Spanners

Like most on here I've got lots of spanners. Sticking with metric sizes, I've noticed that the majority of my spanner work is with 10mm and 13mm sizes which corresponds to M6/M8.

So what are the other ones for in spanner sets, ie., 9mm, 11mm, 12mm, 14mm and so on. Are they just there to make the numbers up or make it harder to find the one you want?

mark

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mark
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Isn't the standard size for M8 14mm?

I find the most frequently used sizes (across flats) are 8mm, 10mm,

12mm, 13mm, 14mm and 17mm.
Reply to
cl

Not everything uses those few "preferred" hex-head sizes. I use 11mm - M7

- a lot on old Citroens, and they crop up in other places, too. 14mm gets a lot of use. 8mm is preferred M5, but 9mm does crop up occasionally.

Mind you, since buying an old Land-Rover, I've been pleasantly surprised at how many Dibnah sockets and spanners I've accumulated over the years. Gawd knows where from, but I'm not complaining.

Reply to
Adrian

I use M17 sockets/spanners a lot for fixings.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Is it BSW and BSF mainly - or Unified? Some UK makers took ages to finally change to Unified. Especially on engines etc which may have been a pre-war design, basically.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

UNF. Except for the bits that are metric. (1980)

Reply to
Adrian

Do you mean M17, or do you mean 17mm? 17mm would normally be M12. M17 would be one weird bastard non-standard thread, and probably about a 25mm head?

Preferred hex-to-thread chart

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Reply to
Adrian

You can still buy those in the US.

Reply to
Capitol

11mm fits small 'f' plugs.

I have a lot of spanners from my dad's workshop. Some of them are so big I wonder if he used to work for Brunel.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

U bolts for chimney lashing kits are 17mm.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Wright

A few years ago, I had to buy a couple of 50mm spanners, to undo some large and esoteric suspension nuts. A couple of days ago, my neighbour needed to borrow something to fit a non-return valve to his septic tank plumbing. Guess what size he needed...?

Reply to
Adrian

Ah. That's not what most would call an old Land Rover. ;-)

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Certainly 100mm, 13mm, and 17mm are the most common, but other sizes crop up. One VW I've had needed 15mm on part of the front brakes, and they're relatively hard to come by, and not in most sets.

Reply to
Chris Bartram

My neighbour has recently bought a properly old one- a Series 1. It arrived trailered, with structurally significant rope holding it together....

Reply to
Chris Bartram

Fuck. *10mm*. 100mm would be interesting.

Reply to
Chris Bartram

I used to have one that I think was 75mm, to remove the inspection plugs in the ends of the air receivers for my compressors. It needed two hands to lift it.

Reply to
Nightjar

At least it's not one of these silly boingy ones.

Reply to
Adrian

Contraplan, office furniture manufacturers of Rugby (Now defunct) used to s upply tables with bolt in legs. The nuts were Whitworth. They had to be don e up as tightly as possible to keep the table stable and only about 1/4 tur n of swing was available. Real bastard and it had to be the right size span ner or the nuts quickly rounded.

Reply to
fred

what's wring with a good quality AJ?

Reply to
charles

I can recall a greenhouse needing the smaller sizes but not had experience of others. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

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