GM vehicles are big on 15 and 18mm fasteners. I happen to prefer double box wrenches over combinations, but SnapOn is too rich for me to justify. Guess it will be a trip to Sears.

They DO have 15mm. I got 3 pieces of the Nepros double box 6 point wrenches. 8x10, 12x14, 13x15mm. Their web site is not up to date. The rep I was in contact with said they won't be updating the website anytime soon. SO, you have to email her for any size you may need to see if they have it or not.

 

[superautobacs]

Xroad,

Yup, you got the terminology right, and I'm glad the wrenches have lived up to your expectations so far.

Regarding spline drive tools...
Are you speaking of personal experience, from using the C-man spline wrenches?

 

[xroad]

(2) I never heard of a "spline" wrench. What is it?

Sears Item# 00914019000 | Model# 32208
They call it "Universal Wrench". Maybe someone owns the name "spline". They work on 4 point, 6 points, 12 points, and rounded fasteners. $20 for the set of 7 pieces. I used on my vise grip only bicycle axle nut. Works great.

Harbor Freight sells a set of spline sockets also.

 

[xroad]

Xroad,

Regarding spline drive tools...
Are you speaking of personal experience, from using the C-man spline wrenches?

Yes. I bought 3 sets for the short time the price went to $12. 2 sets went as early x'mas gifts.

I had a bicycle axle nut that is "vise grip only". Too lazy for years to get a new nut for the beater bicycle, even though I went to Home Depot and Lowe's fastener bins countless times over the years. I was very impress. I stated that a good tool design does not really need to be implemented with top flight tool manufacturing. I am not saying I don't like a shiny new Nepros or Snap-On wrench

I also bought the Sears Craftsman Extreme Grip wrench, when K-mart was getting rid of them for $2 (yes, two dollars) per set of three! I bought 5 sets! Finish was poor. Chrome have rust spots. Lots of rough surfaces that they try to chrome over. BUT, they worked great! It grabs TWO face of the fastener at the center of the face, as far from the corners as possible. The spline however, contacts the fasteners closer to the corner. The Extreme Grip removed a rounded nut worst than the bicycle axle nut mentioned above. One limitation of this tool is that the working arc is 60*. You cannot "flip it over". The wrench is a "one way rotation only".

 

[MD11]

Does anyone, besides Snap-On, make 6 point box wrenches? Have searched online and eBay, but haven't found them yet.

Just finished replacing the front wheel bearings/hubs on my 02 Yukon, and I would have killed for a 6 pt 15mm, instead of my 12 pts, for breaking the tough bolts free without rounding corners. I prefer double box's over combination wrenches cause they're longer. More and more I wish everything I have had 6 points instead of 12 because they're stonger and less likely to damage hex heads. Anyone have this experience too?

I have everything in both 12 and 6 point in terms of sockets, 1/4,3/8 & 1/2" drive, but my wrenches I use are all 12 point except for the open ends, as I don't do any major torque jobs with those.. unless it's impossible to reach with a socket.

Snap-On makes them, but $35 is alot for a single wrench.

I've paid $95 for a single SO wrench... quality costs!

 

[xroad]

Paul_NJ,

also do some search for ATTappman regarding Nepros, if you are interested. He also helped me with lots of inputs as he has also ordered some Nepros wrenches.

 

[Kjbakke2]

Tip of the day:

Get a standard length 6-pt combo wrench, then use a similar size wrench along with it in the configuration shown below to extend the length. Just watch your knuckles the first few times you try this.

i was going to post this but didnt have the time to take a pic......its an awesome technique but i wouldnt use it on a flank drive or tool you really like the open end on

 

[Paul_NJ]

They DO have 15mm. I got 3 pieces of the Nepros double box 6 point wrenches. 8x10, 12x14, 13x15mm. Their web site is not up to date. The rep I was in contact with said they won't be updating the website anytime soon. SO, you have to email her for any size you may need to see if they have it or not.

