Sae, what's the point?

[drink]

I am wondering how things are going with the trades like HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, etc. Years ago I noticed how an electrical supply house was selling metric socket sets but a lot of what I have seen in the trades was SAE. Can anyone tell about any metric tools being used in the trades divisions?

 

[ajchien]

I don't currently own any old vehicles, my Sae stuff collects dust. I keep noticing guys selling off Sae sets in the classified section. With my rides being an fj cruiser, BMW 330ci, and a Polaris rzr, can I cut the Sae loose and get away with it? Has this bitten anyone in the ***, and they have to go out and buy another set of Sae wrenches?

I'd say go ahead and sell all your sae stuff.

Then post back here how long you were able to go before you had to buy a sae tool again.

It'll be a fun test, and it won't be the end of the world either way.

My cars are metric. Everything else I work on seems to be sae.

 

[jeffyhog]

SAE tools are not so specialized that they should be gotten rid of. I could agree with not hauling a set around in a Toyota "just in case", but no properly equipped shop/ garage should be without a good complement of both Metric and SAE tools. In my opinion, this shouldn't even be a consideration.

 

[anndel]

I would keep the SAE lying around. Once you get rid of them you're going to find yourself needing it one day and going to HF or HD and buying a wrench or socket. My cars are all metric but the lawnmower and my son's Chinese made bicycle have all the nuts and bolts in SAE.

 

[bwringer]

With the exception of the occasional mower, house ****, or very occasional Harley, everything I work on is all metric.

I have a drawer at the bottom of one of my toolboxes that is the designated "inch ghetto". All the nearly useless inch **** gets tossed in there willy nilly -- it's not worth any effort to keep it organized. I have a smaller drawer where all the inch **** fasteners get tossed in so they don't contaminate my nice neat drawers of metric stuff.

Most of the motorcycles and cars I work on are Japanese, so I also separate my metric stuff into the JIS stuff (8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24mm, etc.) and put the stuff you only encounter on 'merkin and Euro cars (9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20mm, etc.) on a second rail in the back. Saves a good bit of time when you don't even have to look to grab the right socket or wrench.

 

[skulldrinker]

If the bank was coming over to collect the last payment otherwise I would lose the farm i would sell my SAE's but as long as I got corndogs in the freezer and O'Doul's in the fridge they're staying.

Now on the otherhand if you were just starting out I would say don't buy them until you need them.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

There should be room for them in the drawer beneath the silverware drawer..
If I could only figure out if I should get rid of My pens or pencils, there would be more room for a bent nail collection.

Don't overwhelm Your thoughts with this stuff

 

[Halflunghuck]

SAE Wrenches and Sockets live in a box of shame on a shelving unit. Tool boxes are limited to Metric since I work on Honda cars and bikes. Eventually I end up with a Tundra, FRS, and a BWW 650GS so still using metric.

 

[RedBKM]

You'll only lose money on your investment if you sell them at a loss. I heard that on an episode of Hoarders.

My SAE drawer is still higher in the box than the metric drawer. My newer vehicles haven't required much work yet and my old stuff requires ALOT!

 

[Mhyde52]

So one could conclude after 5 pages of this, that "the point" is: there's a hell of a lot of sae fasteners around to deal with. and there's a good likelihood that you will need to turn one some time.

Unless your job is to work on something specific and completely metric, and you don't ever work on household stuff for you or anyone else, than you'll need sae tools. Maybe less and less over time, but you still need them. Or go full squid, and sell off the sae for a sweet selection of pipe wrenches, vise grips and water pump pliers.

 

[Mhyde52]

You'll only lose money on your investment if you sell them at a loss. I heard that on an episode of Hoarders.

My SAE drawer is still higher in the box than the metric drawer. My newer vehicles haven't required much work yet and my old stuff requires ALOT!

Me too, sae wrenches over metric wrenches. Sae sockets in front of metric sockets.

 

[WhiffySpark]

I have one 3/8 deep and shallow set on one wrench set. I use the wrenches often.

