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Impact Sockets
- Thread starter Jeremy5431
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woody 73
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AV tinker er
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My SS sent me my first Armstrong tool, I'm hooked, great quality.
All PRC....
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Jeremy5431
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I saw this at northern tool today
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200485060_200485060
Is kultch a good brand?
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http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200485060_200485060
Is kultch a good brand?
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Virgil Cain
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So on the HF impacts, which are the ones to get - Chrome Moly or Chrome Vanadium?
dudutzu905
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moly
ihateminimumwage
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CR-M is the good stuff as far as impacts go. CR-V is more likely to shatter than deform, IIRC. That said, I have some CR-V no name impacts that have held up for years of home use. Go with the Pittsburg Pro CR-M sockets.
woody 73
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HF Chrome moly all the way. I don't know about the kultch impact sockets but Today most impact sockets are well made and the price has come way down from many years ago.
What I see most guys using are the Sunex impact sockets:
http://sunextools.com/impact-sockets.php
They are not expensive and they hold up very well.
What I see most guys using are the Sunex impact sockets:
http://sunextools.com/impact-sockets.php
They are not expensive and they hold up very well.
Bryanthegreat
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Haven't used the Chrome Moly and I believe that the sizes are only etched on. I went with the Chrome V because the sizes are stamped.
nicksnothereman
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I forgot the ingersoll rand sets. Those actually look pretty decent for the price. Not sure where they're made, how they hold up, or where you can actually buy them.
dsmnickk90
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My SS sent me my first Armstrong tool, I'm hooked, great quality.
All PRC....
I love Armstrong they are definitely over looked by alot of people.
I forgot the ingersoll rand sets. Those actually look pretty decent for the price. Not sure where they're made, how they hold up, or where you can actually buy them.
Northern Tool caries IR sockets.
They have held up well for my brother and I as hobbyists. The coating is not black oxide and is superior to most black oxide coatings; other impact sockets (USA Craftsmans mostly) have rusted in the same drawer as corrosion free IRs.
Although, for basic home use the Craftsman Evolv impacts (Tiawan) are hard to beat. I haven't used them much, but the look nice, seem to have a better coating than USA or Chinese Craftsmans (and Armstrongs), have a warranty (keep receipt) and can be occasionally purchased for $15/set.
ihateminimumwage
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I forgot the ingersoll rand sets. Those actually look pretty decent for the price. Not sure where they're made, how they hold up, or where you can actually buy them.
Northern Tool or an IR authorized dealer (for ease of warranty). They're made in Taiwan, the coating is great. I used the 3/8" & 1/2" drive sockets daily in a truck shop, and still haven't worn the coating off yet. I also have a 3/4" drive set for the big stuff, and they hold up great. Absolutely no complaints.
Seems that Northern Tool is changing over from "Northern Tool" branded tools to "Klutch" branding. I've had no complaints out of the "Northern Tool" branded impact sockets I own. Not the thinest on the market, but not bulky by any means. I assume the Klutch should be just as good as the Northern Tool branded ones. My nearest Northern Tool was clearancing out a lot of the Northern Tool branded sockets a few days ago. If you have one close by, I'd go check what is at the store. I bought a **** load for the house box.
The fact they are Chrome Moly is what is important. No Chrome Vandium. Vandium doesn't seem to hold up too well for impact use. I had a Chinese Chrome Vandium Impact set years ago and they were garbage!
Grey Pneumatic is Taiwan made too, but I've loved the GP brand sockets I own. I like that their sets have virtually no skips. I HATE skips. Also GP is convenient as a couple of the local parts stores sell them and I can warranty them there if one breaks. My nearest Northern Tool is an hour away.
I must say, that price on the Klutch socket set looks like a good deal!
That *****, I just bought the CR-V's from HF thinking they'd be just fine. All my metric ones are USA Craftsman/Armstrong, but have an old truck to work on and have some cheaper SAE's.
It's a long drive, but they'll probably be OK anyway.
bcradio
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The Campbell Hausfeld mentioned above are Carbon Steel, which is even worse than Cr-V. Hope they don't shatter 
I worked side by side with a fella at the auto shop that had the CR-V impacts and had never had any issues in the last 2 years of use.
