......and thirty seconds after you used the ground-down one, you found the right one, sitting right in front of you. I grab a handful of some that are about the right size, and after about 10 tries, I find the right one. Then I say "I must organise that lot one day", and put them all back into a drawer. I have used this method for over 50 years. After seeing all the good ideas above, I must organise that lot one day.
I use the plastic holders that come with the set , I love the ones for ratchets. I only buy quality sets the cheap sets either strip the fastener heat or round off. I wish I was as organized as @49ratfink ! Dan
My inch Allen wrenches are in the top drawer of my largest tool box, no metric stuff allowed in that one. All the metric wrenches are in the top drawer of another tool box along with all of the metric tools, in the space made when I got rid of my BS and Whitworth tools.
Yep. After everything was done and said. Sitting on my other workbench even though I said to myself I need to keep all the relevant ones together for the linkage. This is the offending setscrew. Tiniest thing ever. The custom ground down one. Decided to dump them all out into a wheel barrel. It just dawned on me that I bought a very nice Milwaukee mobile tool cart and haven’t yet used it. Yep…
Danged hex keys seem to reproduce in a drawer. The drawer gets too full so it wont close and you have to level them out a bit. It is really tempting to toss all of the singles and only keep the sets that have the plastic holders. Ball end keys are handy but even Snap On ball end socket keys will have the ball break off.
Of course, searching on Amazon, I found this, going to order it. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0H2FGTD9G/?tag=atomicindus04-20
[Decided to dump them all out into a wheel barrel. It just dawned on me that I bought a very nice Milwaukee mobile tool cart and haven’t yet used it. Yep… View attachment 6766242 [/QUOTE] I think I will just put mine into the wheelbarrow and leave them there. It's better than my usual filing system.
Ziggster, you see the red plastic Allen wrench holder in your first picture? McMaster-Carr sells them. They are called Allen wrench holders and they come in a few different styles.
Mine (metric and standard) are in the plastic pouches that Sears sold them in. The rest of the collection lays loose in the same drawer. That allows me multiple chances to pick the same wrong size.
No matter which one I chose and no matter how well it seems to fit it's guaranteed to round out the head.
I use to have a mountain of Allen keys, multiple, junk and the ones from big box furniture. I got rid of them and got ones from bundhus tool gold color for ez identification and they right back in the holders when I am done with them. More than 5 years and still have them all.
If I added up all the times I spent digging through and trying to find the right size key I figured I wasted about a year out of my life.
Hello, Once those Allen key get in a box like that, one has to sit and separate each one. Before I got to that stage, I realized that only certain tips will be used on what I was working on for that session. If a bunch of hex screws were being used to hold down the valve covers, then the right size key and two of them would be set aside to use. Nothing else needs to be taken out of the tool box or garage drawer. So, one size that fits and go to work. On other days when I know I will use a key or two at our granddaughter’s house or wife’s sister’s house, I will take the whole set that has its own holder. The blue grip version has empty holes, so I can load what key I need and just take that blue tube with me. Other times, I take the whole thing, as I will be asked to do another install and that may take a different size. This is the handiest group of keys that can easily be placed in the tool box or in my case, a small bag with only the tools I will use. No need for a large tool box or metal box that has 100 different tool in each drawer. Jnaki One time I was asked to install a screw in box corners and side edges. It took not just a tool, but a hex shaped ridge tipped tool to fit the screw going into the next side of the box and it had to be just this sided, ridge lined tool. Similar to a standard hex allen wrench, but with ridges, in a measured size. Finally, for all of the overseas parts and products, in my travel tool bag, I carry this. Metric tools are different, as we all know. It used to be from european countries, but most every country used metric tools and parts. We must be in a minority using our own standard tools and equipment. So, if the object is from any other country, and I need to fix it, most likely, this tool set will help out with the metric sizes. The “T” handle is the best thing made for these hex tools. YRMV
Wondered what was in the package. Forgot I ordered them. Wonder how long it will be before I actually use them? Lol!
The one I use the most often is the for valve lash adjustments. I put a piece of green tape on it so I don’t have to make three trips for the right one.
Started sorting them using the holders I ordered from Amazon. Lots of loose ones that don’t seem to fit or are duplicates. Will have to measure them. Might drill holes in a block of wood for some that are orphans. Going to toss all the chrome plated stuff.
Never noticed, but makes sense in the numbering scheme. Google AI says 7/64” Allen exists. So, not sure.
The Jalopy Journal