I have a half of dozen specialities sockets that are sae

 

[Parrothead]

I see this question often. This board must not work on much other than cars, and new ones at that.

I have tractors, boats, machine tools, a house, and a whole other litany of stuff that use SAE fasteners. That is not including my work, which is in an industrial environment, easily 50/50 metric and SAE.

Keep the tools. They will be useful in the future for at least another few decades.

I've noticed that too. I really don't work on cars as much anymore but still do a ton of stuff around the home. 50/50 for sure!

 

[WittHay]

Funny how things change. We use to keep the metric "junk" in a separate old tool box, so it wouldn't get mixed up with our good SAE stuff. Now a days I don't even think about it, some things are SAE, some are metric. Just grab the right tool.

People living in a apartment with a new vehicle, do they even need metric tools? What can they fix on a new car?

People in rural area probably need more tools than ever. Big mix of old and new vehicles and equipment

 

[BDT/NWMN]

So one could conclude after 5 pages of this, that "the point" is: there's a hell of a lot of sae fasteners around to deal with. and there's a good likelihood that you will need to turn one some time.

Unless your job is to work on something specific and completely metric, and you don't ever work on household stuff for you or anyone else, than you'll need sae tools. Maybe less and less over time, but you still need them. Or go full squid, and sell off the sae for a sweet selection of pipe wrenches, vise grips and water pump pliers.

It might take more than five pages of comments spread over three days to get to the true root of the problem. The SAE stuff might have been a gift from the in-laws. The in-laws might be constantly calling to borrow them. It may take time to properly diagnose this problem to find it's true cause.. Every aspect should be questioned and reviewed.. It would be shameful to have someone seeking help or advise from GJ to have to second guess any decisions they may ponder.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I use both all the time at both home and at work. Semi trucks are starting to use metric on some things so I need those. But a lot of stuff is still SAE on them. And trailers, for me at least, are all still SAE. Then the nuts and bolts used for just stuff are all SAE too.

 

[BK13]

I think it probably boils down to: only you can determine what you really need. The guy who whenches on Toyota FJ40s probably doesn't need any/much fractional, but I wrench on a CJ7 so I do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[crewchief888]

at work my SAE outnumbers MM by at least 3 to 1.
at home it's about 50/50.

 

[MikeF2316]

KBC divides it into fractional, machine screw, number, letter, decimal, dowel pin, and metric, depending on what exactly you're talking about.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I've never seen sockets or wrenches in machine screw, number, letter, decimal or dowel pin sizes.

 

[gtae07]

SAE is all we use to keep the big metal birds in the sky.

And the little metal birds too

 

[tvtaurus]

And the little metal birds too [emoji106]

We just call those puddle jumpers.

 

[ozyborn]

My tools are mainly SAE, very little metric. I far prefer working on the older muscle cars than the newer plastic junk heaps. Metric = crescent wrench

 

[M6erfan]

My late '80's all metal "junk heap"...



No plastic or an SAE fastener in site...

 

[T45]

My late '80's all metal "junk heap"...

No plastic or an SAE fastener in site...

But does it FLY

 

[pstemari]

Anybody ever use a 25/32 socket? I have a few odd balls and don't think I ever used them.

6/12 pt socket? I thought 25/32 was used for old square head bolts. I have that on a DOE wrench but I don't believe I have it in sockets or DBE wrenches.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Hlidskjalf]

As an HVAC tech my metric tools collect dust. Unless I'm working on something out of Europe it's SAE all the way in HVAC and many construction trades for that matter.

 

[pstemari]

.Unless your job is to work on something specific and completely metric,.

Heh. That's exactly why I have a set of dedicated wrenches for the lathe: a handful of metrics, a couple inch wrenches, and a bunch of both metric and hex t-handle hex drivers.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[bdog]

I don't work on a lot of new vehicles. I buy new ones under warranty and trade them before the warranty is up. The vast majority of the stuff I work on is standard.

