Do you use 3/4 inch drive sockets for light home use purposes

Or, as the guy who wrote _How To Keep Your VW Alive_ says, two or three jumps on the end of a BMF wrench.

OK, thanks to all. It would sound that your uses of this center on deep automotive repairs.

My thinking on this is as follows. In 10 years of messing with machinery, I never needed 3/4" sockets even once. I never work on cars to the extent of needing to take off flywheels or crankshafts. I cannot see why I would ever want to. I use vehicles to get myself and my things from point A to point B.

I have 1/2" size sockets, up to 30" breaker bars, and a 1/2" impact, that take care of all my needs.

What I will do is keep one 3/4" T-handle breaker bar, maybe a ratchet, and no more than 4-5 sockets 1.5" to 2". (I can use regular 1/2" sockets under 1.5"). The remaining 100 lbs of stuff I will get rid of. I have no need for weird stuff like a 1 inch drive, 3 1/8" socket or other monstrosities.

I don't think it was the threads. I seemed to be the chamfer area on the rim and the tapered portion of the nuts,

Chuck P.

This

Wayne

that describes my tools almost exactly. Add a 1/2 to 3/4 adapter for the impact wrench.

I have a set of 3/4 drive sockets. I use one regularly for the slide on forks I made for my front loader. Another I use regularly for the prop nut on my big outboard. I've got one I cut in half and extended for removing the nut on a Harley Evo clutch.

If it wasn't for my 3/4 drive set there are a few things I just could not do. On the flip side it might be possible to find some of those sizes in

This is an ongoing discussion in trailer boats magazine. Basically you do not want to use grease on lug bolts as it can cause them to back off under normal torque and nobody has a good figure for over torqueing them. Instead the consensus is to use anti seize compound which has very low lubricity, but still prevents the bolts from seizing.

I bought my 3/4 inch Chinwanese socket set about 20 years ago to take the crank nut off of a Triumph Spitfire 1.5L engine (not exactly a farm implememt size vehicle). I end up using them probably 4 or 5 times per year as sockets to remove a nut or bolt. As someone else has mentioned, they make good bearing race drivers and I have used the set for driving bearing races more than for removing fasteners (for larger diameters I have turned plumbing fittings (cheap source of stock, nipples, caps and couplings) to the needed diameter) . I am very glad that I spent $40 for them back then and for my limited use, they should last the rest of my lifetime.

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Oh, that reminds me that I forgot one other use. My 8-point, 3/4" sockets and cheater bar are the only things that will remove the crank-bearing nut on my wife's Motobecane bicycle, while I have the opposing nut clamped in my bench vise. I forget the size but it's a metric that's equivalent to an inch size.

I have three four point, 3/4" sockets. :-] but hopefully not for long.

Anyhow, my decision to dump 90% of the sockets and keep 5 sockets+breaker bar, has pretty much solidified.

It sounds smart...and it will be, until you need one of the sockets you unloaded. d8-)

I get rid of a lot of tools but NEVER a socket.

I strongly suspect that this is not a question of whether to blow money on a set, but rather whether to sell a set which came as part of one of his auction purchases.

I, personally, would keep the set. It would save me from the occasional emergency trip to the auto parts place to spend a lot of money on a single socket of just the right size. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

That 3-1/8" socket sounds like a bragging desk paperweight to me. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Hmm. I've been greasing wheel lugs for about 30 years. Havn't had a properly snugged lugnut come loose, yet. I do have some copper based antisieze, though.

My trick is to give a tool that I might need every once in a while for Christmas or birthday of a good friend or relative. Free storage and maintenance!

Yeah, you shoulda seen the one that got away....

One of my first jobs that was a "big" job. Replaced a couple strut rod bushings on my Dodge van. The shop wanted $400 or so, and told me how those bolts never want to come off. I used two propane torches for heat, and had to buy a 1 3/8 socket for the job. Breaker bar, 18 inch, and a pipe. There wasn't much room to turn the bar, I was only able to jack up the van a bit. So I heated, and pulled. Finally the nut came loose. I just kept turning it left and right, as it cooled down. Took it off with a half inch ratchet. The two other bolts were 3/4 if memory serves. I was actually a bit astounded that I got the job done.

It is not really a set, it is a big pile of sockets. They are all good, just do not make a set. I could probably make a big "set" by size and then make a small "set" for myself, say from 1.5" to 2".

Gunner Asch on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:48:52 -0700 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

I use them occasionally for heavy home use. Or for holding doors open in the Light Home.

I use what is available, and no more than I have to.

pyotr

- pyotr filipivich We will drink no whiskey before its nine. It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!