I bought a set along with the Cr-Mo Pros because they had sizes I needed that werent in the Cr-Mo set. I felt confident in the purchase after seeing them in use daily with no failures in a professional environment.
Tinner
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The Sunnex impacts are a great bargain. I don't often recommend cheap tools, but these are excellent quality.
1950mercury
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I had some campbell hausfield they were total garbage.
I have some Pittsburgh pro, old crapsman,old husky,snap on, old usa matco and old cornwall and have never broke one of them.
Depending on your cordless impact you should be fine with anything, most dont make that much torque unless u have a high end one.
If your using it mostly for lugnuts buy the lugnut impact socket set were each socket has 2 sizes. That way 2 sockets covers 90% of lugs
I have some Pittsburgh pro, old crapsman,old husky,snap on, old usa matco and old cornwall and have never broke one of them.
Depending on your cordless impact you should be fine with anything, most dont make that much torque unless u have a high end one.
If your using it mostly for lugnuts buy the lugnut impact socket set were each socket has 2 sizes. That way 2 sockets covers 90% of lugs
niferous
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All of mine are a mixture of Proto and Wright. I haven't had problems with either.
[CJ]
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The Campbell Hausfeld mentioned above are Carbon Steel, which is even worse than Cr-V. Hope they don't shatter
It says chrome moly in the description.
http://www.factoryauthorizedoutlet.com/ir/ingersoll-rand-83-piece-1-2-3-8-impact-socket-set
joshmodelskidoo
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i have some mit, harbor freight and campbell hosefield and have no issues with them yet. just get a complete set that have all the sizes
SMKS
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The older Earthquake impacts had the sizes etched and stamped. I have those and the newer Pittsburgh Pro sockets and the etching has held up fine on the new ones so far.
They probably will be fine. I think the Cro-mo ones may be a little thinner, though. For future reference, look for Cro-mo.
The HF ones switched suppliers a year or so ago when they went from branding the higher-end ones Earthquake to Pittsburgh Pro. I have both styles and they've both worked really well for me.
Some people complain about some of the HF sets skipping sizes. My deep set skips 18mm and 16mm. I've never needed either of those sizes since I bought it, so that doesn't matter to me.
Lowe's also has some good-looking impact socket sets under their Kobalt brand. The larger ones seem to not skips sizes, but they're more money than the HF sets.
I personally wouldn't spend the money on the Craftsman impacts now that they're Chinese. I'd prefer the Taiwanese sockets sold by other brands.
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Farmall450
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Or better yet the $100 cman set in hot deals for $29 + $7.5 shipping.
stonesfan68
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I forgot the ingersoll rand sets. Those actually look pretty decent for the price. Not sure where they're made, how they hold up, or where you can actually buy them.
They are made in Taiwan and they have held up very well for me (DIY). You can get the "Mega Set" at Lowe's for $175 which is really darn cheap considering that I work for a master Ingersoll-Rand distributor and the set costs us $190 to buy from IR!
Lowe's Item # 486313
donthelegend
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I was going to go with HF but the missing sizes were annoying to me and by the time I filled them in I wouldn't be saving much money.
I've got Grey Pneumatic and have no complaints. Haven't had them long (<6 months) but they're doing just fine and the quality seems to be excellent. I don't have a way to measure them accurately enough to tell definitively, but the tolerances on them definitely feel tighter than their older USA Craftsman counterparts that belong to my dad (ie, the same size socket on the same fastener, the Grey Pneumatic has much less play compared to Craftsman).
I've got Grey Pneumatic and have no complaints. Haven't had them long (<6 months) but they're doing just fine and the quality seems to be excellent. I don't have a way to measure them accurately enough to tell definitively, but the tolerances on them definitely feel tighter than their older USA Craftsman counterparts that belong to my dad (ie, the same size socket on the same fastener, the Grey Pneumatic has much less play compared to Craftsman).
