New SK Socket Set Received.

[HiccaBurp]

I needed a full set of 1/2" drive deep metric socket set. I ended up going with the SK 1947 set at Zoro. It was $229 - with coupon and tax, it was $207.

http://www.zoro.com/sk-professional-tools-socket-set-12-in-dr-chrome-21-pc-1947/i/G4433213/

I'll attach some pics.
1. They are heavier than my C'mans.
2. I was surprised the machining didn't look as I'd thought it should. My 25 year old C'man is definitely better machined. Not as much "tooling" marks.
3. Looks like they are all painted inside except 2 sockets?? Why?
4. Overall, they seem very nice and will do the job

First unpacking:


You can see the 2 that are different:


Closer look:


Look at the top row middle socket, you can see a cloverleaf pattern machined by the drive hole. None of the other sockets had this


Here is the SK(left), 10 yr old C'man (middle) and my 25 yr old C'man (right). You can see the tooling marks on the SK.


Couple of other pics:

 

[1950mercury]

They look fine to me. Nice shallow broached deep well sockets...use them and enjoy them. They are ment to work not polish

 

[CNGsaves]

Why have "DEEP" sockets that . . . . are not . . . deep ???

 

[ADSR]

I agree there are tooling marks. That's an amazing macro setting you have as well.

 

[Skin]

The paint is an anti-corrosion application to protect any areas further down that the plating didn't cover well. It is meant to wear off the contact surfaces as the socket is used and you'll see shiny chrome under it. Most socket manufacturers do this these days.

The exterior plating and polishing is way better than the G and G2 production craftsman sockets. Look at the imperfections they left on the outside wall of your 1 1-8 compared to the SK, the latter looking much smoother.

 

[CD1]

Why have "DEEP" sockets that . . . . are not . . . deep ???

Those are not deep SK sockets!

The Craftsman are deep sockets.

LOL

 

[Skin]

They are deep. 99% of the time you need a deep to accomodate a stud, the shallow shoulder will not effect this in any way.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Why have "DEEP" sockets that . . . . are not . . . deep ???

shallow broach keeps the nut from going all the way down. VERY useful when trying to spin the nut on when inside the socket.

I can count the times on one hand that a shallow broach has been a problem, but a full broach pisses me off all the time.

Some argue that if there is a solid object near the fastener that a shallow broach may not have room to slide down and access. Yea, I guess it has happened a time or two....

 

[Tim37]

Why have "DEEP" sockets that . . . . are not . . . deep ???

Its great for those times that your trying to start a nut with a socket and two foot of extentions. The old way was to was up some trash and shove it in your socket I love the shoulder I can't think of a time it got in the way.

 

[cbracer]

Yep typical SK, they paint a lot of sockets. Most companies do when you get to large sizes. Your SK sockets look really good for most of the SK I've bought! Hence I'm no longer a fan of SK

 

[bonneyman]

They look fine to me. Nice shallow broached deep well sockets...use them and enjoy them. They are ment to work not polish

Agreed. With the prices they charge nowadays it'd be really nice for the finish to be commensurate. But, they are tools after all.
My NOS Bonney's are the same way. Broaching is perfect, finish on the end is rough, some sockets are painted and some not.
The bolts don't seem to mind.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Larger SK sockets have a different broaching method that leaves the turned down leaf look in them. There is no reason to spend time and money removing those forging "leaves." Smaller sockets are forged in a different method so they have a more consistent look to them.

The paint is a old vs new manner. When Ideal first started up SK, they didn't paint the insides of the sockets. In 2012/2013 SK switch to painting the insides of the sockets. Therefore the unpainted ones are older Ideal SK stock (not to be confused with pre-ideal old stock). To understand why sockets from many years ago are still hanging around, most manufacturer's don't manufacturer an entire socket set at a time. Instead, they have several machines that have to be switched between sizes. So let's say they have 5 socket forging machines. They make like 5,000 (arbitrary number I picked out) 8MM sockets, 5,000 9MM, 5,000 10MM, 5,000 11MM, 5,000 12MM sockets. Then they switch the machines and make 5,000 of each of 13, 14, 15, 16, 17MM sockets and so on and so forth. Some sizes get used faster (appear in more sets) and get purchased more often in open stock. They may also make different sockets in different quantities at a time to compensate for this.

