Torx and Allen Sockets

[mobiledynamics]

Aside from SO, who else is making USA and or Torx sockets that last. While I'm asking....same goes for hex sockets.


Seems like all the other torx, torx plus, hex heads, etc are all coming out of the same factory in Taiwan with a different plastic blow moulded case

 

[Conductor562]

Proto makes them in the USA. This set is $60 at Zoro tools:

SK makes them Stateside as well.

 

[shockwave]

I believe vim makes there own and are very nice stronger than my snap ons I like there 1 piece sockets

 

[sberry]

Sad to say but been getting stuff like that at Walmart lately, seems to work as good as any.

 

[DoubleA]

I have a set of cornwell hex sockets short and longs. I believe they are vim, I've never had a problem with them in years of professional use.

 

[shockwave]

I know Armstrong/matco aswell and also try some German made hex/torx they hold up well unless you are looking exclusively for us made

 

[General Geoff]

I have Bondhus allen bits that snap into any corresponding-size socket. They've proven to be just as strong as a Snap-on 10mm allen bit (gold colored, IIRC that means heavy duty) that a friend bought after breaking several Cman 10mm allen bits trying to get the cylinder head off a Subaru. They make torx bits as well as allen and torx L-wrenches. And they are all made in the U.S.A.

 

[kunkernator]

I believe vim makes there own and are very nice stronger than my snap ons I like there 1 piece sockets

VIM are VERY nice, Taiwan made, but VERY nice. I have a VIM triple square set, love it. And if I remember correctly, VIM makes some tools for Matco or Cornwell.

 

[mobiledynamics]

Indeed VIM. I've got a set of Matco Torx Security and Cornwell Hex......
Both when received, I thought it was all stateside stuff. Nontheleast, it was VIM

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Mine are from harbor freight, I would love to upgrdade to SK soon. I few of them are not straight so in the socket but they all fit tight. I bought them when I was broke and needed to get the job done.

 

[bob15]

I would stick with the Snap On set. A nice feature with them on the hex heads is that if you snap one off, all you need is allen wrench, cut the "L" off and install it into the socket. The Proto, Wright, SK, Williams "standard" length sockets all have stepped down bits.

Break a Proto, Wright, etc bit and you need this:

Break a Snap-On bit off and it is replaced with:

See the step? It can be a major pain when one gets broken and you don't have replacement bits. At least with the Snappy set, a quick fix is fast and easy. Ask me now I know......

 

[sberry]

Craftsman have socket type deals too. The Walmart ones are like you posted, would have to replace the bit as the socket is universal and the bit engineered but I bought set for 15 in metric with the intent I might need to replace but so far so good and if I had to lean on a particular size in a ghighly repetitive environment would make provisions for backup. I can cut a piece off and put it in a socket too.

I had a set of torx I buy from an Ace hwd one time on the job, even back in the day was 15$ from Tiawan and untill I lost or they were stolen,,, cant say they were the best but they never failed, considering the cost ratio I would have to rank them real high, the package the came in was handy and they worked. We finally wreck,,, one of my guys,,, a 5$ set that last me years last summer, I call the wife and she was about 5 mins from a Walmart and score another for 18$ that so far works.

 

[MG44]

Snappy told me it was about $700 for their "Master Set" of Allen/Torx, and it didn't even include the security type!

Call me cheap, but nobody is getting $700 for me for a bit designed generally for low torque fasteners.

I have the HF Torx set with a few GreatNeck T50, T55's etc... and the big SnapOn T60 for caliper bracket bolts on GMs.

My Hex set is a Duralast. I have a cheapie set of security bit Torx. I've been using this setup for years. I like the SnapOn because of the nice case, but I don't see a $700 set paying me back for an awful long time.

My general rule of thumb is if it takes me more then 5 jobs on most handtools to start paying me back, its not worth it. When you add up the amount of jobs it takes for your handtools in your box to start paying you back, you start to see how many labor hours are you in debt to the truck guys.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

what kind of cars do you guys see the security torx on? I am just curious I am not an auto mechanic.

 

[mailpup]

@Chadwilliam1, Volkswagen/Audi. For example, 1.8T cam bearing cap bolts (some models).

 

[MG44]

German cars mostly, but even then a lot of GM MAF sensors are security torx to the air duct.

 

[6-Speed]

I'm looking at the Sunex brand for a set of impact duty 3/8" drive hex bits with the short shank.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Good, i wont likely run into them and I will add that to the list of why I dont buy german cars.

