Have hex sockets rounded your heads?

kit_addict
kit_addict Posts: 6
edited October 2007 in MTB workshop & tech
I bought a shiny new torque wrench thinking it'd be a good idea to make sure all the bolts on my stumpy's rear end were tight enough. A couple weren't, but unfortunately the hex sockets I was using have rounded off the heads on a couple of the bolts!

Having since compared them side by side with normal allen keys it seems that the hex bits are fractionally smaller. Has anyone had a similar problem? I don't want to order another set if the same thing is going to happen.

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    sounds like a poor set of bits. or you got imperial and not metric.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • kit_addict
    kit_addict Posts: 6
    The metric/imperial mixup was my first thought too. Both the hex bits and the sockets that hold them are stamped with metric units though.

    A friend of mine uses much larger hex sockets at work and says his are often rounding off bolts due to them being slightly too small. If no one else has had this problem on bikes though I'll order up another set. Any ideas for a good source?
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    what brand do you have now?
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • kit_addict
    kit_addict Posts: 6
    They're unbranded ebay jobs...
  • Splasher
    Splasher Posts: 1,528
    In use Teng allen sockets and they've been good.
    "Internet Forums - an amazing world where outright falsehoods become cyber-facts with a few witty key taps and a carefully placed emoticon."
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    kit_addict wrote:
    They're unbranded ebay jobs...

    and you are supprised!
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • kit_addict
    kit_addict Posts: 6
    ...hmmm...it may have been a little silly to subject a couple of grands worth of bike to a £5 hex bit set. The Teng set was going to be a fortune though.

    Where did you get yours from?
  • Splasher
    Splasher Posts: 1,528
    http://www.diytools.com/store/detail.as ... ctid=61764
    "Internet Forums - an amazing world where outright falsehoods become cyber-facts with a few witty key taps and a carefully placed emoticon."

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