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does a 5pt socket exist?

beatcad

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Sep 15, 2013
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NOVA
or do I have to make my own?

a little backround 1st I guess. last weekend I had to do some plumbing and there was nowhere to shut off the water except at the main at the sidewalk.
I guess I aint supposed to do that 'cause its a 5point nut to access that lid.

well I did what I had to do w/ a pipe wrench and the job is done.

but even though I've been mowing over that cover for almost 10 years now I guess I never paid that much attention to it.
its kinda rusty/crusty.
nice weather is coming soon and i'd like to remove it and de-rust it and paint it and paint the raised letters.
If the county doesn't give a **** about their stuff i'm sure they dont care if I do :bounce:
I did ask my friend that works at a hardware store over some beers in my garage last weekend. SHE said if that tool exists its gotta come from the county.
 
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2oolhound

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BC Canada
I was going to say just weld 5 pieces of steel together and drill a hole through it for a bar but man, only $12.99 and snappy yet, can't beat that.
 

nicksnothereman

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Oct 19, 2013
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In the Mojave
or do I have to make my own?

a little backround 1st I guess. last weekend I had to do some plumbing and there was nowhere to shut off the water except at the main at the sidewalk.
I guess I aint supposed to do that 'cause its a 5point nut to access that lid.

well I did what I had to do w/ a pipe wrench and the job is done.

but even though I've been mowing over that cover for almost 10 years now I guess I never paid that much attention to it.
its kinda rusty/crusty.
nice weather is coming soon and i'd like to remove it and de-rust it and paint it and paint the raised letters.
If the county doesn't give a **** about their stuff i'm sure they dont care if I do :bounce:
I did ask my friend that works at a hardware store over some beers in my garage last weekend. SHE said if that tool exists its gotta come from the county.

One of those "extreme" sockets would probably get it done with minimal rounding. Typically these one-offs cost too much to buy (at least for me). Over 20 bucks a pop.
 
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beatcad

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Sep 15, 2013
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NOVA
It's called a buffalo socket.

perfect! thanks.

sure I could make something that would work, but that would take time(time=$).
if I can get this tool for 12 to 15 bucks it really aint really worth spending an hour trying to create my own tool.....unless i'm really bored:lol:
 

ibzepfan

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Joined
Dec 13, 2013
Messages
86
Location
Bakersfield, Ca.
I recently had to run an errand for my brother who is an electrician.He needed a 5 point socket to take a bolt out to access an underground junction box.I believe it was 5/8 and made by Williams.That was a new one for me.He thought it strange that I had never heard of one.
 

jfish

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Apr 26, 2012
Messages
342
Location
Tacoma WA
Just try to measure between two points of the bolt and confirm the socket if you can. I have a 3 size set on my truck for telco and electrical access. Its an old one, wooden box, my set came from AT&T, ill look at the side for a manufacture. But I have 3 sizes in 1/2 drive and use two sizes regularly.

*my sockets are Inwesco, this PDF shows an example of the 3 sizes for reference.

http://www.inwesco.com/catalog/toolsandsupport/vaultsmanholes/pentafastenersandtools.htm
 
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beatcad

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thanks jfish and everyone.
not that it matters at this point, but is this cover a special bolt because it's "illegal" or its just a safety thing that they don't want just any numbnuts having access to these covers?
 

jfish

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Apr 26, 2012
Messages
342
Location
Tacoma WA
Your on the money with the "just any numbnuts" part. If its just your water shut off / meter box do with the cover what you wish, I doubt anyone will care so long as you bolt it back down.

On a side note, last summer I replaced a large portion of ATT fiber because one of their hand hole lids was not bolted down properly. Tweakers found it, opened it, thought it was copper and tried cutting it up, until they realized it was fiber optic and had no scrap value. Pretty costly mishap due to just one lid with no penta bolts.
 

jeremy v

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Jul 26, 2011
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I bought one about a year ago just to have it. There are 5pt bolt heads on some electrical equipment, manhole covers, etc. I have come across them a couple times in my life where it would have been nice to already have the socket. I bought the Sunex version. It was only about $6 with free shipping if added to a larger order from Amazon. It is stored with my fire hydrant wrench and my other "you never know" tools.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L23QU2/?tag=atomicindus08-20
 

jeremy v

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Jul 26, 2011
Messages
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My Yoyota Highlander has one. It is used to lower the spare.

Is it also a 13/16"? I don't exactly know how they measure the 13/16" size since none of the sides are parallel to each other, but my Sunex socket is labeled a 13/16" and the socket actually measures 29/32" aka 0.90625" aka ~23.02mm from one flat to the point opposite the flat.

Also, just as a side note, if anyone else buys one of these you might want to think about grinding off the socket chamfer completely as I did with mine. Some of the 5pt bolts I came across (when doing commercial electrical work) had very shallow heads. The chamfer on the socket would sometimes prevent solid engagement with the bolt head or cause the socket to slip off and round out the outside edges of the 5pt bolt head if you were not very careful.
 

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cburnscrx

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Jan 15, 2013
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Indianapolis
Your on the money with the "just any numbnuts" part. If its just your water shut off / meter box do with the cover what you wish, I doubt anyone will care so long as you bolt it back down.

I know my water company didn't care, and actually showed me where it was when I bought my house so I could shut the water off when I was working on it. The big giant dumpster in the driveway was a clue. Oh, and for the record, they used Channellocks to open mine.