 

[e30bradley]

I have snap on allen sockets, the gold ones and they are really great. I also have a blue point set of torx that I am not happy with at all
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=682316&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

I recently bought a set of long VIM xzn sockets and they are nice. I used them on VW head bolts and axles to far and they fit perfect and the heads didn't strip, the quality seams to be top notch. If you insist on US made take recommendations from everyone else. I'll stick to snap on and vim. My local snap on dealer actually sells VIM.

 

[e30bradley]

@Chadwilliam1, Volkswagen/Audi. For example, 1.8T cam bearing cap bolts (some models).

thats funny. did they think someone is going to steal the camshaft?

 

[e30bradley]

Snappy told me it was about $700 for their "Master Set" of Allen/Torx, and it didn't even include the security type!

Call me cheap, but nobody is getting $700 for me for a bit designed generally for low torque fasteners.

I have the HF Torx set with a few GreatNeck T50, T55's etc... and the big SnapOn T60 for caliper bracket bolts on GMs.

My Hex set is a Duralast. I have a cheapie set of security bit Torx. I've been using this setup for years. I like the SnapOn because of the nice case, but I don't see a $700 set paying me back for an awful long time.

My general rule of thumb is if it takes me more then 5 jobs on most handtools to start paying me back, its not worth it. When you add up the amount of jobs it takes for your handtools in your box to start paying you back, you start to see how many labor hours are you in debt to the truck guys.

torx are often used in pretty high torque spots... Torx was designed to not cam out so that allot of torque can be transfered. head bolts, truck boxes, etc..

 

[May Pop]

Here is the set Ive been using for a couple of years.
http://www.tooltopia.com/otc-tools-...tm_term=OTC5900A&utm_campaign=pricegrabber_r1
Otc and Ive only broken one and it was warrantied free and fast.
I also use Craftsman and SK.
The Cman get warrantied fast also as Sears is close by, havent broken the SKs yet as thats the clean set used on interoirs ect.
Ron

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Used this set a couple of days ago, worked really well.

http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/SBS41SE/41-PC-SILVER-EAGLE-SOCKET-BIT-DRIVER-SET/
Not a chance I'm paying the crazy Matco price for a 'Silver Eagle' set. Still been looking around trying to find who actually makes it.

 

[Douglas733]

Mac tools offers a great one

 

[dirtmister16]

one good thing about snap on ones. they have the best warranty that i know of, torx,allen ect. if you break them they replace them. to my knowledge the others don't offer that, they see it as consumable.

now i could be wrong, but ive yet to mess up any of my snap on ones, i also have blackhawk but don't use them as much because they are metric allens.

 

[Skin]

torx are often used in pretty high torque spots... Torx was designed to not cam out so that allot of torque can be transfered. head bolts, truck boxes, etc..

This is wrong. Torx was designed to replace small fasteners in an assembly environment because machines and torque limiting drivers don't cam out and damage the screw before a torque spec is met. If you actually look at where torx are most commonly used its often delicate areas like interiors and sensors/electrical. Hardly "high torque" areas however they are torque sensitive areas.

Larger high torque fasteners like head bolts use other designs like 12pt, XZN, Polydrive, and another double hex design specifically for Toyota.

You can find very large sizes of Torx (up to T100) in use but they're quite specialty.

 

[durallymax]

I use the snap on ones but I have a set of VIM XZN (Tri-square) sockets that are very nice.

Good, i wont likely run into them and I will add that to the list of why I dont buy german cars.

What else is on that list? Just curious because our 3 german cars are all put together much better than our american made cars, and much more thought out as well. They are tougher to take apart though. I don't mind.

This is wrong. Torx was designed to replace small fasteners in an assembly environment because machines and torque limiting drivers don't cam out and damage the screw before a torque spec is met. If you actually look at where torx are most commonly used its often delicate areas like interiors and sensors/electrical. Hardly "high torque" areas.

Larger high torque fasteners like head bolts use other designs like 12pt, XZN, and double hex lobe design (Toyota).

You can find very large sizes of Torx (up to T100) in use but they're quite specialty.

Regardless of what it was made for it is used in high torque applications.

GM rear truck calipers are one example, usually takes a lot of heat and a damn good torx socket to get them out.

Torx plus is used in higher torque such as the Bellhousing bolts on some transmissions.

You'll also find them on injection pumps and hydraulic systems.

 

[Skin]

Regardless of what it was made for it is used in high torque applications.

GM rear truck calipers are one example, usually takes a lot of heat and a damn good torx socket to get them out.

Sure but its not "often" used and very rarely used on head bolts as claimed, at least on any vehicles I've seen.

