Tool Advice

bricker

bricker

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2006
Messages
1,037
Reaction score
1,682
Location
Hall County GA
I have had a couple of occasions where I needed a T handle allen wrench. The internet search turned up eleventy thousand different manufacturers. I am looking for quality tools, I work for a living. Anybody have personal experience on which brands are better quality or ones I should avoid?
 
Register to hide this ad
I have a set by Bondhus that have served me well for many years. They are one piece where the handle is formed by bending the shaft 90 degrees, then doubling back on itself. This allows the handle to flex in rotation, providing some built-in torque limitation.

If you need a ball end, I think you have to go with plastic handles.

Other suggestions would include Motion Pro, who sells motorcycle specialty tools. Their tools always work and hold up well.
 
Klein probably jobs tools like that out, rebranding some other brand. But they would be high quality. Klein doesn't mess around.

The Kleins might be Wiha. Wiha makes excellent hex wrenches. I've got a few of their T handles around the shop for various machines. Good stuff.
 
I use them often and work with guys that use them constantly.

I dislike the ones that have a bent loop for the handle part. They wind up then when the screw loosens its give a springy snap and hurts your hand.

Right now dollar of dollar the Home Depot Husky brand is decent and seems to hold up. They also have a bonus in that they have another bit on the side of the handle and can give extra torque when needed. I have a set that was on sale but it did not include all the sizes, it jumped over some.

Good Luck with your choice!
 
If you need one or a few to be specialized for a specific function, make your own! Through wood, plastic or aluminum rod drill a through hole and a perpendicular hole just larger than the Allan wrench. You can buy Allan wrenches up to 12" long and cut off (with a grinder) to any length you require. Cut your raw handle so about 1/4" of the "L" sticks out. Make half of the through hole a channel, slide wrench into handle and epoxy in place. I have made these with a short stub of a second size forming the other half of the "T". If it is a tool you use very often, make the body in a size you can get a pocket clip for. You can make one leg into a screwdriver or torx, whatever you desire. A Master Craftsman will make the tools necessary to do the job quickly and correctly.

Similarly, I made 1/4 inch drive sockets with long Allan wrench in metric sized to use with the dial torque wrench, for action screws on target rifles. Short 1" length are common items but expensive. Buy the right size socket and length Allan wrench and epoxy together, 1/4 to 1/2 the price of store bought (if available in the first place.)

My first was a T-handle for adjusting a furnace gas valve in an apartment complex, in the fall every year it was one of my most used tools. Others have been made as needs arrive. If it is a tool for a common task make half a dozen and sell them to co-workers or give them as goodwill or Christmas gifts.

Ivan
 
+1 for Klein! My brother works for Klein at the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center in Mansfield TX, he's in the CNC tooling area. They just opened a new heat treating facility in Mansfield also. They do outsource some things but if it says Made in USA, it's 100% and most are. They're VERY good tools. And, they're family owned!
 
Last edited:
We used to cut a 1" of a 3/8" allen and insert it in a 3/8" drive socket to tighten up the mounting bolts on a J71 engine in a B66 Bomber. You could run it snug with a speed handle then swap it over to the torque wrench to tighten it up. Then came the .041" safety wire.
 
Klein, Elkind and Bondhus are all good brands in my experience. Keep in mind that if a fastener is seized, it's still possible to booger even a "gorilla-proof" wrench and the allen head. Ask me how I know. :o
 
CoMF said:
Klein, Elkind and Bondhus are all good brands in my experience. Keep in mind that if a fastener is seized, it's still possible to booger even a "gorilla-proof" wrench and the allen head. Ask me how I know. :o
Click to expand...

Which starts a whole new topic on left hand drill bits and easy outs. Don't ask me how I know. :o :D:D:D
 
DeathGrip said:
Which starts a whole new topic on left hand drill bits and easy outs. Don't ask me how I know. :o :D:D:D
Click to expand...

...or broken off tapper bit tips. That's a whole new world of pain, right there.

SOMETIMES, I can pull a Houdini and finagle them out. Most of the time, I end up drilling and tapping a new hole next to it where it'll be covered by the part (usually a laser sensor) being mounted. And this, despite using plenty of lube and being super careful. Did I mention I hate working with aluminum? ;)
 
CoMF said:
...or broken off tapper bit tips. That's a whole new world of pain, right there.

SOMETIMES, I can pull a Houdini and finagle them out. Most of the time, I end up drilling and tapping a new hole next to it where it'll be covered by the part (usually a laser sensor) being mounted. And this, despite using plenty of lube and being super careful. Did I mention I hate working with aluminum? ;)
Click to expand...

A topic on dissimilar metals? Talk about frustrating. Now we add electrolysis to the mix.

Stripped threads? ;)
 
DeathGrip said:
A topic on dissimilar metals? Talk about frustrating. Now we add electrolysis to the mix.

Stripped threads? ;)
Click to expand...

Or stainless steel galling. We're encouraged to use stainless fasteners in our panel builds, but I've cursed and screamed at more than my fair share of 1/4-20 nylocks. They seem to seize up on me every. Single. Time. :mad: I don't know if we got a bad lot of them or what, but since these enclosures aren't being placed in especially corrosive enviornments, I "cheat" and use plated nylocks instead to save myself wasted time and frustration. Haven't had one seize yet since I started doing that.
 
I used to exclusively buy Craftsman until they began welching on their warranty. Now I buy the cheapest, they are all made by the same slave on the same ship in a Chinese harbor at gunpoint.
 
Allen Head wrenches

I've worked on BMW motorcycles that used Allen head bolts for years. You need more than T-handles. Lots of good brands. Cheap ones are just as good as expensive ones for almost all generic use. Allen wrenches are harder than most screw / bolt heads. Often you will have to cut them / butcher them to fit in a tight space. They make some with a ball head type male fitting comes in great when you can't go straight in. Get some with screw driver handles. Great for fast work. Lastly they come in socket sets, Make sure you buy them. You can buy cheap sets - Harbor Freight for the configurations they have.

After 30 years of buying Allen wrenches BMW changed to TORX -:(
 
CoMF said:
Klein, Elkind and Bondhus are all good brands in my experience. Keep in mind that if a fastener is seized, it's still possible to booger even a "gorilla-proof" wrench and the allen head. Ask me how I know. :o
Click to expand...

Those are the exact three I recommend. It's been a few years but I used to sell tools.
Don't forget about the Allen brand itself.

Hex wrenches are often called Allens but Allen is the brand.
i.e, everybody asks for a Kleenex when they want a tissue.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

chief38
Does anyone else still use a Speed Wrench Driver?
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
2K
Kinman
Kinman
G
hi from Austin
2
Replies
25
Views
771
snubbyfan
snubbyfan
Golddollar
NEED SOME SUGGESTIONS
Replies
17
Views
1K
Aggie1906
Aggie1906
chief38
SCREWDRIVERS (JIS VS PHILLIPS) KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!
2 3
Replies
44
Views
3K
Marshwheeling
Marshwheeling
chief38
VPN's Yea or Nay .... and if Yea, which one?
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
oldbrownhat
oldbrownhat

Latest posts

Back
Top