Odd sized 12 pt sockets

[pfrederi 17,146]

Sorting though my socket drawer came across two sockets I inherited from my father years ago.  The are standard 12" drive but the sizes are some I have never seen.  19/32 and 25/32.  The are marked Wards.  i have a feeling they may be from his work tool kit.  He was a loom fixer in a felt mill.  He retired in the mid1980s  so they are from well before then. 

 

Anyway, any one eels ever come across sockets sized in 32nds???

[cleat 4,949]

I only have sockets in the 32nds in 1/4" drive.

 

Don't know if you would ever use those but on a rusted or worn fastener that small difference just might get you out of a jamb.

 

Cleat

[diesel cowboy 263]

I've got an old Craftsman 1/2" 12 point deep 25/32 in the toolbox at work.  The only time I've ever used it was to change glow plugs in an International BD-154 engine.  Have yet to run across anything else that I needed it for

[Ed Kennell 35,744]

I have some old Williams 1/2" drive sockets in 32nd.

[pacer 3,159]

I also have those two - and, they are also from my Dad. I can remember seeing them as far back as the '50s --- and no I'm pretty sure I have never used them. I think I remember there was also a 9/32"?

 

I see Ed just replied --- there may have been a whole set of em.....

[pfrederi 17,146]

You have to wonder why thy made them and why they are no longer made....

[953 nut 51,632]

I have a few of the odd size sockets and have found that they do fit well on square head bolts which were widely used in the wooden handled horse drawn implements, they also work well on metric hex bolts. Some of the older cast steel wrenches I have picked up at farm sales are also not sizes found in conventional wrench sets.

[ebinmaine 63,089]

I would say it was over thirty years ago now I got my own socket set from my parents as a Christmas gift. Craftsman. Full set.

When Trina and I merged she also brought her own assortment of tools to our Arsenal.

Almost all of the rest of my tools are old items that were inherited from one of three or four relatives over the last 25 or 30 years or more.

 

I too, have seen those odd sizes and I even have a wrench from who in the world knows where that has a unique size on one end of it.

 

To the best of my knowledge most American metric usage did not begin until sometime in the mid-to-late 1970s. I may be wrong about that. Please feel free to correct me.

 

Most or all of the tools that I have would very likely predate that time. So I don't know what the reasoning would be to have something of that size.

 

All three of the people that I could have inherited those tools from, in the older generation, were Factory workers. two of them from L S Starrett company and others, one from Union Twist Drill company.

Could very well have being some sort of specialty tool related to that.

[pfrederi 17,146]

I tried converting them to metric the smaller one is 15.08 MM  the larger one 19.84mm.  Not sure if that was the idea.  Also many of the looms my father worked on were made in England don't know if that was significant...

[ebinmaine 63,089]

Forgive me if this is a silly question but was England using the metric system 50 or 70 years ago?

 

15 mm is of course a very common size but the other one... Well, you got me there.

[bc.gold 3,399]

My fathers very old snap on set had sockets in 32nds.

 

 

[dclarke 4,011]

I have a couple of 19/32 in my tool box, one made by Bonney and one by Herbrand and both are 1/2" drive.  Both of these came from my Dad. 

[bc.gold 3,399]

22 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Forgive me if this is a silly question but was England using the metric system 50 or 70 years ago?

 

15 mm is of course a very common size but the other one... Well, you got me there.

Interesting read.

British Standard Whitworth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Standard_Whitworth

Edited December 19, 2018 by bcgold

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

I had/have a mostly complete set of cheaper offbrand 1/2" drive sockets that started with 3/8" -15/16" that had quite a few ??/32" sizes, they were good for rust deformed fasteners, I believe they used for more uncommon sized fasteners like 7/16 or 9/16 vs 1/2 or 5/8 bolts so the head or nut size would have been slightly over or undersized vs the more common ones .

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,039]

This topic has me thinking do I have any odd wrenches. I see it now everyone checking their tools this weekend. 

[953 nut 51,632]

2 hours ago, pfrederi said:

I tried converting them to metric the smaller one is 15.08 MM  the larger one 19.84mm.  Not sure if that was the idea.  Also many of the looms my father worked on were made in England don't know if that was significant...

I didn't mean to imply that they were made to a substitute for metric wrenches, just making note of the fact they worked. Most twelve point inch denominated sockets won't do that.

Edited December 20, 2018 by 953 nut

[WHX?? 46,730]

24 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

This topic has me thinking, am I odd. 

You said it Jimbo not us....

Me thinks you need to go get a metric grinder EB and while your there pick up an metric Cresent wrench! 

[ebinmaine 63,089]

17 minutes ago, WHX21 said:

metric grinder - tough to find

metric Cresent wrench - I already have several

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,039]

2 hours ago, WHX21 said:

You said it Jimbo not us....

Me thinks you need to go get a metric grinder EB and while your there pick up an metric Cresent wrench! 

At least I know you don't use claw hammers on duct work  I would say something about metric Cresent wrenches but it would not be PC.

[C-101plowerpower 1,605]

i think i have some 12point sockets in 32s in my williams set, think i've used some of them on my ransomes crawler

[dclarke 4,011]

14 hours ago, pfrederi said:

You have to wonder why thy made them and why they are no longer made....

Doing a quick search on line it looks like the rod nuts on a Model A ford engine took a 21/32 socket. Interesting. 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

11 hours ago, WHX21 said:

 pick up an metric Cresent wrench! 

Why you got to be picking on a West Virginia socket set .

[Achto 26,546]

I have some of those 32nd sized sockets in my set, don't think that I've ever used them on a bolt or nut. I have used them quite often as bearing or seal drivers though.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Achto

[WHX?? 46,730]

14 minutes ago, Achto said:

used them quite often as bearing or seal drivers

That screwdriver is NOT a chisel!

[Goldnboy 746]

16 hours ago, 953 nut said:

I have a few of the odd size sockets and have found that they do fit well on square head bolts which were widely used in the wooden handled horse drawn implements, they also work well on metric hex bolts. Some of the older cast steel wrenches I have picked up at farm sales are also not sizes found in conventional wrench sets.

I have these as well these fit the old antique horse drawn machinery square head nuts on the farm.