Also, I've found that most new sockets from US manufacturers (SK, Proto, Wright and Snap On I have seen this on them all...) tend to not be washed before being shipping. They usually have a white scale like material on the outside the can be taken off with a little polishing from a microfiber cloth. Yours appear to have a little bit on them too.

 

[HiccaBurp]

1950mercury
Re: New SK Socket Set Received.
They look fine to me. Nice shallow broached deep well sockets...use them and enjoy them. They are ment to work not polish

Agreed. They are a tool. And the finish on the outside is very good.

CNGsaves
Re: New SK Socket Set Received.
Why have "DEEP" sockets that . . . . are not . . . deep ???

It was a hard decision.
Shallow broached = easier starting of nuts/bolts
Deep broached = In some instances, you might not have the space to have the socket ride up with the nut due to tight space. We'll see if this becomes an issue

LORDDiESEL
Re: New SK Socket Set Received.
I agree there are tooling marks. That's an amazing macro setting you have as well.

Thanks. I know I wasn't buying the top brand, I also didn't pay tool truck prices either. Knowing it's USA made, and they seem very durable, I'm happy. As for macro settings.. it's just my iPhone 5s in auto mode

Skin
Re: New SK Socket Set Received.
The paint is an anti-corrosion application to protect any areas further down that the plating didn't cover well. It is meant to wear off the contact surfaces as the socket is used and you'll see shiny chrome under it. Most socket manufacturers do this these days.

The exterior plating and polishing is way better than the G and G2 production craftsman sockets. Look at the imperfections they left on the outside wall of your 1 1-8 compared to the SK, the latter looking much smoother.

Why did they not paint the inside of the 2 then? I guess I'd keep it consistent

Yes, the outside of the SK is much better! They did a nice job. As for the G & G2 finish, most of that is rolling around in box and floor all these years. The inside of the G and especially the G2 has very little tooling marks. Nothing that affects the functionality of the tool.


Thanks for the other replies also.. I bought the SK because many of you stated they make excellent sockets. I also really wanted to support USA when I can. I've got China/Taiwan made tools also. Some are really good, most are ok, and some a POS. Socket is not an area I wanted to skimp. Most of my sockets, ratchets and wrenches are 20-25 years old. The little bit extra you pay for good quality is insignificant when you factor in how many years they last.

 

[HiccaBurp]

Larger SK sockets have a different broaching method that leaves the turned down leaf look in them. There is no reason to spend time and money removing those forging "leaves." Smaller sockets are forged in a different method so they have a more consistent look to them.

The paint is a old vs new manner. When Ideal first started up SK, they didn't paint the insides of the sockets. In 2012/2013 SK switch to painting the insides of the sockets. Therefore the unpainted ones are older Ideal SK stock (not to be confused with pre-ideal old stock). To understand why sockets from many years ago are still hanging around, most manufacturer's don't manufacturer an entire socket set at a time. Instead, they have several machines that have to be switched between sizes. So let's say they have 5 socket forging machines. They make like 5,000 (arbitrary number I picked out) 8MM sockets, 5,000 9MM, 5,000 10MM, 5,000 11MM, 5,000 12MM sockets. Then they switch the machines and make 5,000 of each of 13, 14, 15, 16, 17MM sockets and so on and so forth. Some sizes get used faster (appear in more sets) and get purchased more often in open stock. They may also make different sockets in different quantities at a time to compensate for this.

