What is your favorite socket brand or size? My USA made SK Wayne socket from the late 1960’s has held up to regular use and many extra years. It has held throughout all the recent torture testing and it still has the tightest spec out of everything seems pretty impressive.
It's GW and here's why. I bought their master 3/8 64pc chrome set for a hair less than $50 about a decade ago and they've worked out really well. Haven't really thought about buying anything else, other than a set of fractional mids. Not in a hurry, though.
Bonney that I bought 35+ years ago and still going strong. In all those years only 3 sockets broke and that was within the first 5 years and they were warranty replaced. Bonney went out of the tool business around 1995.
I know the feeling. I was telling my wife about this channel. I said this guy test tools and test them to their breaking point. (with excitement of course).She just looks up and says Oh. I don’t think she was enthusiastic about it as I was.
I don't have a favorite socket brand I use. I use what works. I have 35 year old Craftsman, 50 year old Companion, 30 year old Husky's, 10 year old DeWalts, 10 year old Northern Tool and a set of brand new Tektons. No preference for any particular brand. Cheers!
Dale Lucid But how does the blind man tell what he is taking apart? Or if he has any dry rot cracks is a seal? Is it all by feel? (However I would probably trust a blind man over the guys behind the counter at most auto parts stores. Execept for Napa. At my local Napa the back half is an actual machine shop. Those guys can definitely know more than me about some things.
The right tolerance on the sk is not needed and indeed can be a problem as any deformation on the hex in any way impedes the socket from going on. Work with shiny new nut and bolts your golden, from my experience anyways
I measured this by measuring how many degrees of rotation the socket allowed on a bolt head before engagement. Koken is made in Japan and beat the Snap On stuff I had.
I have numerous different brands of sockets. As long as they're not too cheap and nasty they'll work! I wouldn't go out and buy a full set of snap-on sockets, but you can see why they're so expensive.
I don't see why they are so expensive. Icon was slightly tighter and is cheaper. The other brands were all within spec according to the standard. Snap-On didn't really stomp the competition here.
Tightest sockets I’ve ever and still have are from Kobalt. Sometimes they don’t even fit on bolts with gunk or that are slightly swelled. It’s kind of annoying TBH. This isn’t always a good thing. And I have snap one, craftsman and all sorts of new, old expensive and cheap sockets.
So looks like the best budget options are Icon at 19.21mm and Gearwrench at 19.25mm. However I've seen the Icon sockets Mushroom at higher torque. (Like 12mm internal engine bolts torque to 35ft-lbs).
I don't know the full story but from what I heard they were just too soft when they first released and they fixed them. The packaging between the old and new icon sockets are different too and watched a socket hardness test from this year and they're about 43 hrc which is just five points away from snapon so I think they're worth consideration now.
Here is the problem with only measuring one socket per brand. All you can test is to verify that it is in spec. You can't test the tolerance of the brand. What you want to see is the variation with one single brand. You, as a consumer, would have a hard time testing that. We know that in the manufacturing process, in order to get that measurement, they heat the metal, and then forge and broach it at the same time. The broach wears out over time. So, the first socket that is broached with one specific broach will have a larger hole and looser fit. As that broach is used, the sockets afterwards are going to have a tighter and tighter fit, until the broach is finally replaced. The last socket that gets broached has the tightest fit. Part of the cost of each socket is how often the broach is replaced. A class 1 manufacturer will replace the broach more often than a class 2 manufacturer. What that also means is that you can find a socket from a class 2 manufacturer that has a tighter tolerance than a class 1 manufacturer. Anyways, all I am saying is that if you only measure one socket per brand, all you are doing is determining what position in the broaching line that one socket was.
FinallyMe78 And what does your 19mm sockets run for sizing? If any USA socket manufacturing company wants to have me for a day of fun, do a video and to come measure a 1000 sockets I’m game! Probably won’t be for a few years until the kids get older.
@@ClientGraphics that is actually a really good idea. Having me measure mine, that is. The best would be to have all your viewers measure theirs and then send you the results. Having one person doing all the measuring is better, but if you got enough data, that would probably wash out.