*I still want the socket
 
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jeremy v

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I found my hydrant wrench at an estate sale about 6 months ago. I was able to get it for $2 because no one at the sale knew what it even was and they just wanted everything gone. Before I bought it, I was thinking of trying and/or slightly modifying an older monkey wrench (of the style in the picture) to work as a 5pt hydrant wrench. I think it would work just fine, but you might have to remove the toothed jaw insert and/or grind a slightly different angle in the top part of the head for it to work perfectly.

As a side note- In a pinch I think you would be much better off using a regular pipe wrench instead of a large basin wrench. It will chew up the 5pt fitting a little bit, but it will work just fine. Basin wrenches work fine for plumbing related tasks, but I would be surprised if they had enough clamping force to dig into the metal and hold tight for the higher torque levels required for a fire hydrant valve.
 

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McKay

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Apr 16, 2010
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111
My very first snap-on tool was a 5 point socket i needed to open utility company transformers.
 

cotjocky

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Joined
Nov 21, 2011
Messages
392
I checked the website and they no longer list the one I have. It's not the Toyota specified one. I'm not sure exactly what size it is. It's listed in the older catalogs as used for servicing Buffalo cover? B2190 is the number.

They still list it on the site, just doesn't show a picture.

http://store.snapon.com/Non-Catalog-Items-SOCKET-3-8-P9548454.aspx

http://store.snapon.com/Non-Catalog-Items-SOCKET-1-2-P9548455.aspx

The one they market just for the Toyota Spare Tire Carrier Assembly

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=683139&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Picture of the B2191 from a industrial catalog I found online.

http://www.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=126620&p=235
 

The Cobbler

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Oct 24, 2013
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Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada
they're used so they're sort of tamper proof. Here, if the homeowner shuts of the curbbox & it breaks or leaks, you're on the hook for the rrepair... if you call the City in and it breaks, they eat the cost. I was loaned one from a buddy that was doing some contract work for the City... reminds me, I have to get it back to him
 

devoncoolman

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Mar 17, 2013
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2,096
Location
quakertown pa
I bought a snapon buffalo socket about a year ago at a fleamarket. He didnt even know what it was so i got it cheap. Ill probably never need it.
 
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beatcad

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Sep 15, 2013
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NOVA
theres was a thread a week or 2 ago here(free parking section) about threads w/ no resolution.
just so I don't keep you guys hanging,as if you care:rolleyes:

I went to my local favorite M&P hardware store and asked for one. they ordered it for me so I didn't have to pay shipping.
it was $6.99.
it fits my water valve lid perfectly.
IMG_3807_zps71d86a52.jpg
 

bwringer

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Jan 1, 2013
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10,245
Location
Indianapolis
The variable valve timing widget on the intake cam of a Toyota Corolla uses pentagonal bolts. Again, no idea exactly how these are supposed to be measured, but they'd be 10mm heads if they were hexagonal -- the bolts had 6mm threads.

I replaced the VVT assembly, but I wanted to look inside just... well, you know, just because.

I Dremeled a slot into each bolt and used a large straight bit and an impact driver.
 

Tbirdtc

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Joined
Mar 29, 2014
Messages
176
or do I have to make my own?

a little backround 1st I guess. last weekend I had to do some plumbing and there was nowhere to shut off the water except at the main at the sidewalk.
I guess I aint supposed to do that 'cause its a 5point nut to access that lid.

well I did what I had to do w/ a pipe wrench and the job is done.

but even though I've been mowing over that cover for almost 10 years now I guess I never paid that much attention to it.
its kinda rusty/crusty.
nice weather is coming soon and i'd like to remove it and de-rust it and paint it and paint the raised letters.
If the county doesn't give a **** about their stuff i'm sure they dont care if I do :bounce:
I did ask my friend that works at a hardware store over some beers in my garage last weekend. SHE said if that tool exists its gotta come from the county.

I got a wrench w 2 of them on one end the small is for water shut offs the big one is for fire hydrants
 

toolmiser

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Joined
Sep 1, 2009
Messages
1,653
Location
La Crosse, WI
I found my hydrant wrench at an estate sale about 6 months ago. I was able to get it for $2 because no one at the sale knew what it even was and they just wanted everything gone. Before I bought it, I was thinking of trying and/or slightly modifying an older monkey wrench (of the style in the picture) to work as a 5pt hydrant wrench. I think it would work just fine, but you might have to remove the toothed jaw insert and/or grind a slightly different angle in the top part of the head for it to work perfectly.

As a side note- In a pinch I think you would be much better off using a regular pipe wrench instead of a large basin wrench. It will chew up the 5pt fitting a little bit, but it will work just fine. Basin wrenches work fine for plumbing related tasks, but I would be surprised if they had enough clamping force to dig into the metal and hold tight for the higher torque levels required for a fire hydrant valve.
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You know I have that exact same wrench and never paid attention that it would work on a five pt. I learn something here everyday, or at least that is what I tell my wife!
 

jal395

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Joined
Aug 7, 2011
Messages
325
Location
Raleigh, NC
I have a friend with a Toyota Sienna van. It just so happened that his wife had a flat tire and wouldn't you know it, there is a pentagonal spare winch nut and the tool is no where to be found. It held air long enough to get to the garage so we were fine. Is there any alternative to going to the dealer for this? What size is it? Any ideas?
 
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