Universal Dovetail

Socketry And Socket Sets – ToolsRUs

When working with fasteners such as nuts and bolts, socketry and socket sets are needed to provide you with the appropriate mechanical advantage to tighten or loosen them. Everything from smaller sets with a dozen or so pieces to full-size sets with ninety or more pieces are available. How many pieces you need in a set depends on what you use it for.

Sets typically contain two socket wrenches, a number of interchangeable heads or sockets and a variety of accessories and add-ons. Extension bars, converters and a universal joint adaptor are among the accessories included in addition to the wrenches and sockets.

A socket wrench is called a ratchet, and it is a steel shaft with a machined handle and square-shaped drive protruding out the working end at 90 degrees to the shaft. Opposite the drive is a switch that controls the ratcheting mechanism. This is used to change the direction of force. Depending on how the switch is set, the nut, bolt or other piece of hardware will tighten or loosen without you having to change the direction your hand moves. Socket sets generally feature wrenches with two sizes of square drives: one big, one small. The male drive end of the ratchet must fit the female end found on a socket. Converters can be used to move up or down in size.

Sockets are cylindrical in shape with a female end on one side to attach to the ratchet. On the opposite side is the hollow, working end. The hollow has either a 6- or a 12-point internal shape. Whereas 6-point sockets can only fit over hex-shaped nuts or bolts, 12-points sockets can fit both hex and square fasteners. Metric, American and imperial socket measurements are used. Common metric sizes range from 3mm up to 50mm. Deep sockets are used for spark plugs and other deep-set bolts.

A number of other tools are found in a good socket set. For hard-to-reach nuts and bolts, use an extension bar to increase the reach of the socket. To use big-drive sockets with a small-drive ratchet or vice versa, attach a converter. If it is convenient, a universal joint is an articulated adaptor that allows you to bend the wrench while tightening or loosening.

a few choices include Dovetail Saw, Wad Punches, Pipe Wrenches

Basically, socketry and socket sets provide you with a mechanical advantage, letting you apply a tremendous amount of torque to nuts, bolts and other hardware that is immovable any other way.

Farpoint Metric Universal Dovetail Plates