I really think pin guages would do a LOT better in measuring these sockets than the caliper does. Just way too much uncertainty in hand measurement to resolve differences unless they are drastic.
@@robfahey1349You are INCORRECT. Williams sockets are made in the USA. They are almost identical to Snap On sockets, not marked large font and finishing is a little less by a very small margin. Snap on does own Williams, and like every brand they offer some tools made in Taiwan. Just the way the world works. The USA doesn’t make the best of everything and at a good price point. We produce lots of garbage products too.
Great Video it would had definitely been most quite interesting also if you would had a Milwaukee Four Flat Socket to inlist in the Demonstration and not just for Ratchet or Ratcheting use but also Open End wrenches or Ratcheting wrench ends do to its 4 sided dimensions it would had made a very interesting Demonstration on all soughts of different levels but Great Content Good Job
Some of those surprise me but the best sockets of them all have the same design from SK to Snap On, my favorite is SK they're the strongest in my experience but the older ones are slightly better then the new ones. But in certain jobs you do need the tightest fit possible
You really need to come up with some sort of fixture to make these measurements. When you're measuring to the thousandth you don't have to be far from perpendicular to change the measurement. Especially with flank-drive sockets since their faces aren't flat. Not that it would have made a huge difference, I just prefer removing the human variable whenever possible.
I'd be shocked if they used a different mold for 3/4 and 19mm. With only .05 between the 2 and allowable tolerances of .30, there's zero reason to make them different.
That’s snap on socket was not new. I can see the deformation on the drive end. Snap on sockets seem to show wear on the square drive very easily. Doesn’t matter. Just saying.
This comparison is kind of bogus. I used to work at a machine shop it’s up to the operator to make sure the parts coming out are within spects. Some guys take a lot of pride in there job and keep tight tolerances and some just let them pump out. You could get a tight or loose fit with any brand
First part of the run vs the last part of the run will vary in difference due to ware. There are lots of factors. It’s partially a baseline for others to have if they ever want to see where their sockets are for tolerance.
ClientGraphics a good machinist can keep the tollorances good for the whole run that’s why you have to check every or every 4th part. You adjust your machine to the wear of the tool or change it out. I used to turn pistons for Wagner commercial guns they had very high tollorances
ClientGraphics there is the chroming process also witch most places send there parts out to be chromed I wonder how much that effects it so many variables
Can anybody reccomend some good sockets that fit well. I have husky sockets and they don't fit that great causing me to ruin some bolts by rounding them. I wanted sk but I've read sk is made in China now. My dad has the old craftsman stuff and they fit so well over nut and bolts. Not looking to spend snapon prices unless I really have to. Thanks!
Sockets will always be bigger that the nominal measurement of a bolt head because of the difference in coatings applied to the bolts, tooling tolerances and the biggest reason is because bolts aren't perfect after they've been beat up by cheap tools, rust and morons with locking pliers.
How are your 3/8 drive sockets holding up? I recently saw a video from Tool Time stating that the chrome on his 3/8 drive sockets are soft and they were dented. Even the drive part if the socket was warping. He claims he didnt use them on an impact.
Yes, I'd say those SK Tools are awesome, but NOT hundreds of dollars awesome! Sheesh, their prices are ridiculously on par with Snap-On, which are equally NOT worth their price.
Kind of useless measurement, no socket drives off it's flat; especially flank drive and broached variety with off corner drive which are designed to slip some until it grabs just off corners of fastener. Better test would be to paint the nut tested and look at which socket drives farthest off corners of fastener once torque is applied. You won't beat a SnapOn, Matco or Mac in most situations.
Thank you! Comment is spot on. People fail to understand why flank drive is such a popular and copied technology in sockets. Most of these guys aren’t professional mechanics, just TH-camrs
What is your favorite socket brand or size? My USA made SK Wayne socket from the late 1960’s has held up to regular use and many extra years. It has held throughout all the recent torture testing and it still has the tightest spec out of everything seems pretty impressive.
SK is my favorite brand. I have the flex zone sockets and the sk x frame wrenches. Love them.
Snap-on, but I'm sure you knew that already. lol
Snap on but icon is my wallets favorite.