Torx **** in rusty areas. Its great that they grab as well as they do but the bits always eat it in the end, just a matter of time. Wish they'd just stick with 6pt or 12pt bolts on things like that (calipers).

 

[durallymax]

Sure but its not "often" used and very rarely used on head bolts as claimed, at least on any vehicles I've seen.

Torx **** in rusty areas. Its great that they grab as well as they do but the bits always eat it in the end, just a matter of time. Wish they'd just stick with 6pt or 12pt bolts on things like that (calipers).

The torx plus are pretty impressive for the amount you can put to them.

The GM caliper slides can be replaced with 6 point ones.

I've never seen a torx headbolt either. Thats not to say a chainsaw or RC car doesn't use one though

 

[maddawg1952]

what kind of cars do you guys see the security torx on? I am just curious I am not an auto mechanic.

I thought it was a strange place to run into them but found them when we had to remove and replace some playground equipment recently, I was like ...who the hell is going to steal a playground slide? all the button heads were security types.

 

[Thunderbisciut]

I'm looking at the Sunex brand for a set of impact duty 3/8" drive hex bits with the short shank.

I have these and they're awesome. Nice quality, cheap price, and large assortment. I only wish they sold them as singles too in a larger variety of sizes. I haven't had any issues yet, but haven't had them long either.

 

[fourtythree]

SK are US made and look pretty nice.

 

[tjmonsen5]

The torx plus are pretty impressive for the amount you can put to them.

The GM caliper slides can be replaced with 6 point ones.

I've never seen a torx headbolt either. Thats not to say a chainsaw or RC car doesn't use one though

BMW's use torx headbolts. I was leary of tightening them when I did my first head gasket job, but they are strong! The early BMW engines used regular 6 pt hex head bolts, but there was a recall and they switched to torx because the hex wasnt strong enough.

 

[SantaAna12]

My experience using cheap hex was they were easily roundable. I have SO sets and a XL Bondhus set.....the Bondhus seems to be holding up pretty dam good.

 

[Chris_PT]

SK are US made and look pretty nice.

I like the idea of the SK one's, too. For now, my HF sets will have to suffice because I simply don't use them enough in my hobby of cars.

 

[allinon72]

If you live in Menards country, Masterforce has a USA set. Do not know who they are made by.

http://www.menards.com/main/tools-h...rive-torx-bit-socket-set/p-1503458-c-9159.htm

 

[purplezr2]

I would stick with the Snap On set. A nice feature with them on the hex heads is that if you snap one off, all you need is allen wrench, cut the "L" off and install it into the socket. The Proto, Wright, SK, Williams "standard" length sockets all have stepped down bits.

Break a Proto, Wright, etc bit and you need this:

Break a Snap-On bit off and it is replaced with:

See the step? It can be a major pain when one gets broken and you don't have replacement bits. At least with the Snappy set, a quick fix is fast and easy. Ask me now I know......

Snap on changed there style to the press in type, to change them they just pound the old one out and pound the new one in takes about ten seconds

Sad to say but been getting stuff like that at Walmart lately, seems to work as good as any.

Craftsman have socket type deals too. The Walmart ones are like you posted, would have to replace the bit as the socket is universal and the bit engineered but I bought set for 15 in metric with the intent I might need to replace but so far so good and if I had to lean on a particular size in a ghighly repetitive environment would make provisions for backup. I can cut a piece off and put it in a socket too.

I had a set of torx I buy from an Ace hwd one time on the job, even back in the day was 15$ from Tiawan and untill I lost or they were stolen,,, cant say they were the best but they never failed, considering the cost ratio I would have to rank them real high, the package the came in was handy and they worked. We finally wreck,,, one of my guys,,, a 5$ set that last me years last summer, I call the wife and she was about 5 mins from a Walmart and score another for 18$ that so far works.

One thing about cheap ones if they break and shatter or round off, snap on ones will twist alittle but are still serviceable until you can get a replacement. I have own both types, there is nothing like a torx bit shattering to dust when removing cam caps, I broke two taking a cam out of a vw once, sucked had buy an ace one to finish the job which broke on a later one. I have never broke a snap on one, but they have twisted some.

 

[purplezr2]

BMW's use torx headbolts. I was leary of tightening them when I did my first head gasket job, but they are strong! The early BMW engines used regular 6 pt hex head bolts, but there was a recall and they switched to torx because the hex wasnt strong enough.

VW use them for rods caps if I remember right, maybe its mains, but I know they use them on the bottom ends.

 

[ganymede]

Vermont American used to make them or maybe they were rebranded.

 

[chris142]

Some of the bolts that hold the dash in a 90's maxima are security torx