Also, I've found that most new sockets from US manufacturers (SK, Proto, Wright and Snap On I have seen this on them all...) tend to not be washed before being shipping. They usually have a white scale like material on the outside the can be taken off with a little polishing from a microfiber cloth. Yours appear to have a little bit on them too.

Thanks for the info. One of the reasons I went with SK was that Ideal is the parent company. I've dealt with them in my construction business and had good luck with their products. I hope they take SK and make it a respectable brand for decades to come.

I'll give them all a good polish before I make room for them in the tool box

 

[JonDick13926]

I bought some 1/4" shallow sockets from SK a while back. Some were painted and some weren't, but it doesn't bother me. They work very well. The only thing that bothers me is rust. Usually I try to wipe everything down at least twice a year in a rust preventative lubricating oil, partly due to the shock I had when I bought two large sets of Cman sockets that were nice and pre-rusted for me. Not sure if it actually helps vs not doing it, but I haven't had a single thing develop even a spec of rust since.

 

[Skin]

Deep broached = In some instances, you might not have the space to have the socket ride up with the nut due to tight space. We'll see if this becomes an issue

It doesn't matter if the socket rides up. You'd need the same space to lift the socket off the fastener/stud in either case. For bolts the only difference would come with ones that don't have a flange head. I don't see too many of those anymore.

 

[Loscaldazar]

I bought some 1/4" shallow sockets from SK a while back. Some were painted and some weren't, but it doesn't bother me. They work very well. The only thing that bothers me is rust. Usually I try to wipe everything down at least twice a year in a rust preventative lubricating oil, partly due to the shock I had when I bought two large sets of Cman sockets that were nice and pre-rusted for me. Not sure if it actually helps vs not doing it, but I haven't had a single thing develop even a spec of rust since.

I actually switched from craftsman to SK because of the rust issues. I had Craftsman (the last USA made laser etched ones) that were around a year old. Too many of the sockets started to develop rust on the outside. I'm a huge advocate for "it's a tool, not a trophy" and not worrying about cosmetic defects, but if the craftsman sockets can only last a year before starting to rust, how long will they really be around for?

 

[colin39]

I have a lovely 3/8 set, i dont think they are painted i think its just the metal finish. However all mine are finished the same. Ive put them on rails ill take a pic tomoz

 

[Askme42]

Agreed. With the prices they charge nowadays it'd be really nice for the finish to be commensurate. But, they are tools after all.
My NOS Bonney's are the same way. Broaching is perfect, finish on the end is rough, some sockets are painted and some not.
The bolts don't seem to mind.

The prices aren't that bad at all. People are just cheap with tools these days. Compared to a craftsman set in the 60's I bet this SK set is cheaper when you factor in inflation.

 

[Askme42]

I have a lovely 3/8 set, i dont think they are painted i think its just the metal finish. However all mine are finished the same. Ive put them on rails ill take a pic tomoz

They are painted been over this many times here. Use them. The paint wears off.

 

[colin39]

They are painted been over this many times here. Use them. The paint wears off.

Use them really? Lol. I have and do, ill check em in the morning. Havent noticed.

 

[KEH]

The older Craftsman 7/8 socket is the "double line V" and was the best Craftsman has made, no real comparison to the laser etched one. I think they were made before the mid 1960s. Finish on them almost equal to the better SKs.

Re the fully deep or the shoulders on the socket, as pictured, I have both and can see the use for both. Look down in the old craftsman socket and you can see the different manufacturing process, AIRC.

KEH

 

[LUKE221]

Nice set. Use them and they shouldnt let you down.

 

[sonvolt]

New SK, Proto, all look similar. The fasteners will be afraid of those top notch SK sockets !

 

[sbyrne92]

I always liked sk they have a nice simple look.

 

[HiccaBurp]

I always liked sk they have a nice simple look.

Yeah, I like them and the chrome is very nice on them!

 

[defektes]

They are deep. 99% of the time you need a deep to accomodate a stud, the shallow shoulder will not effect this in any way.

+1

I actually prefer this design.