I agree wholeheartedly.A little bit more info that I hope will help:
When you apply torque to a bolt head with a 0 degree wrench, the load you apply largely becomes the tightening or loosening torque the fastener sees. This is one reason why GOOD wrenches are awesome. They are among the most efficient tools we have. Also why I like LONG wrenches, and maybe why ratcheting wrenches are popular.
When you use a socket, the force you apply to the ratchet or breaker handle, produces 2 different torques, 90 degrees apart:
One is the loosening or tightening torque. The other is a torque or moment trying to roll the socket off the fastener head. When the socket fits REALLY well, sometimes it alone can react that second torque. This is yet another reason why mechanics prefer tight fitting sockets (and may not even realize this is why). It’s also a reason why it’s easier to round off a hex bolt.
The further away the ratchet head gets from the bolt head (whether you use a deep socket or an extension) the bigger this other torque gets. Depending on the applied load, many of us seek to react this rolling moment with our other hand. Many guys may prefer this, another secret reason why they prefer deep sockets.
But make no mistake about it. You are loosing energy using deep sockets. You are applying higher load to produce the torque required to remove a bolt. The shorter the socket, the more like a wrench it is, the more efficient it is.
PLEASE READ: I’m not trying to talk anyone out of using their deep sockets. It’s not dumb or wrong to use them all the time. This is just a physics thing that maybe not everyone on GJ thinks about. Sometime I use long rackets not for torque but for reach. I’m always gonna use a shallow socket. This also explains why snap on makes a ratchet with a bent handle. My guess is many tool manufacturers don't really know why snap on did that. Many pros will say that is their favorite ratchet.
A little bit more info that I hope will help:
When you apply torque to a bolt head with a 0 degree wrench, the load you apply largely becomes the tightening or loosening torque the fastener sees. This is one reason why GOOD wrenches are awesome. They are among the most efficient tools we have. Also why I like LONG wrenches, and maybe why ratcheting wrenches are popular.
When you use a socket, the force you apply to the ratchet or breaker handle, produces 2 different torques, 90 degrees apart:
One is the loosening or tightening torque. The other is a torque or moment trying to roll the socket off the fastener head. When the socket fits REALLY well, sometimes it alone can react that second torque. This is yet another reason why mechanics prefer tight fitting sockets (and may not even realize this is why). It’s also a reason why it’s easier to round off a hex bolt.
The further away the ratchet head gets from the bolt head (whether you use a deep socket or an extension) the bigger this other torque gets. Depending on the applied load, many of us seek to react this rolling moment with our other hand. Many guys may prefer this, another secret reason why they prefer deep sockets.
But make no mistake about it. You are loosing energy using deep sockets. You are applying higher load to produce the torque required to remove a bolt. The shorter the socket, the more like a wrench it is, the more efficient it is.
PLEASE READ: I’m not trying to talk anyone out of using their deep sockets. It’s not dumb or wrong to use them all the time. This is just a physics thing that maybe not everyone on GJ thinks about. Sometime I use long rackets not for torque but for reach. I’m always gonna use a shallow socket. This also explains why snap on makes a ratchet with a bent handle. My guess is many tool manufacturers don't really know why snap on did that. Many pros will say that is their favorite ratchet.
Pardon my naive questions...A little bit more info that I hope will help:
When you apply torque to a bolt head with a 0 degree wrench, the load you apply largely becomes the tightening or loosening torque the fastener sees. This is one reason why GOOD wrenches are awesome. They are among the most efficient tools we have. Also why I like LONG wrenches, and maybe why ratcheting wrenches are popular.
When you use a socket, the force you apply to the ratchet or breaker handle, produces 2 different torques, 90 degrees apart:
One is the loosening or tightening torque. The other is a torque or moment trying to roll the socket off the fastener head. When the socket fits REALLY well, sometimes it alone can react that second torque. This is yet another reason why mechanics prefer tight fitting sockets (and may not even realize this is why). It’s also a reason why it’s easier to round off a hex bolt.
The further away the ratchet head gets from the bolt head (whether you use a deep socket or an extension) the bigger this other torque gets. Depending on the applied load, many of us seek to react this rolling moment with our other hand. Many guys may prefer this, another secret reason why they prefer deep sockets.
But make no mistake about it. You are loosing energy using deep sockets. You are applying higher load to produce the torque required to remove a bolt. The shorter the socket, the more like a wrench it is, the more efficient it is.
PLEASE READ: I’m not trying to talk anyone out of using their deep sockets. It’s not dumb or wrong to use them all the time. This is just a physics thing that maybe not everyone on GJ thinks about. Sometime I use long rackets not for torque but for reach. I’m always gonna use a shallow socket. This also explains why snap on makes a ratchet with a bent handle. My guess is many tool manufacturers don't really know why snap on did that. Many pros will say that is their favorite ratchet.
Pardon my naive questions...
So I assume that during a standard loosening you're saying that that torque vector is pointing straight up... Can I assume then that while tightening that vector is pointing straight down?
Related, if it's a left-handed thread, does that mean the torque is directed in the opposite directions?
A little bit more info that I hope will help:
When you apply torque to a bolt head with a 0 degree wrench, the load you apply largely becomes the tightening or loosening torque the fastener sees. This is one reason why GOOD wrenches are awesome. They are among the most efficient tools we have. Also why I like LONG wrenches, and maybe why ratcheting wrenches are popular.
When you use a socket, the force you apply to the ratchet or breaker handle, produces 2 different torques, 90 degrees apart:
One is the loosening or tightening torque. The other is a torque or moment trying to roll the socket off the fastener head. When the socket fits REALLY well, sometimes it alone can react that second torque. This is yet another reason why mechanics prefer tight fitting sockets (and may not even realize this is why). It’s also a reason why it’s easier to round off a hex bolt.
The further away the ratchet head gets from the bolt head (whether you use a deep socket or an extension) the bigger this other torque gets. Depending on the applied load, many of us seek to react this rolling moment with our other hand. Many guys may prefer this, another secret reason why they prefer deep sockets.
But make no mistake about it. You are loosing energy using deep sockets. You are applying higher load to produce the torque required to remove a bolt. The shorter the socket, the more like a wrench it is, the more efficient it is.
PLEASE READ: I’m not trying to talk anyone out of using their deep sockets. It’s not dumb or wrong to use them all the time. This is just a physics thing that maybe not everyone on GJ thinks about. Sometime I use long rackets not for torque but for reach. I’m always gonna use a shallow socket. This also explains why snap on makes a ratchet with a bent handle. My guess is many tool manufacturers don't really know why snap on did that. Many pros will say that is their favorite ratchet.
If someone had zero sockets starting out and asked me what they should get, I'd probably recommend they buy semi deeps then go from there.It's getting to a point where I just use semi-deeps for everything if they fit.
kind of a new development, but yeah, they're close enough to one-size-fits-all that the next time I build a starter mechanics kit as a gift I'll probably only include semi-deepsIf someone had zero sockets starting out and asked me what they should get, I'd probably recommend they buy semi deeps then go from there.
They either weren't a thing or I didn't know about them when I started.