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Tools Six or Twelve Points

Tools six or twelve points that is the question today. Are you thinking about purchasing a socket set or a wrench set? Do you know that they come with different number of sides? Six or twelve-sided(called points). Sockets and combination/box wrenches are also available in metric and standard(SAE or inches) sizes.

Sockets or wrenches are going to last you a lifetime if you don’t lose them. I recommend that you buy six-point socket sets and twelve-point combination/box wrenches. For those times where you have a frozen bolt and it will not budge that’s when six-point sockets will save your bacon. Six-point sockets protect you from rounding the head of bolts every time you use them. The twelve-point wrenches will allow you to place them on a nut/bolt head without difficulty in very tight quarters.

How many sides do you really need?

I have never been in a situation where I wished I had a twelve-point socket. But I have been in situations where I wished I had a six-point socket.  If you have six-point sockets you will never wish for a twelve-point socket. However, when it comes to wrenches just the opposite has happened. I have found limited room situations where it was hard to place the wrench on the nut/bolt head. I found myself wishing for a twelve-pointed wrench.

Impact wrenches and sockets

Impact guns use special sockets. The impact sockets have really thick walls(usually coated in black oxide) to resist the impact forces generated by the impact wrench. Black oxide is used on impact sockets to protect against corrosion because chrome plating would fail(chip and flake) due to the vibration caused by a powered impact driver.

Different materials

Regular sockets are chrome vanadium steel, impact sockets are of chrome molybdenum. Chrome vanadium is relatively brittle. Chrome molybdenum is a metal that will deform rather than shatter.

Use of regular sockets with an impact wrench is possible. But it is not recommended. The socket walls are not made for the pounding that this kind of tool can produce. The regular sockets will fail over time at the corners. Do you need impact sockets? The short answer is only if you are going to use an impact wrench.

Socket shapes

A six-point socket features six meeting points between the interior sides of the socket, while a twelve-point socket has twice as many meeting points. Whether the sockets are six-point or twelve-point, it is common for the points to have a round shape at the meeting points. This avoids engaging with the nut/bolt head at the corners(because the corners aren’t touching) moving the contact points to the sides of the nut/bolt head instead. Also, six-point sockets have thicker walls, so they’re less likely to flex.

Force and maximum contact

Sockets(six-points) work best because the surface area of contact between the nut/bolt head and the socket is maximized. This makes the socket unlikely to slip or fail. This is really important when you’re applying a lot of force, especially if the nut or bolt is damaged or rusted.

Do you want to use a socket on a high torque bolt or rusty stuck on bolts? Do you want to reduce the chance that you could round off the head of the bolt? Well, then a six-point socket is the type you need for these types of jobs.

There are two other types of tools where six-point versus twelve-point becomes important.

Combination/Box Wrenches

Twelve-point combination/box wrench ends have more positions for engaging the nut/bolt head. This can be really useful in tight situations where there is limited room. However, the tool is more likely to slip or fail if you apply a lot of force.

Ratcheting Wrenches

On a ratchet wrench, a twelve-point box end isn’t beneficial because the box end can be rotated by hand to any number of positions. The six-point box end becomes more useful because of its increased surface contact. Twelve-point box-end wrenches are normally better than six-point wrenches, but for sockets and ratcheting wrenches the six-point variety is superior due to its better grip and preservation of the bolt head.

A final word on sockets

There are eight-point sockets. These eight-point sockets are very rare. They are used on square nuts. I have a couple of them(included in socket sets) but I have never used them for the whole time I have owned them.

Related Articles: More tool articles

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(Mybusyretiredlife.com All Rights Reserved)

(Mybusyretiredlife.com All Rights Reserved)