Allen wrenches

[Tim Chenevert]

What is a good Allen wrench set to get for this hobby? I have collars in 1/16, 1/8 and 3/32 sizes. I also have adjustable lead outs that use a 3/32” wrench and then the engine mounting bolts which also use the 3/32 wrench. There is also a .050 wrench. I am looking for a set that I can throw in my field box and have it covered. I like ball ends too. Thanks, Tim

[Perry Rose]

Du-Bro has single and sets of ball end allen wrenches. Any auto parts store or hardware store has them in sets. Harbor Freight or Ace that carries  Craftsman tools.

[James Holford]

Jim Lee's!!!

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[big ron]

Jim Lee's are very nice as is everything he has.

[Allan Perret]

Buy Quality and you only have to do it once.  Bondhrus is tops, lots of styles and many sources.  You need both ball end and regular.  Dubro is Bondhrus re-labeled.

[Jim Mynes]

Bondhus is top quality. Get the ones with the little plastic nubby on the ball end that holds the screw on so you can reach into tight places and get the screw started.

[chris perkins]

 I agree with Allan , Buy quality ones I have a set of Bondhus Allen Keys at work and they are still fine after 10 + years. Used on a daily bases in a Machine Shop.

[Phil Krankowski]

Go to Fastenal and buy a handful of .050 wrenches, they are expensive for what they are, but still pretty cheap (about $0.75 per).  The .050 is easy to drop and loose in any surface, and rusts to useless in a couple weeks in grass.  (If you find it on another day...)  Tape string to one or two for the field box, and have for the bench and tool tray too.  I probably loose 3-4 every year.

If the corners get damaged grind the end off being careful about heat.  The .050 is hard enough to work with when it is the correct shape!

Phil

[Paul Smith]

I find that ball-end wrenches in tiny sizes are death.  A few uses and the bolt and/or wrench is stripped.  You get a new tiny Allen wrench with every set of wheel collars.

A good fix is to replace the tiny set screw with a regular bolt of the same thread.  Then you can exert enough torque to hold something.

[Will Davis]

Anything Jim Lee sells is second to none , good quality, special made items for modelers by a modeler.

[Dan Berry]

Buy Quality and you only have to do it once.  Bondhrus is tops, lots of styles and many sources.  You need both ball end and regular.  Dubro is Bondhrus re-labeled.

When buying Allen Wrenches..... take Allan's advice.
I simply could not resist.

[TigreST]

I can only agree with those above who state.."Buy quality tools!"  Bondus would sure be near the top of the list of brands.  What follows is not so much model aircraft related but most certainly shows what kind of disaster can befall you when you use cheaper tools (or take tools beyond there operational limits perhaps).

I ride motorcycles. I do my own maintenance on  most things related to them.  Part of that maintenance includes front end fork seal replacements and such.  While doing fork seal changes and fork oil dump and refill I had the following happen.

There is a 6mm socket head bolt in the base of the fork tube which must be removed to allow the fork tube to come apart. Some times these are extremely difficult to remove because the bolt and the fork cartridge inside the fork tube simply spin with each other.  Often times an impact driver (rattle gun) is the quick way to remove them. Some shops use a rattle gun to assemble them, which is the root cause of the issue below.  I tend to use hand tools most of the time.  While removing (attempting to remove) this 6mm bolt my cheap ball-end allen wrench failed. I need the longer reach of the ball-end of the wrench to access the 6mm bolt.  The ball end broke off the wrench and because of the force I had applied( I used a open end-box wrench as a cheater)  trying to get the bolt out, the ball end wedged into the socket head opening of the bolt.  Pain in the butt to get the bolt out after that. I had to drill around the broken ball-end to allow it to fall out, so the balance of the bolt head could be drill off the bolt. There was lots of risk in doing this which may have caused the lower fork slide unit to end up as trash.   Pictures tell the story a bit better.

So, buy a high quality name brand tools when you can.  Know the limits of that tool for the task at hand.  The ball ends are fine when your spinning the bolt into place and doing a quick spin removal of the bolt, but....  Use the full size cross section wrench end (not the ball end) when you're either breaking the bolt loose or applying the final torque to the fastener.

HTH,

T.

[Tim Wescott]

Bondhus -- it's a "buy once per lifetime" brand, and not too expensive.

[Fredvon4]

Eventually I have had to grind down all my cheap ball drivers  as they are softer than the typical fastener bolt and round over with any good torque

Even some of the brands mentioned above

Even my real pricey SnapOn small sizes disappointed me

for all the 2-56, 4-40 and similar small common fasteners...I have MANY sets:

Flip open
Tee handles
L wrenches
Handled

I suggest Lee machine... pretty good handles
HFs flip opens are in each of my flight boxes

I got one the RTL fastener assortments...I keep two length wrenches is the correct size with the boxes... as the ends round I dress on a grinder

Might I strongly suggest to the OP another area for good tooling is a good set of JIS screw drivers.... Horzon

And a good set of Hex drivers in the typical sizes for NVAs...many need to be deep and Thin.... Duck and needle nosed pliers will work but Nirvana for setting the nice new NVA in the Ventiri at the correct angle, and tension, is with the PROPER tool

[Tim Chenevert]

thanks for all the advice on the Allen wrenches. I am glad to know that the .050 inch size is only good for a couple times. That was my biggest complaint with the wrenches that come with the collars and wanted a good set. All my wrenches are bigger and need a smaller set for these airplanes. Tim

[pmackenzie]

Hobby King sells some very good allen drivers. For small sizes you want high speed steel ground bits, not the typical L wrenches made from hex stock.
I use Bondhus for bigger sizes at work, but for the small stuff the ground type is better.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-v2-series-0-050-1-16-5-64-3-32-imperial-hex-drive-set.html
(You can find similar ones at the LHS for R/C car work.)
 Or on Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/Duratrax-SAE-Ultimate-Driver-4-Piece/dp/B00144HP1S/ref=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1514417832&sr=1-16&keywords=hex+driver+.050)

[Steve Helmick]

I carry both SAE and Metrics in my field box and have duplicates in the shop, so that I don't have to rob the field box and find them missing at the field when needed. It's not needed to carry .050" to 3/8" to the field, either. I got the small sets from Tower...Bondhus, I think. Don't put a lot of torque on a ball-end, 'cause they're not intended for that.  Steve