Ball-end hex wrenches

[shred]

For a long time I've used whatever hex keys were on hand to adjust my press-- they were free and I had tons of 'em.  

Then I got a set of Bondhus ball-end wrenches.  These things rock for Dillon work.  They're in the "I'm so happy every time I use them that I don't care what I paid" category.  If you haven't tried them, make a new years resolution to get a set.

[EricW]

My wrenches got so coveted at work that I had to hot stamp my name in the holder and put color-coded paint on them, just to discourage the baboons from hoarking them.  

Ball end wrenches are definitely the bee's knees.  They should redistribute a Nobel Prize that got wasted on some blue-blood politician and give it to the guy that figured those hex keys out.  I guarantee those wrenches have made more tangible benefits in more people's lives than Kofi Annan ever will.

[BrianH]

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 I guarantee those wrenches have made more tangible benefits in more people's lives than Kofi Annan ever will.

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{Pipe-up Mode on}

No sjit!

{Mode off}

(Edited by BrianH at 10:53 pm on Dec. 30, 2002)

[ErikW]

As the owner of a random collection of various-sized allen head wrenches (metric, inch, and other), please educate me as to the benefits of the ball head variety.

I doubt anything could be as good as T-handle wrenches.

[EricW]

You can tighten down hex screws at an angle other than directly in-line with the screw's axis.  It's a huge advantage working in tight spaces.  There's some stuff you just can hardly get to without them.  I'm pretty sure some machinery was designed around the assumption of their existence.  ...essential tools for the automation and industrial machinery trades.  They literally can cut the time it takes to do a real pisser of a job by 10X.

[shred]

T-handles are ok, I guess, if you can't get ball-ends.

http://www.bondhus.com/Products/products.htm has a little info, but the big deal is you can stick 'em in at an angle, and also twiddle them at an angle (like, say, removing the primer system on a 650).  Due to the angle features, they're also easier to insert into the screw in question.

My vast collection of random wrenches have now been exiled to a remote drawer.

(Edited by shred at 5:17 pm on Dec. 30, 2002)

[BrianH]

I got a set for a particular job at work a few years ago...extended length, ball-end T handles.  The cool thing with those is you pop them in, crack the bolt loose and just spin the handle.  With a little practice, the bolt just flys out!

[Steve Anderson]

I never knew such a magical device existed...off to the store.

SA

(Edited by Steve Anderson at 12:33 pm on Jan. 1, 2003)