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Concentric all in one nutdriver.

Z

Zeke

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Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
17,176
Location
Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Does anyone know the manufacturer of a strange nut driver I have
seen? It's about six inches long or so. It has a plastic handle (the
one I saw was yellow or orangish) and the business end has an unusual
device: a set of maybe six thin, hex-head sockets nested inside each
other, and arranged so that when you push the tool down over a nut,
the nut pushes the too-small sockets up out of the way, and you're
left with the right-size socket to adjust the nut with. Afterwards,
the other sockets spring back down into place.

Loaned one to a painter 25 years ago and he absconded with it. Never seen a replacement. I don't know why a light duty Allen wrench couldn't be made in much the same way.
 
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scaron

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Aug 6, 2013
Messages
407
Location
ypsilanti, michigan
aha! i saw the klein drive-o-matic on an ebay seller's store and it really intrigued me but all the reviews i've read of it were very poor so i decided not to go for it. i guess the tool doesn't do well under conditions where high torque is required. so, cool concept, not so good execution, i guess. i've never actually seen one in person or looked at the works, i dunno if it's more or less a gator grip socket fixed to a handle or if they use a different mechanism... guess you could make your own with said gator grip socket and a spinner handle... i dunno, you can get almost half the nutdrivers in a standard set in a klein 11-in-1 anyway :)
 
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dowmace

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Apr 30, 2012
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KCMO
scaron said:
aha! i saw the klein drive-o-matic on an ebay seller's store and it really intrigued me but all the reviews i've read of it were very poor so i decided not to go for it. i guess the tool doesn't do well under conditions where high torque is required. so, cool concept, not so good execution, i guess. i've never actually seen one in person or looked at the works, i dunno if it's more or less a gator grip socket fixed to a handle or if they use a different mechanism... guess you could make your own with said gator grip socket and a spinner handle... i dunno, you can get almost half the nutdrivers in a standard set in a klein 11-in-1 anyway :)
Click to expand...

The Klein is just a gator grip with a nice handle. I have one stuffed in a drawer somewhere because it never works very well.

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Z

Zeke

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Aug 13, 2009
Messages
17,176
Location
Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
dowmace said:
The Klein is just a gator grip with a nice handle. I have one stuffed in a drawer somewhere because it never works very well.
Click to expand...
I would agree that it's more of a handyman's tool and not any kind of replacement for a set of nut drivers. But handy as hell if you're just futzing around with hardware and product ***'y.

Sell it to me!
 
S

sweetcretin

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Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Messages
45
Location
Fargo, ND
Zeke said:
I would agree that it's more of a handyman's tool and not any kind of replacement for a set of nut drivers. But handy as hell if you're just futzing around with hardware and product ***'y.

Sell it to me!
Click to expand...

Also works great on small wingnuts.
 
K

KnurledNut

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Jan 28, 2011
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I have two.
One is a Stanley as pictured below. The other is a VACO.

StanleyHEX-A-MATIC.jpg
 
N

nicksnothereman

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Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
3,608
Location
In the Mojave
Zeke said:
Does anyone know the manufacturer of a strange nut driver I have
seen? It's about six inches long or so. It has a plastic handle (the
one I saw was yellow or orangish) and the business end has an unusual
device: a set of maybe six thin, hex-head sockets nested inside each
other, and arranged so that when you push the tool down over a nut,
the nut pushes the too-small sockets up out of the way, and you're
left with the right-size socket to adjust the nut with. Afterwards,
the other sockets spring back down into place.

Loaned one to a painter 25 years ago and he absconded with it. Never seen a replacement. I don't know why a light duty Allen wrench couldn't be made in much the same way.
Click to expand...

It sounds great in theory but would be no different than one of those gator grip sockets mounted to a spinner handle and about as effective (as in, not very). For 30 bucks (as listed for that klein) you might as well just buy a whole set of nut drivers from somewhere.

I don't think they could do this for allen wrenches because of the depth of the fastener head (the female part). You wouldn't get a whole lot of torque if it were anything more than 2 sizes in one head and for a lot of the hex stuff you need decent torque to remove them especially the torqued ones (supecharger bolts in my car are torqued hex). Also couldn't do it ball end which is almost a necessity for "quick" removal in tight spaces. Personally, I have one t-handle set but just use hex shank sockets when I can for allen head bolts. How else am I gonna torque em, I'm not a jedi.
 
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rlitman

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Joined
Oct 18, 2010
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24,674
Location
Long Island
dowmace said:
The Klein is just a gator grip with a nice handle. I have one stuffed in a drawer somewhere because it never works very well.
Click to expand...

No, if it were a gator grip, it might work somewhat. As it is, it is pure ****.
I have two of the Stanley ones pictured above that I got at garage sales for pennies as novelties. They operate like a 6 jaw chuck, but the grip strength is near nil. I can get a better grip on a nut with needle nose pliers.
 
A

acdeucey

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Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
76
Location
Whitewater, WI
I have the Klein version that was given to me about 15 years ago by a neighbor who was moving to a condo in a retirement community. It was in a box of garage junk which included the only two Snap-On tools I have. That'd be two well-used screwdrivers.

It works, but it has a couple of problems. One is it's bulky, so there are clearance issues. A second problem is that you can't hold the tool at any sort of an angle because it slips. To be fair, this second problem is the same with regular nut drivers, but with the Drive-A-Matic it's worse. Especially on shallow nuts.

When I got it I tested it on various fasteners and then threw it in the bottom of my electrical tool box and haven't used it since.

Still, it's better'n nothing.

Don
 
T

TAMPAGT07

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Feb 20, 2008
Messages
11,147
Location
Palm Harbor, Fl
Zeke said:
Loaned one to a painter 25 years ago and he absconded with it.
Click to expand...

:lol:...Geez Zeke, do you really think he absconded with it? Or maybe just forgot to give it back to you? :lol_hitti

ab·scond (b-sknd)
intr.v. ab·scond·ed, ab·scond·ing, ab·sconds
To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution
 
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Z

Zeke

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Joined
Aug 13, 2009
Messages
17,176
Location
Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
TAMPAGT07 said:
:lol:...Geez Zeke, do you really think he absconded with it? Or maybe just forgot to give it back to you? :lol_hitti

ab·scond (b-sknd)
intr.v. ab·scond·ed, ab·scond·ing, ab·sconds
To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution
Click to expand...

Well, he quickly hid the tool from me and didn't come back to the job. He lived a couple of counties away but if I could have reasonably pursued him, I would have. I loved that tool and used it all the time on acorn nuts and the like. Sure beat looking for the correct size driver or pulling out a socket, extension and handle.

I have a Grabber and it is the best tool for cup hooks, lag eyes and it does work on wingnuts. I'm all for gimmick tools if they work and if they replace a bunch with one tool.
 
S

stage20

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Joined
Nov 5, 2013
Messages
3,722
Location
pcola FL
ive got one. speed o matic or socket o matic or something. its missing the handle. looks like someone ripped it off to use the tool in a drill. i bought it for a bucks, figured id use it one day. its neat to talk about anyway. :)
 
M

MadMechMaster

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Joined
Sep 5, 2008
Messages
779
Location
Frankfort, IL
I just picked one up today from a co-worker who was selling tools from his late father and uncle's tool collections.

Have never heard one until this thread, then the next day I see one. Had to have it, just for the curiosity. If you don't find another one, let me know. I'll want to play with this one for a while though.
 
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