Those wrenches look really nice! I searched around this forum for more information. I'm more than willing to give them a try. Would you mind summarizing your experience ordering from Nepros? Is the bottom line price cheaper than Snap-On, which is $35 each for the 6 pt box wrenches? Some of the threads I found stated the email address wasn't functional. What did you find was the best way to contact them? I saw that the shipping price was $10 for orders over $50. That's not bad. Thanks

 

[xroad]

Those wrenches look really nice! I searched around this forum for more information. I'm more than willing to give them a try. Would you mind summarizing your experience ordering from Nepros? Is the bottom line price cheaper than Snap-On, which is $35 each for the 6 pt box wrenches? Some of the threads I found stated the email address wasn't functional. What did you find was the best way to contact them? I saw that the shipping price was $10 for orders over $50. That's not bad. Thanks

Here is the link, from post entry #12, on a thread I started "which brand is the best?" You'll have to read through the entire long boring drawn out thread to the very end. The whole ordering experience ....

The rep, her English is OK but some communication got lost. Bottom line is that the web site do not list all sizes of wrench. Pick the wrench series (configuration/style) that you want. Email her to verify that piece is available. She will tell you the price. email her back for the order. YES DO ORDER VIA THE WEB SITE AFTER LETTING HER KNOW WHAT YOU NEED. I did not know that is what she meant and it took a few email back and forth to get it though my head. Also, the last piece I NEED was 13x15mm but the order placed as 14x17mm. She knows that, since we discuss it via email. The price was the same. Since the web site does not list 13x15, the 14x17 was order and 13x15 was delivered. Confused?

Here is what I ordered:

NM1-0810 - STANDARD BOX-END W - $16.80 - 1 - $16.80
NM1-1214 - STANDARD BOX-END W - $18.25 - 1 - $18.25
NM1-1417 - STANDARD BOX-END W - $21.20 - 1 - $21.20

Sub-Total: $56.25
Shipping: $14.95
Total: $71.20

Here is what I needed and CORRECTLY received: 8x10, 12x14, 13x15mm

A small surprised was the import tax I did not know about. The total amount to about $80/$85, something like that.

Her name: Eri Inoue
her email address: [email protected]

I looked into Snap-On, I think it was a combination both the price and the exact configuration of design that got me looking elsewhere.

My second choice was Hazet (12 points). Flat and compact and also beautiful.

 

[mooman]

Thanks for the responses. Yes, I couldn't squeeze a socket in there. As has been mentioned, hard-stuck nuts and bolts are common on older equipment in the Northeast "road salt belt", and it's hard to beat a 6 point grip. If I had to do it all over, I'd buy all 6 pt sockets instead of 12pt. The Nepros wrenches look great, but they don't offer 15mm for some reason. GM vehicles are big on 15 and 18mm fasteners. I happen to prefer double box wrenches over combinations, but SnapOn is too rich for me to justify. Guess it will be a trip to Sears.

Paul NJ
I did the same repair on my 04 Silverado and I'm glad I did not get rid of my Craftman raised panel 6 point wrenches. It was the only thing that worked. I also could not get a socket and a ratchet in the space to get those wheel bearings off.

 

[caper]

Tip of the day:

Get a standard length 6-pt combo wrench, then use a similar size wrench along with it in the configuration shown below to extend the length. Just watch your knuckles the first few times you try this.

Just be aware that it's not uncommon to break the open end jaw off the wrench doing this and bust your knuckles in the process.

 

[superautobacs]

Not kidding about busting knuckles when doubling up combi. wrenches...it's quite unstable.

 

[superautobacs]

Yes. I bought 3 sets for the short time the price went to $12. 2 sets went as early x'mas gifts.

