Tools with tighter tolerances?

[Lewis Moon]

Are there any brands of tools, especially Allen wrenches, that aren't sand blasted or whatever to round all the edges? Seems that even my brand n ew Bondhus allen wrenches are rounded and sloppy. That's not great when torquing stainless bolts.

[PacNW2Ford]

Honest question: how do you know it is not the bolts? That said, I have Wihas and Pedro’s that have well defined hexes.

[slowpoke]

Wera offer a hex plus design that supposedly puts more contact with the screw.

https://www-de.wera.de/en/great-tools/hex-plus/

But I agree with the above poster that precision require both the tool and the screws to be manufactured at tighter tolerances.

[deluz]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

Wera offer a hex plus design that supposedly puts more contact with the screw.

https://www-de.wera.de/en/great-tools/hex-plus/

But I agree with the above poster that precision require both the tool and the screws to be manufactured at tighter tolerances.

I have these and they work great on bolts that do not have the best head.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by PacNW2Ford

Honest question: how do you know it is not the bolts? That said, I have Wihas and Pedro’s that have well defined hexes.

Both the bolts and the hex wrenches are manufactured to certain tolerance windows, and to make sure tools and bolts fit together, the tolerance windows can't overlap. But that doesn't mean precision hex wrenches can't be manufactured closer to their maximum allowed tolerances to ensure a closer fit.

[Carbonita]

Silca plating method used on their hex tools to tighten the tolerance range. Explained nicely here: https://youtu.be/7dDVVAcGoZU?si=nIMp5YPLum6PedKW

[PacNW2Ford]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Both the bolts and the hex wrenches are manufactured to certain tolerance windows, and to make sure tools and bolts fit together, the tolerance windows can't overlap. But that doesn't mean precision hex wrenches can't be manufactured closer to their maximum allowed tolerances to ensure a closer fit.

Right, and I think quality tools are much more likely than the bolts to have more thorough QC and tighter tolerances.

[windsurfer]

Really liking my wera hex plus. Definite improvement over Bondus an Ekland for stubborn hex bolts

[Mikej]

Pb swiss

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

Wera offer a hex plus design that supposedly puts more contact with the screw.

https://www-de.wera.de/en/great-tools/hex-plus/

But I agree with the above poster that precision require both the tool and the screws to be manufactured at tighter tolerances.

I have a set of those and the ball end torx set too. Very nice sets of tools

M

[Deanhorsfall]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

Are there any brands of tools, especially Allen wrenches, that aren't sand blasted or whatever to round all the edges? Seems that even my brand n ew Bondhus allen wrenches are rounded and sloppy. That's not great when torquing stainless bolts.

Which Bondhus version are they? They make a variety of quality levels and their higher end ones are of better quality.

[truth]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

Are there any brands of tools, especially Allen wrenches, that aren't sand blasted or whatever to round all the edges? Seems that even my brand n ew Bondhus allen wrenches are rounded and sloppy. That's not great when torquing stainless bolts.

As mentioned Wera Hex Plus is what you need.

[krooj]

All the good ones have already been mentioned, but I'll toss in Stanley Proto and Eklind as well.

[gravelreformist]

I have a set of the Silca wrenches. I wouldn't pay full price because I'm cheap but at the sale price I got them at they are fantastic. Very high quality. However I never had a problem with any of the mid-grade wrenches I owned over the years either. I think my main set for the last few decades was a mid-level Bondhus.

[ChainNoise]

Ive used a variety of bondhus, wera, eklind, and even Pittsburgh icon allens for my career over the last 10 years. All were the cheapest variety I could find, so I imagine lowest level. I've put them all through thorough abuse, especially throughout my apprenticeship, and they all perform the same. I always get a good laugh when I see the Silca $200 set

If the wrench fits loose, either the tip of the wrench is being rounded off from so much use, or improper engagement in the screw head... or the screw head isn't right. If the portion that engages with the screw is worn and slipping in the screw, cut the worn out part off and continue on. If it's the screw, chuck it when you are able to remove it and replace to save yourself a headache later on. Once the screw is buggered up just a little bit, it doesn't take long for it to get entirely ****ed.