Wright tools

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The Wright Tool catalog has a diagram showing how much better their 12 pt sockets are in gripping power than a normal 12 pt sockets.

Any truth to that statement
 
I did not look at the catalog but it's possible. The newest design, instead of the socket gripping on the points, it has protrusions that grip on the middle of the side. This reduces or eliminates stripping.
 
..see here:





he patented 6-point Wright Drive is, in effect, a careful blending of Wright’s
12-point design with the heavy-duty gripping characteristics of a traditional
6-point wrench opening. It offers many of the same advantages of the
12-point design, including greater strength, more torque and reduced
rounding of the fastener corners. Patent No. 5,284,073.
The main advantage of the 6-pt. design is its gripping power. The Wright
Drive’s minor circle diameter, which is a measure of the ability to grip an
undersized fastener, is exactly the same as a traditional 6-point opening.
The smaller the diameter, the better the grip on undersized fasteners and
fasteners with badly rounded corners.
 
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12 point sockets have a very limited application in my opinion. If you can get a 6 point on there, which is 99% of the time, one should use a good 6 point with a modern flank drive.
 
I just retired my Hazet open box wrench set I bought in 1985 for a new set (Hazet 600N) with a similar drive system (traction profile) incorporated into the 12pt box end. There is a big difference, they fit the bolt head or nut with less play but are smoother to mount, the old ones are still perfect but these are a better fit.
 
Real Tool Reviews has a WrightGrip vs Flank Drive Plus video. Snap-On Junkie has a video where he compares a lot of wrenches on hex bar stock but his language would not fly on this site
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and I think he was more testing the open ends.
 
Donald - that's called "off corner engagement." All modern sockets have that now; even the Harbor Freight sockets. But where the difference lies is in the timing of the detents. Those Taiwan made sockets -- even being as pretty as they are -- their detents are out of time. I can't stand to use sockets that are out of time.

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[ out of time sockets ]
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
So can a Wright 12 pt take the place of a conventional 6 pt for a hard to get off bolt?

Sure it can, when was the last time you had a quality 12 pt wrench slip.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Donald
So can a Wright 12 pt take the place of a conventional 6 pt for a hard to get off bolt?

Sure it can, when was the last time you had a quality 12 pt wrench slip.


I have only 6 pt.

Craftsman and Wright.
 
FWIW, in the summer of 1980 I was buying my tools and rollaway cabinet for the Vo-Tech automotive school that I was enrolled in that Fall. The three tool manufacturers that had their salesmen set up at the school were Snap-On, Proto and Matco. I don't know how many years they had them on the market, but Snap-On was demonstrating their new, patented Flank Drive sockets. The salesman shows us how a Snap-On socket could grab a rounded off nut, verses every other socket on the market (at that time) that couldn't. It was pretty impressive, at least for some kid right out of high school making a decision to buy a huge set of tools.
I ended up buying Matco, LOL!
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
I cannot figure out why Wright does not sell 6pt deep metric sockets. Non impact.

They do sell the SAE but most cars need metric


That is strange, its a common use tool. I use mostly 6pt sockets but have good 12pt sets that really make life easier working on some things like the front of a larger engine with almost not clearance on a FWD car.
They make it much easier to get the socket on out of the way fasteners with a limited swing arc when working blind. With a 6pt if it just misses the mark you need to be able to move the ratchet 59° vs 29° for a 12pt just to get the socket on the fastener so you can use your fine tooth ratchet, huge difference.

With 6pt if you don't have enough swing room which is really common you have two alternatives, turn the socket with your fingers and risk dropping the ratchet or remove it, turn it then go back for another try. I use a 12pt.
6pt wrenches are a total PITA, they are okay for holding one side of a nut and bolt like on a strut but their 60° swing requirement to get on the next flat make them almost useless for general work under the hood.

Some of the old companies were late to jump on the metric wagon and it seems some never did, some of the big European manufacturers for example have a limited SAE assortment and Whitworth is almost non existent, I am happy I have a good set when I run into old Brit stuff.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Nobody asked me to explain the definition of out of time sockets.
grin2.gif



Is this where the hex/ 12 point isn't orientated with the square driver hole?
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Is this where the hex/ 12 point isn't orientated with the square driver hole?


HA! I'm glad you asked.
grin2.gif


If you had your car's front bumper touching a wall and the front tire was lined up with the line you had drawn on the concrete, your car would be in time.

Same thing with sockets and extensions; only the end of the extension would be the car's front bumper and the line on the concrete would be the socket's detent. The detent ball on the extension would be the car's front tire.

The car's front bumper needs to touch the wall at the same time that the front tire lines up with the line on the concrete.

A socket that is out of time would be like the car's front tire lining up with the line on the concrete before the front bumper touches the wall.
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Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Is this where the hex/ 12 point isn't orientated with the square driver hole?


HA! I'm glad you asked.
grin2.gif


If you had your car's front bumper touching a wall and the front tire was lined up with the line you had drawn on the concrete, your car would be in time.

Same thing with sockets and extensions; only the end of the extension would be the car's front bumper and the line on the concrete would be the socket's detent. The detent ball on the extension would be the car's front tire.

The car's front bumper needs to touch the wall at the same time that the front tire lines up with the line on the concrete.

A socket that is out of time would be like the car's front tire lining up with the line on the concrete before the front bumper touches the wall.
56.gif



Never heard of this.

How do you know if they ARE out of time? I don't measure sockets, extensions etc. prior to use.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
How do you know if they ARE out of time?


The detent ball of the extension will go past the centerline of the detent in the socket before the extension comes to a stop; much like if your car's tire went past the line on the concrete before the front bumper touches the wall.
 
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