 

[pstemari]

I've never seen sockets or wrenches in machine screw, number, letter, decimal or dowel pin sizes. [emoji38]_hitti

Drills, taps, dies, and reamers. I probably have as much money in those as I do in wrenches.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[M6erfan]

But does it FLY

Yes. Yes it does...

 

[drink]

As an HVAC tech my metric tools collect dust. Unless I'm working on something out of Europe it's SAE all the way in HVAC and many construction trades for that matter.

You said something I have been wanting to hear about. I have heard of metric lumber but it is overseas. From what I understand the American lumber is marked in feet and inches. Engineers lay out some stuff in decimals like 19.2 inches to get proper spacing. They might have some metric measuring tools but I have yet to come across some drawings that require metric measurements. A lot of screws have been used over the past several years and power screwdrivers typically have a special screwdriving tip that goes in the screw guns to screw the screws. I have seen a lot of SAE nutdrivers that HVAC technicians use. All anchor bolts I have encountered were SAE.

 

[WWheeler]

Maybe in your box at work at the VW dealership you don't need SAE, but if you live in the USA and don't have both SEA and metric in your tools at home, you're SOL at fixing much of anything around the house. Just try and explain to your significant other why with all the tools you have why you can't even put the legs on the new couch you just bought. Good luck with that.

 

[Dingleburry]

I work in industrial maintenance and SAE is about 95% of all that we use. It still has it's place just not in the world of most auto mechanics.

Same same.
I use sae every day all day. 98%+ and im in canada. Its industrial machinery mind you but... yeah. Thats the point. My metric rarely gets used.

 

[Dingleburry]

I don't currently own any old vehicles, my Sae stuff collects dust. I keep noticing guys selling off Sae sets in the classified section. With my rides being an fj cruiser, BMW 330ci, and a Polaris rzr, can I cut the Sae loose and get away with it? Has this bitten anyone in the ***, and they have to go out and buy another set of Sae wrenches?

Id basically say this.
You are the only one who knows what you work on, what your willing to work on and what may be worked on in the future.
If your willing to take a stab at a broken furnace, broken ac, dishwasher, garage door opener, lawn mower,pumps, motors, base heaters and everything/anything else that breaks id keep them.
If your only going to work on your 3 rides the rest of your life sell it all off. Then prob rebuy it later for some unforseen repairs on some unforseen machinery.
Just my thoughts.

 

[buffalobill]

Yes. Yes it does...

Sweet bimmer, my 330ci is the one vehicle that hasn't pissed me off or let me down in owning it. What kind of power is that putting down?

 

[Ram Hemi]

Not every one is an automotive mechanic or engine rebuilder, that's the point, I have metric stuff that rarely gets used unless I'm doing something on a newer CAT engine or installing toggle switches for aux lights on our equipment.

 

[Inabox85]

washing machine. 1/4 inch bolts hold the top on my newer washing machin

 

[Gmonkee]

I keep my USS, Whitworth, numbers, cap screw and very early metrics in a display case.

The modern SAE and metric is split between home and work. You just never know what is going to be the magic wand some days.

 

[drink]

Some of my SAE 1/2" drive socket sets have a 1-3/16" socket in them. So far I have used every socket, both standard and deep, except the 1-3/16" size. At one time I found a wide flange serrated lock nut that came close to fitting a 1-3/16" socket but they appeared to measure the distance in 1/64" increments. The amount of play would have been minimal but at the time I did not know how much play a factory socket has in it when properly sized to fit a nut. To this day I have not encountered a fastener that was made to use a 1-3/16" socket on. On the other hand the rest of my 1/2" drive socket set as well as my 1/4", 3/8" and 3/4" drive SAE socket sets still work on a lot of stuff.

 

[T45]

To this day I have not encountered a fastener that was made to use a 1-3/16" socket on. On the other hand the rest of my 1/2" drive socket set as well as my 1/4

As 27, 30, 32 mm overlap with inche sizes pretty close, it may be why its in there....30mm check out pretty close to 1 & 3/16ths (25.4+4.8=30.2mm)