It's GW and here's why. I bought their master 3/8 64pc chrome set for a hair less than $50 about a decade ago and they've worked out really well. Haven't really thought about buying anything else, other than a set of fractional mids. Not in a hurry, though.
Bonney that I bought 35+ years ago and still going strong. In all those years only 3 sockets broke and that was within the first 5 years and they were warranty replaced. Bonney went out of the tool business around 1995.
If you work on cars anywhere in the rust belt, you will appreciate the sockets that measure at the larger end of the range.
That's why I kept my craftsman sockets lol
So true
Agreed! I live in the rust belt
FYI - would be nice if you would include a graphic at the end that summarizes all your findings. Like a quick spreadsheet.
I need to reevaluate my life. I'm watching someone measure sockets at 2am.
I know the feeling. I was telling my wife about this channel. I said this guy test tools and test them to their breaking point. (with excitement of course).She just looks up and says Oh. I don’t think she was enthusiastic about it as I was.
Haha me watching this on the middle of the night never thought to tell the old lady about the channel tho lol
I feel yall, I used to talk to people about this stuff because im just getting into all this but they look at me like im soesking in tongues
Man I feel this lol. Damn it.
4 am 😭
I don't have a favorite socket brand I use. I use what works. I have 35 year old Craftsman, 50 year old Companion, 30 year old Husky's, 10 year old DeWalts, 10 year old Northern Tool and a set of brand new Tektons. No preference for any particular brand. Cheers!
So your preference only changes when it doesn't work?😆
@@xephael3485 If one socket doesn't work or breaks, I try another and so on. It's always nice to have a variety to choose from.
Well said William
Love the video content. It'd be nice if you posted a comparison sheet at the end of the video so we could quickly review all the results though!
You need to redo this test including the new stanley craftsman & milwaukee
lol
There is something about the looks of those Mac sockets that I really like. Love the old school look. I’m well aware that sounds stupid but whatever.
Don’t beat yourself up. I bought a set of SnapOn screwdrivers because they came in the new Power Blue color lol
Blind guy likes Kobalt. Pretty easy to identify. Great video Chris.
Dale Lucid But how does the blind man tell what he is taking apart? Or if he has any dry rot cracks is a seal? Is it all by feel? (However I would probably trust a blind man over the guys behind the counter at most auto parts stores. Execept for Napa. At my local Napa the back half is an actual machine shop. Those guys can definitely know more than me about some things.
I like the TAIWAN kobalt sockets, but they are horrible to read.
Interesting that Tekton was on the larger side. I’ve never had a problem with mine. Great video as always!
The right tolerance on the sk is not needed and indeed can be a problem as any deformation on the hex in any way impedes the socket from going on. Work with shiny new nut and bolts your golden, from my experience anyways
I measured this by measuring how many degrees of rotation the socket allowed on a bolt head before engagement. Koken is made in Japan and beat the Snap On stuff I had.
I use a lot of kobalt seem to work pretty good. Great channel!!
I have a few sets of Kobalt wrenches. No complaints.
You want a little wiggle so it doesn’t just grab the corners. The snapon is loose to grab closer to the inside rather than rounding the bolt
Underrated comment
I'd like to see you include a Wright socket. I prefer them over the others. They're American made and reasonably priced.
My Sunex impact sockets fit tighter than my Snap On. They are a fraction of the price too.
Thats not always a good thing
I have numerous different brands of sockets. As long as they're not too cheap and nasty they'll work! I wouldn't go out and buy a full set of snap-on sockets, but you can see why they're so expensive.
I don't see why they are so expensive. Icon was slightly tighter and is cheaper. The other brands were all within spec according to the standard. Snap-On didn't really stomp the competition here.
@@johnterpack3940 No it didn't but unfortunately in Australia we don't have such a large range of tools to choose from.
Nice video. I'm sure you're going to get a lot more "you should have" comments, so here's one. You should have thrown in a Pittsburgh socket too.
Looks like dad picks it right!
Someone get this man a legit caliper. Mitutoyo' arent that expensive bro.
