Allen wrenches and Bondhus

[Jim C.]

I enjoy tinkering with old Delta woodworking machinery from the 1940s and 1950s. I frequently run across Allen type socket head screws, particularly in the form of set screws that secure various pulleys to motor shafts, arbors, and spindles. There's always a few SAE Allen wrench sizes that I'm constantly looking for, 1/8", 5/32", 3/16" and occasionally 1/4". As you can see in the first picture below, my organization system left a lot to be desired. A small cardboard box filled with wrenches really makes finding the correct one a pain in the neck. After years of dumping them out on my bench and employing the "hunt and guess" method, I finally decided that there had to be a better way to quickly find/use/store Allen wrenches. The last two pictures are my solution. I bought the Bondhus 10 piece SAE t-handle set with all the commonly used sizes. The wrenches seem to be quality tools, easy to identify by size, and made in the USA. Why I waited so long to do buy a nice set of Allen wrenches..... who knows?

Jim C.

 

[cheechi]

I know a lot of people hate them but I keep a 'swiss army' set a few places so I can find the right size. Rarely do I use those, I go to the drawer and find the right one. Allen wrenches are just too easy to get disorganized, this works for me.

I do love those Bondhus T handles but alas I only have the regular L shaped ones. Mine do have ball ends and those are more handy than I thought they'd be.

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Yessir I was in the same boat, but had 5 times the loose wrenches you show.

Now I have all 3 sets of the t handle - sae/metric/torx - love it!! Got them for dirt cheap on amazon.

Feel like throwing the loose ones away, but then I'll need them, so they stay in a drawer,

 

[reptilezs]

bondhus is good stuff, use the metric set daily. i toss the loose ones if they are not good quality. eklind is not as good as bondhus even though they are US made and snap on rebrands

 

[bonneyman]

T-handle sets are nice, but, a donut magnet out of an old TV or microwave makes a perfect holder for loose L allen wrenches.

 

[Jim C.]

Yessir I was in the same boat, but had 5 times the loose wrenches you show.

Now I have all 3 sets of the t handle - sae/metric/torx - love it!! Got them for dirt cheap on amazon.

Feel like throwing the loose ones away, but then I'll need them, so they stay in a drawer,

Yeah, I'm still going to keep all my loose wrenches too. Sometimes the short side of the "L" shaped wrenches is all that will fit in the tight spots.

Jim C.

 

[Jim C.]

T-handle sets are nice, but, a donut magnet out of an old TV or microwave makes a perfect holder for loose L allen wrenches.

Sounds like a good idea. Got a picture?

Jim C.

 

[Atbrook]

I like the magnet idea