Excellent allen keys

If I wanted a set of ball ended allen keys I'd pay considerably more than that for them. If I needed one for a specific job I'd buy just one decent one.
 
Allen keys are one of the tools that there must be no compromise quality wise. Bondhus, Facom, Snap on etc approx £10-25 for a decent set. Cheap ones will cost you dear.
 
Lidl gear is usually low grade, even by Chinese standards, yet the masses still go flocking for a bargain....

Dear oh dear. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
OK guys - I can only say that it worked for me. No one pretends that it is the quality of Snap-on but I am not a professional mechanic and hope to use them once a blue moon. I have a decent socket set but it was no use for the job I referred to. My old allen keys didn't have the ball bit.
 
Yes, I agree. These cheapo tools may not survive constant proffessional use but have got me out of trouble time and time again. I couldnt afford a large range of high quality speciallised stuff. ( though might push the boat out for decent allen keys!!)
 
Lidle have quite a selection of useful tools on the 17th.
One must consider the purpose for which you are going to use them, then consider wheather they will do the job satisfactorily.
I agree with the centiment on allen keys, and I have a set of snap on keys which can go on a 3/8 drive ratchet, in fact I have a big snap on box full of s,o tools which cost me aprox £3000 when I was a fitter.
Most car dealerships wont take on mechanics unless they have a s,o tool kit now, as their centiment is that cheap tools damage fastenings and waste time.
Other good makes are Britool, Beta, Mac tools.
 
I can only re-state the facts, Allen keys are a no compromise tool. The fact that you aren't professional and don't use them often makes no difference, perhaps if anything makes bad quality ones an even worse option. Bin the cheap ones and buy proper ones, you'll end up costing yourself a lot of money one day if you don't.
The other no compromise tools are drill bits for stainless steel.

Other than that I'm not too anal about tools, cheap Aldi and Lidl ones will often do a good job.
 
Quite. I bought a set of keys for a one-off job on my bike, they had been painted black to look like the proper heat-treated ones but the first one I tried rounded in a stainless Allen bolt! Would not have stood any chance at all in a hardened bolt.
 
Imagine the frustration of being out at sea and using an allen key only for it to bend or round off. Really not worth it for your boat or knuckles! I have Snap on at home but Britool for boat. Expensive but a sound investment as you can always sell on later when no longer boating.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Allen keys are one of the tools that there must be no compromise quality wise. Bondhus, Facom, Snap on etc approx £10-25 for a decent set. Cheap ones will cost you dear.

[/ QUOTE ]That's interesting as I have had problems with cheap ones. Presumably the problem is incorrect sizing, hardness and strength?
 
Hardness (which is directly related to strength) more than anything in my experience. Properly heat-treated ones have a strength of close to 80 tons per in2 in old units and allen bolts will be only a little less. Black-painted ones are carbon steel at best, so 40 tons per in2 if you are lucky, 25 if you're not.

I must say I have bought a few tools at Lidl and some have been excellent, while being remarkably cheap.
 
Hello Mr Dog..
re SS drill bits... ?

for the odd few holes (all thats needed usually unless you are manufacturing or doing a big job), normal drill bits are fine.. have used them many times. The trick is slow speed, lots of pressure, and a tad of wd40 if needed, never let them smoke..
works fine.

Joe
 
I have bought some good cheap throw away tools from lidl i have a socket set which i am waiting to throw away but it is still good i re engined my boat last year using it, i dont think i would buy cheapo allun keys as these tend to snap or shatter when placed under load and could bite you,also their electrical gear is ok for DIY jobs,last sping they were selling boating gear including some very good cheap warps,i love the place,on the down side their boathooks are crap.
 
Thanks for the reminder , I have bought numerous tools and othe items from the Aldi/Lidl shops have had no trouble with them; all remarkably good value and quality.

I think budget tools like budget wine has changed so much for the better over the last 20 years. In the 60s/70s you would never think of woollies tools for the boat, or drinking much cheap wine.!
 
Where did you get these figures? I am used to the metric system and then a ton/ inch2 equals 14 N/mm2 and the "good" ones should have a tensile strength of appr. 1100 N/mm2. This value should be obtained by hardening and tempering. Allen-bolts will usually be 8.8 or 10.9 quality with a minimum tensile strength of 800 or 1000N/mm2 respectively, and as you mention just a bit less than the tensile strength of a good allan key. The hardening and tempering is essential to obtain the correct relation between strength and ductility.
A C-steel will have a tensile strength of appr. 500 to 1200 N/mm2 in the hot-rolled condition, assuming forced cooling after the hot rolling, depending on the C-content, 500 at 0,20% and 1200 at 0,80%. The seizing to change the round wire into the hexagonal wire, usually by cold rolling, will further increase the strength. If the C-steel should be annealed before the seizing, the strength will go down, but the 40 tons/inch2 seems very low to me. From my working days I remember that the production costs of a tempered and hardened bolt could roughly be split as: one third material, one third cold-forming and one third heat treatment. To make cheap tools it is the easiest to omit the heat treatment. In that case I would expect that a C-steel allen-key would have rather high tensile strength, but with a low ductility, iow. the key will easily break if the bolt or screw is tight. I think that the main problem with cheap keys is the sizing. A good key will be ground as a final step to get the desired dimensions and a "bad" one is not and as a consequence it can be a bit loose in the opening of the bolt and this will cause the corners of the key to wear easily and the key will slip.
 
FWIW, I've been told by a master mechanic (and also from my own experience) that order of quality is as follows:
Snap-on, Blue-point (Canadian Snap-on), Facom, Britool, Teng. I have a mixture of Facom & Britool and can tackle just about anything with these (can't afford S-O or B-Point!). Just an opinion so don't shoot me please! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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