I use Williams USA made sockets which are made by Snap-On. If the part number has letters they're made in the US, numbers only = Taiwan.
They also says “made in USA”….. Own a lot of their stuff
The Williams logo is different too on the thaiwan stuff
Thanks Buddy, now I'm going to measure all my sockets! 😂
Impressive test!
Tightest sockets I’ve ever and still have are from Kobalt. Sometimes they don’t even fit on bolts with gunk or that are slightly swelled. It’s kind of annoying TBH. This isn’t always a good thing.
And I have snap one, craftsman and all sorts of new, old expensive and cheap sockets.
Snap on flank drive plus if you want tighter tolerances
Gearwrench continues to impress me for the price, they are hard to beat.
Excellent ratchets and sockets. The wrenches are pretty good too
@@pdaddy879 Their ratchets and sockets are decent, but I hate the wrenches.
Maybe the bolt is actually a 19mm bolt relabeled to 3/4 inch? 😅
So looks like the best budget options are Icon at 19.21mm and Gearwrench at 19.25mm. However I've seen the Icon sockets Mushroom at higher torque. (Like 12mm internal engine bolts torque to 35ft-lbs).
I don't know the full story but from what I heard they were just too soft when they first released and they fixed them. The packaging between the old and new icon sockets are different too and watched a socket hardness test from this year and they're about 43 hrc which is just five points away from snapon so I think they're worth consideration now.
Here is the problem with only measuring one socket per brand. All you can test is to verify that it is in spec. You can't test the tolerance of the brand. What you want to see is the variation with one single brand. You, as a consumer, would have a hard time testing that. We know that in the manufacturing process, in order to get that measurement, they heat the metal, and then forge and broach it at the same time. The broach wears out over time. So, the first socket that is broached with one specific broach will have a larger hole and looser fit. As that broach is used, the sockets afterwards are going to have a tighter and tighter fit, until the broach is finally replaced. The last socket that gets broached has the tightest fit. Part of the cost of each socket is how often the broach is replaced. A class 1 manufacturer will replace the broach more often than a class 2 manufacturer. What that also means is that you can find a socket from a class 2 manufacturer that has a tighter tolerance than a class 1 manufacturer. Anyways, all I am saying is that if you only measure one socket per brand, all you are doing is determining what position in the broaching line that one socket was.
FinallyMe78 And what does your 19mm sockets run for sizing? If any USA socket manufacturing company wants to have me for a day of fun, do a video and to come measure a 1000 sockets I’m game! Probably won’t be for a few years until the kids get older.
@@ClientGraphics that is actually a really good idea. Having me measure mine, that is. The best would be to have all your viewers measure theirs and then send you the results. Having one person doing all the measuring is better, but if you got enough data, that would probably wash out.
@@ClientGraphics anyways, I enjoy your videos, so keep up the great work.
Thanks buddy as it can be hard to come up with new or different ideas. Appreciate you watching and commenting, thank you!
I really think pin guages would do a LOT better in measuring these sockets than the caliper does. Just way too much uncertainty in hand measurement to resolve differences unless they are drastic.
I think the Flank Drive (and copies) require a looser tolerance to work properly.
I just went to order something Williams and COO was Taiwan. I believe it was impact bits. I was kinda surprised
I think I read snap on bought them out awhile back and moved them overseas my guess is same factory with bluepoint since they are taiwan as well
@@robfahey1349You are INCORRECT. Williams sockets are made in the USA. They are almost identical to Snap On sockets, not marked large font and finishing is a little less by a very small margin. Snap on does own Williams, and like every brand they offer some tools made in Taiwan. Just the way the world works. The USA doesn’t make the best of everything and at a good price point. We produce lots of garbage products too.
