I’m building up some tools and was thinking of getting an impact wrench as it is the sort of thing that you don’t know you need until you need it. I have just discovered that there are impact sockets, which appear to always be black.
I have never seen Edd China or anyone else use black sockets with an impact wrench, so are they an indulgence, and for DIY use will ordinary sockets do?
The first think is that they are usually always 6 sided. The reason they are black is because Chrome plating, which is very hard, can chip and flake under the impact.
It’s my understanding that they are specifically designed for the job. They tend to be tougher than standard sockets.
If budget is a concern, perhaps just go with the few that you’re actually likely to require?
Cheers,
Guy
Impact sockets usually have thicker walls which would tend to suggest a 6 sided as the 12 sided are usually quite a lot thinner. The better ones are also made from a different steel as they are softer to absorb the continued impact rather than shatter. As a result they often wear out under continual usage so may need to be replaced more frequently than the CV ones.
Horses for courses as usual.
I do enjoy watching Edd but he is now a walking advertiser for all his gear!
I’d buy a set as suggested if your using air tools or a battery impact gun just for safety reasons.
Deep ones are useful, last ones I bought were us pro branded from eBay that have been ok.
Battery impact driver is such a great thing and I only wish I’d bought one sooner. Although I haven’t (yet) broken conventional sockets with it, screwdriver style bits are another matter. They just shatter like glass. Then I learned you can get impact screwdriver bits too…
As I’ve learned, using regular sockets might get them disintegrated and with the forces used all splinters will effectively be grenade shrapnel to your eyes. I don’t have them yet, waiting for a good deal. But usually I wear safety goggles as long as I don’t have a dedicated set.
This is an interesting thread, and an eye-opener for me, because I have not done any major / serious motor-vehicle repairs for some thirty years, and had no idea that battery-powered impact drivers were a thing. Having said that, I have sealed my windscreen grommets a couple of times, but that is all I touch these days !
My experience was in the 70s and 80s, when I was a qualified motor mechanic, only leaving the trade when I injured my back on the job (as it were !). Back then, impact drivers were powered by the garage’s compressed air system - we always called them air-guns, and were mainly used for removing and fitting road-wheels to vehicles.
As previously posted, normal / ordinary bi-hexagonal sockets were (are) chrome-vanadium plated and not designed for such power tools - the generally black, hexagonal air-gun sockets were a lot thicker and more robust, and actually made for the task.
I dare say the ordinary / normal chrome-vanadium bi-hexagonal sockets would probably be able to handle the odd D-I-Y car repair at home, but I would doubt if professional mechanics would use them.
If I were still able / willing to repair my own MX-5 at home, I would certainly buy one of these battery-powered impact drivers, as they would save an awful lot of grunting !
Good luck.
Yes, particularly where they have to do some work, that is operate under maximum impact before the nuts let go. Ordinary sockets are not generally designed to handle this punishment and will either wear or break with continued use.
Impact sockets are also better used for really stubborn bolts, brake carriers etc, where a standard socket wrench used.
Cheap but very usable1/2 inch impact socket sets available in all common sizes for less than £20.
Impact sockets have thicker walls to absorb the shock load of an impact wrench.
“standard” chrome plated sockets that you find in socket sets with ratchets etc have much thinner walls for access and under the shock load of an impact wrench may shatter - NOT something you ever want to suffer !!
Also, look out for specialised wheel nut impact sockets, as these have plastic sleeves to protect the alloy wheels & you can just buy the size you need from the web.
Impact Sockets are not made of the same steel as regular chrome sockets.
Impact sockets are Tougher and not so Brittle.
At work I use proper impact sockets ( Insurance Implications etc )
Most DIY impact guns are not very powerfull
If you use an industrial one you need the correct Impact Sockets.
Cheap chrome sockets can be brittle and split as well as the chrome plate failing giving you a very nasty cut.
Up to you to if you want to risk it.
I split a regular socket just on a long bar trying to take a wheel off our daughters car. Had to call in a professional to do it…
I have been in and around impact tools for over 25 years now.
Unfortunately I have seen hand sockets shatter with dire consequences to the operator.
Metal and chrome splinters are not healthy.
The modern cordless and pneumatic impact tools can generate towards 2000nm.
Another main difference between hand sockets and impact sockets is in the square drive.
Hand sockets have a groove inside the square to allow the spring loaded ball of a ratchet or extension bar to retain them.
Impact sockets are flat inside the square and rely on the hog ring on the impact tool to retain them.
If you use normal hand sockets on an impact tool - the groove in the square drive tends to destroy the hog ring and then the sockets can be thrown off the impact tool.
Hard yes. I used my impact driver with an adaptor for a ages which only did about 130nm or something but it was great for most not heavy jobs and I was never too bothered for impact sockets for it since it wasn’t very powerful anyway
But I’ve now got a Makita dtw300z and it’s amazing, it’s got 580nm of busting torques .I use it whenever possible
the only thing it’s failed to remove is a solid rear ppf bolt but it already took a few extension bars so I didn’t expect it to
I immediately bought impact sockets for it, with thicker walls I always thought it’s better to use them at the risk of destroying a chrome one when you’re giving it big DAKDAKS on something like hub nuts or a solid rear ppf bolt