Don 18
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I picked up a deep set of the USA CMans at 1/2 off (Black Friday sale) and a set of Blackhawk shallow from eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackhawk-1...ls&hash=item53f78af5e5&vxp=mtr#ht_2233wt_1362
filled in most of the gaps with Armstrong and Kobalt using Cripe.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackhawk-1...ls&hash=item53f78af5e5&vxp=mtr#ht_2233wt_1362
filled in most of the gaps with Armstrong and Kobalt using Cripe.
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Jeremy5431
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Farmall450
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I tryed to find it on here, it's in the hot deals section somewhere. Sears outlet.
I'll try again, but I'm mobile (very limiting)
Farmall450
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Farmall450
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http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/produc...ource=commisionj&sid=IAx20110411x000053&aff=y
Edit - double post, sorry.
Edit - double post, sorry.
kythri
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About 7 or 8 years ago, I bought Stanley-branded 11pc SAE and 11pc Metric deep impact sets from Walmart for something like $15-$20.
They've performed PHENOMNENALLY on everything I've used them on over those several years. The 11pc CH set they sell now appears to be the same manufacturer, but, as noted, are a mix of SAE and Metric.
The 11pc SAE or 11pc Metric set with Stanley branding can still be had on Amazon for about $22/set (Stanley 97-125 and 97-126).
You could also pick up the same stuff at Home Depot, only with the Husky branding, for $47/set.
For shallow stuff, I picked up the HF Earthquake stuff a few years ago before they rebranded it Pittsburgh Pro. It has held up equally well, and sees regular use.
The Stanley sockets did fail to include a 15mm deep, which I filled out with a Craftsman when I needed it.
Good stuff, all around.
They've performed PHENOMNENALLY on everything I've used them on over those several years. The 11pc CH set they sell now appears to be the same manufacturer, but, as noted, are a mix of SAE and Metric.
The 11pc SAE or 11pc Metric set with Stanley branding can still be had on Amazon for about $22/set (Stanley 97-125 and 97-126).
You could also pick up the same stuff at Home Depot, only with the Husky branding, for $47/set.
For shallow stuff, I picked up the HF Earthquake stuff a few years ago before they rebranded it Pittsburgh Pro. It has held up equally well, and sees regular use.
The Stanley sockets did fail to include a 15mm deep, which I filled out with a Craftsman when I needed it.
Good stuff, all around.
That's good to hear. I didn't buy the Pro's because they had several sizes I figured I won't use anytime soon, and people have been getting by with these older ones it seems.
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Jeremy5431
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Well I made my decision. Drumroll please... I purchased the kultch socket set from Northern Tool. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200485060_200485060
Kultch is now Northern Tool's private brand. Lifetime guarantee and Crome-M construction
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Kultch is now Northern Tool's private brand. Lifetime guarantee and Crome-M construction
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Is this a typo or are all of the SAE sockets in that set deep and all the metrics standard? Why?!
SAE Deep Well Socket Size - 1/2in. Drive (in.) 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, 1, 1 1/16, 1 1/8, 1 1/4
SAE Deep Well Socket Size - 3/8in. Drive (in.) 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16
Metric Standard Socket Size - 1/2in. Drive (mm) 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 32
Metric Standard Socket Size - 3/8in. Drive (mm) 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
SAE Deep Well Socket Size - 1/2in. Drive (in.) 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, 1, 1 1/16, 1 1/8, 1 1/4
SAE Deep Well Socket Size - 3/8in. Drive (in.) 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16
Metric Standard Socket Size - 1/2in. Drive (mm) 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 32
Metric Standard Socket Size - 3/8in. Drive (mm) 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
I've been filling in the gaps with the sunex impacts. Just picked up a 21mm 1/2" deep swivel for the lower control arm bolts on my jeep, and am impressed with the quality. I also grabbed their 4 pc flip thin wall lugnut set for 25ish dollars.
Mark
Mark
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Jeremy5431
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I was wondering the same thing. I'll let you know when I open the box. I don't really need the deep metric and ill fill in as I go.
Update: yes it looks like the deep are SAE and the metric are standard. I didn't realize that. Darn it was a good price too
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CDD
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and the update confirms it
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