Mismatch (or missing) Sockets Between Deep and Standard

[hancock1701]

Hi guys,

So I've been bugged by this observation, and need some explanations. I've only looked brands that are not high end or industrial, so this observation might not apply to those.

My NOS Craftsman USA 170 something piece socket set has a mismatch in sizes between the 6 pt., 3/8" standard and deep (6mm to 22mm non skip vs 9 to 18mm). The 3/8", 12pt deep also doesn't have 19mm, but standard does.

Another one is Gearwrench. In one of their 1/4" and 3/8" sets, 1/4" standard goes to 15mm, but deep only goes to 14mm. And I'm sure there are more expamples that I've seen that can't remember.

Why do they do this?

Btw, I had to buy two 3/8" 19mm deep sockets and one 18mm to complete my 3/8" set, which is ridiculous because there's no reason the 19mm is not there for that set.

 

[Greg85mcss]

I don't know why almost all have 9mm but not 8. I'm probably not the only one that would prefer the 8 to the 9. The hf long wrench set has 11 but skips 13, 16 & 18. To be honest I replaced my impacts with matco because I didn't want the missing ones to be mismatched


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[BDT/NWMN]

Some parts of the world may not need those sizes...
Some sets are marketed with size gaps to sell for a lower cost.
Two of My guesses..

 

[Greg85mcss]

Forgot to mention before it may also be that some are the same as an sae size. Not sure if they put that much thought into it but maybe.


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[BDT/NWMN]

Forgot to mention before it may also be that some are the same as an sae size. Not sure if they put that much thought into it but maybe.


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Yep... My 1/2" drive SnapOn 3/4" deepwell impact socket is double stamped as a 3/4" and 19MM... Some sizes are very close.

But how about the unfortunate soul who wants a complete metric set, and would rather not buy both metric and sae sets??

So far, there is no mention of the empty pegs on a Hansen socket tray??
The night is still young

Might raise a for a night cap, and dream up some answers.

 

[rhandwor]

I remember many times I purchased a full set and the first time I needed them I had to search for fill in sizes. These were torx bits,and other misc. items.

 

[hancock1701]

I kinda get the missing sizes because of non usage or cost, even though I don't like it. But skipping sizes in just the deeps for that same drive just doesn't seem right, and makes the set looks bad too. . I got Craftsman USA because of the value, but at that point I didn't pay much attention to what sizes were included (or skipped). Had I known, I would've paid a little more for some other brands like Sunex, Grey Pneumatic, etc. that have matching sizes in deeps and standards.

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[hancock1701]

Another thing I've noticed in many brands is that standard will go bigger in size than deep. For example, 3/8 inch drive would go to 22mm in standard, but only to 19mm or even 18mm in deep. 1/2 inch drive would to to 22mm, 24mm or even 27mm in standard, but stops at 21mm in deep.

 

[honcho]

Hi guys,

So I've been bugged by this observation, and need some explanations. I've only looked brands that are not high end or industrial, so this observation might not apply to those.

My NOS Craftsman USA 170 something piece socket set has a mismatch in sizes between the 6 pt., 3/8" standard and deep (6mm to 22mm non skip vs 9 to 18mm). The 3/8", 12pt deep also doesn't have 19mm, but standard does.

Another one is Gearwrench. In one of their 1/4" and 3/8" sets, 1/4" standard goes to 15mm, but deep only goes to 14mm. And I'm sure there are more expamples that I've seen that can't remember.

Why do they do this?

Btw, I had to buy two 3/8" 19mm deep sockets and one 18mm to complete my 3/8" set, which is ridiculous because there's no reason the 19mm is not there for that set.

From buying Craftsman sockets and wrenches over the years, if you purchased both metric and SAE, you covered the missing metric sizes with suitable SAE fractional inch sizes. For example, 19mm and 3/4 inch are interchangeable (I think I have a Snap On or Proto socket that is marked both 3/4 and 19mm). So no 19mm necessary if you have a 3/4. No 11mm because 7/16 works well, 8mm and 5/16 are interchangeable, as are 16mm and 5/8. Therefore, it was common for Craftsman metric sets to NOT have 8mm, 11mm, 16mm and 19mm. For us obsessive types, it makes us go and and look for the missing singles. I've read many posts on Garage Journal of people looking for sizes that are uncommonly used just to fill gaps in their socket trays.

As for 18mm, many older Craftsman sets didn't have 18mm and there's no close enough SAE substitute. I read somewhere that 18mm wasn't a "standard" size in JIS (Japan) and DIN (German) fastener standards but has since been included in an ISO (International) standard. From my reading of Garage Journal, 18mm is found on many modern GM vehicles but I have no personal experience in that area. Someone with more experience in that area will have to chime in.

I have no explanation why some manufacturer sets go up to different sizes for similar size range sets in standard and deep socket lengths.

Just wait until you pick up some complete old sets where you get your complete sizing spread out among a combination of 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive sizes and a mixture of 6 and 12 point sockets with some 8 point sockets thrown in for good measure.