I had a bicycle axle nut that is "vise grip only". Too lazy for years to get a new nut for the beater bicycle, even though I went to Home Depot and Lowe's fastener bins countless times over the years. I was very impress. I stated that a good tool design does not really need to be implemented with top flight tool manufacturing. I am not saying I don't like a shiny new Nepros or Snap-On wrench

I don't have any personal experience with spline drive tools, but there's still a side in me that's a bit weary about trying them out.

There's a couple people on the internet that have voiced negatives on the spline sockets--that they don't deliver what they claim...that it works on 60% rounded nuts.

Here's a picture that explains his findings.
The purpose was to see which type of socket design was capable of engaging the most rounded fastener.

-sockets used in this experiment are, from left to right:
SEK Pro Auto (Taiwan), Snap-on 12pt, Snap-on 6pt, Mac Edge drive (6pt)

-fasteners have been intentionally rounded, from mild to severe (severest one on the right).
Here's the breakdown on how much the fasteners were rounded, from left to right:
-1mm
-1.1mm
-1.4mm
-1.5mm

As you can see, the spline performed the worst, not engaging a fastener rounded more than 1mm.

That said, I'm not dismissing all spline drive tools are like this. In fact, I believe this was probably a dud from the manufacturer. Nonetheless, I think it's quite probable that not all spline-drive tools are equally designed in their profiles.

It's good to know that your Craftsmans work fine, and I've read here that the SK ones work great as well.

 

[xroad]

Hard to define the percentage of "round-ness" on a nut. Often it is them marketing guys that writes these claims. Maybe another marketing guy from a competing brand will claim 62% (ha! we're better!).

The spline grabs the spot a little on the side from the corner. I think if THAT slips, the next spline "tooth" won't do any better. With that reasoning, I would have to say a 6 point will more likely do better as it will have to compress the metal at the corner down to the marked size of the wrench for it to slip. That is a lit of metal.

I think the lobe design will do a lot better than both the spline and the 6 points. It contacts the middle of the fastener face. If it have to compress the metal to round it off, it will have to start from middle, far from the corner. The metal being push in front of the lobe will not have been compressed already, if you compare the whole dynamics to using a 6 point.

A sloppy tolerance on the lobe will still work because it has so much margin. That is why they can claim it works for metric and SAE. The slop will use up the available arc swing angle, and the margin. Sloppy lobe will contact further down toward the corner, but it still have lots of margin left.

The Sears Extreme Grip wrench is basically a two lobe wrench. Now THAT REALLY WORK WELL on my "vise grip only rounded bicycle axle nut". I can see it contacts two opposite face of the chewed up nut at the center of the faces.

So, my vote ..... Lobe design, 6 point, spline. In that order.

My experience with the Sears spline is very subjective. Who knows what their manufacturing spec spread is like. My "vise grip only rounded bicycle axle nut" experience may have caught two high spot on the nut and the spline was able to grab it and it worked. So far, the spline set is OK. I am comfortable with it.

Do I make sense? Do I win a prize?

 

[xroad]

Superautobacs,

Do you think the tooth profile of the spline may have some affect on it's performance? I think a rounded "edge" on the spline tooth vs. a square edged tooth bites the face of the fastener at a different location. Maybe the square tooth edge contact the face of the fastener at a spot closer to the corner.

I can only speculate base on some common sense. If I have to do a A-B comparison on the spline vs. 12 point, for example ...... do I use a Snap-On 12 point or a C-man 12 point. I am sure it'll make a big difference.

 

[superautobacs]

Xroad, I understand everything that you're saying.

I, too, think that a profile of any wrench or socket, 6/10/12pt, etc. is crucial. A bad profile could equate to a fastener being marred and in the worst case, create a hazardous situation to the operator from slipping on the fastener. A situation where the socket/wrench binds itself onto the fastener from applying high loads of torque could be probable, too.

You're right; your good experience with the C-man spline wrench might be a bad experience for another person. The tool's usefulness is largely dependant on how narrow the tolerance margins are set at the manufacturer.