Spanners

Isn't the standard size for M8 14mm?

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

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.

I use M17 sockets/spanners a lot for fixings.

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.

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

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

You can still buy those in the US.

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

U bolts for chimney lashing kits are 17mm.

Bill

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...?

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

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.

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

F*ck. *10mm*. 100mm would be interesting.

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.

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

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.

what's wring with a good quality AJ?

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