You should test out some wright tools. They are great American made tools and my favorite. They never get much love though
Yes! They are industrial so many dont even know about them
Great Video it would had definitely been most quite interesting also if you would had a Milwaukee Four Flat Socket to inlist in the Demonstration and not just for Ratchet or Ratcheting use but also Open End wrenches or Ratcheting wrench ends do to its 4 sided dimensions it would had made a very interesting Demonstration on all soughts of different levels but Great Content Good Job
I love me some sk
SK doesn’t hold a candle to Snap On for professional use PERIOD! You forgot one of the best…. KOKEN Japan
Some of those surprise me but the best sockets of them all have the same design from SK to Snap On, my favorite is SK they're the strongest in my experience but the older ones are slightly better then the new ones. But in certain jobs you do need the tightest fit possible
Nice one Client
You really need to come up with some sort of fixture to make these measurements. When you're measuring to the thousandth you don't have to be far from perpendicular to change the measurement. Especially with flank-drive sockets since their faces aren't flat. Not that it would have made a huge difference, I just prefer removing the human variable whenever possible.
Accept he's measuring in mm
Why did you measure a 3/4 husky socket to check for a 19MM tolerance
Good question. I just looked it up, and 3/4 inch = 19.05 mm. Maybe it is labeled for both.
I'd be shocked if they used a different mold for 3/4 and 19mm. With only .05 between the 2 and allowable tolerances of .30, there's zero reason to make them different.
your saying you can feel the difference between .19 and .20???
That’s snap on socket was not new. I can see the deformation on the drive end. Snap on sockets seem to show wear on the square drive very easily. Doesn’t matter. Just saying.
This comparison is kind of bogus. I used to work at a machine shop it’s up to the operator to make sure the parts coming out are within spects. Some guys take a lot of pride in there job and keep tight tolerances and some just let them pump out. You could get a tight or loose fit with any brand
First part of the run vs the last part of the run will vary in difference due to ware. There are lots of factors. It’s partially a baseline for others to have if they ever want to see where their sockets are for tolerance.
ClientGraphics a good machinist can keep the tollorances good for the whole run that’s why you have to check every or every 4th part. You adjust your machine to the wear of the tool or change it out. I used to turn pistons for Wagner commercial guns they had very high tollorances
ClientGraphics there is the chroming process also witch most places send there parts out to be chromed I wonder how much that effects it so many variables
dudes measuring snap on sockets with Pittsburg calipers
Can anybody reccomend some good sockets that fit well. I have husky sockets and they don't fit that great causing me to ruin some bolts by rounding them. I wanted sk but I've read sk is made in China now. My dad has the old craftsman stuff and they fit so well over nut and bolts. Not looking to spend snapon prices unless I really have to. Thanks!
Be cool if you could possibly test german made brands, E.G hazet and Gedore.
Hazet get claimed to be better than snap on, but no real proof of this.
If Hazet claim to be better than Snap-on but dont have proof to back up with, they're full of shit.
Sockets will always be bigger that the nominal measurement of a bolt head because of the difference in coatings applied to the bolts, tooling tolerances and the biggest reason is because bolts aren't perfect after they've been beat up by cheap tools, rust and morons with locking pliers.
Why do all these review videos to show us quality tools use harbor freight calipers.. get some mitutoyo up in here
It's a shame the only SK Wayne you can find is used don't know if the new so is a good
How are your 3/8 drive sockets holding up? I recently saw a video from Tool Time stating that the chrome on his 3/8 drive sockets are soft and they were dented. Even the drive part if the socket was warping. He claims he didnt use them on an impact.
Kobalt sockets should be same as Qwinn right?
who is Qwinn?
Yes, I'd say those SK Tools are awesome, but NOT hundreds of dollars awesome! Sheesh, their prices are ridiculously on par with Snap-On, which are equally NOT worth their price.
SK sold to china..... what about Astro tools?
👍🏻
Is that China kobalt or Twain made because if Twain made I could see why there that tight
Twain made Kobalt👍
@@ClientGraphics ah that's why it's tighter the Chinese ones are kinda junk
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Kind of useless measurement, no socket drives off it's flat; especially flank drive and broached variety with off corner drive which are designed to slip some until it grabs just off corners of fastener. Better test would be to paint the nut tested and look at which socket drives farthest off corners of fastener once torque is applied. You won't beat a SnapOn, Matco or Mac in most situations.
Thank you! Comment is spot on. People fail to understand why flank drive is such a popular and copied technology in sockets. Most of these guys aren’t professional mechanics, just TH-camrs
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Christian Perez 🍪
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