External/male hex aka what big bolts have that you use a wrench for are A tier. I can’t really think of a more effective way to transfer large amounts of torque to a bolt or nut.
Female hex aka Allens are low C or high D tier. They would rate higher, but they’re made in 8.23*10^19 sizes, and the correct one nearly never falls to hand. Add to that the tendency for allen wrenches to be made of low quality extruded hex stock and you’ve got an excellent recipe for an unpleasant fastening experience.
I rarely see imperial hex. Many Allan key set still come with imperial sizes but all contemporary products and screws come as metric now (in my experience in the UK).
Even with the metric there are still many sizes needed, which I agree is frustrating. However, it ensures the correct bit size is used for the correct screw. Unlike Phillips, pozidriv and slotted. It also limits the amount of torque that can be applied to a screw that is proportional to the screws thickness.
The prevalence of low quality screws and tools for hex drives is because they are cheaper to manufacture. Its unfair to reduce the rank of the drive mechanism for that. If the average hex screw and driver were built with the same quality of materials as the average torx this would be less of an issue.
I would recommend you use a screwdriver with hex bit heads instead of Allen keys, if you need to use hex screws a lot. Much more pleasant experience and much less likely to bend and twist like Allen wrenches.
Well designed things and screws should come with appropriate drives. I wouldn’t recommend using a wrench on internal hex drives. If they needed high torque they should be external hex like a traditional bolt. Only external hex, large torque and large internal hex should be applied with a wrench. Other drive systems should be used when hand tightening is all that is needed. I’ve learned the hard way tighter isn’t always better.
I appreciate your passion for the superior type of fastener. I work in both metric and imperial for all types of fastener and metric allen is the easiest to work with in my opinion.
Yeah there’s no telling which standard you’ll encounter in the US, Probably both on the same machine.
And ain’t it funny that Allen is pretty much the only case where the most available drivers are cheap as shit L-shaped pieces of “tool” steel? Yeah, “allen screws and drivers are cheaper to manufacture” which is why they’re almost universally cheaper and shittier. Improve the quality of anything for the hell of it and guess the fuck what? The quality goes up. My algebra teacher taught me about that, it’s the transitive property of obvious bullshit.
External/male hex aka what big bolts have that you use a wrench for are A tier. I can’t really think of a more effective way to transfer large amounts of torque to a bolt or nut. Female hex aka Allens are low C or high D tier. They would rate higher, but they’re made in 8.23*10^19 sizes, and the correct one nearly never falls to hand. Add to that the tendency for allen wrenches to be made of low quality extruded hex stock and you’ve got an excellent recipe for an unpleasant fastening experience.
I rarely see imperial hex. Many Allan key set still come with imperial sizes but all contemporary products and screws come as metric now (in my experience in the UK).
Even with the metric there are still many sizes needed, which I agree is frustrating. However, it ensures the correct bit size is used for the correct screw. Unlike Phillips, pozidriv and slotted. It also limits the amount of torque that can be applied to a screw that is proportional to the screws thickness.
The prevalence of low quality screws and tools for hex drives is because they are cheaper to manufacture. Its unfair to reduce the rank of the drive mechanism for that. If the average hex screw and driver were built with the same quality of materials as the average torx this would be less of an issue.
I would recommend you use a screwdriver with hex bit heads instead of Allen keys, if you need to use hex screws a lot. Much more pleasant experience and much less likely to bend and twist like Allen wrenches.
Well designed things and screws should come with appropriate drives. I wouldn’t recommend using a wrench on internal hex drives. If they needed high torque they should be external hex like a traditional bolt. Only external hex, large torque and large internal hex should be applied with a wrench. Other drive systems should be used when hand tightening is all that is needed. I’ve learned the hard way tighter isn’t always better.
Well, yeah.
I appreciate your passion for the superior type of fastener. I work in both metric and imperial for all types of fastener and metric allen is the easiest to work with in my opinion.
Yeah there’s no telling which standard you’ll encounter in the US, Probably both on the same machine.
And ain’t it funny that Allen is pretty much the only case where the most available drivers are cheap as shit L-shaped pieces of “tool” steel? Yeah, “allen screws and drivers are cheaper to manufacture” which is why they’re almost universally cheaper and shittier. Improve the quality of anything for the hell of it and guess the fuck what? The quality goes up. My algebra teacher taught me about that, it’s the transitive property of obvious bullshit.