Socket adapter question

[Susquatch]

I don't think I have ever seen one. That would also weaken the drive.

They are usually only found on 1" and bigger drives. Not many guys have socket sets that big. I have seen a few 3/4" drives though. I've never seen it on 1/2" or smaller drives.

Because it's only found on the big drives, it doesn't affect the required strength of the drive. I've never seen a broken one.

 

[Ishmael]

Everything is an impact socket until it isn't

And any tool can be the right tool....

 

[Chicken lights]

Has anyone ever tried drilling the hole in a socket slightly larger? Would it be better in a mill at higher rpm with either a carbide burr or an end mill instead of a drill bit and drill press?

The hole between where the ratchet goes and where the socket flats start

 

[Sqought]

I did that to a princess auto socket in the lathe. Used a decent quality HSS drill. Worked OK for a one off.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Has anyone ever tried drilling the hole in a socket slightly larger? Would it be better in a mill at higher rpm with either a carbide burr or an end mill instead of a drill bit and drill press?

The hole between where the ratchet goes and where the socket flats start

I have done a little machining on sockets, though not drilling. They are tough, but not that hard. Too hard and they would tend to crack.

 

[Susquatch]

Has anyone ever tried drilling the hole in a socket slightly larger? Would it be better in a mill at higher rpm with either a carbide burr or an end mill instead of a drill bit and drill press?

The hole between where the ratchet goes and where the socket flats start

For some sockets, you might find that this central metal is softer than the outer metal. I wouldn't hesitate to try drilling it with a carbide drill. You might also find that a carbide drill bit will work with high pressure LOW speed. It does work on hard mehanite.

You could also try grinding it.

Another trick that might work for you is to sharpen a masonry drill bit. Again, use LOW SPEED.

 

[Chicken lights]

For some sockets, you might find that this central metal is softer than the outer metal. I wouldn't hesitate to try drilling it with a carbide drill. You might also find that a carbide drill bit will work with high pressure LOW speed. It does work on hard mehanite.

You could also try grinding it.

Another trick that might work for you is to sharpen a masonry drill bit. Again, use LOW SPEED.

I doubt I have any carbide drills. But if I only need a couple they can't be too much money

I do have some new HSS drills I could try first, the other guys said they had good luck so I have nothing to lose

 

[mbond]

if you have the option, a carbide burr or end mill in a milling machine will almost certainly work better than any drill press. If you don't need the size to be very precise, a carbide burr is probably easier.

you can do the same thing with a lathe

most likely, the biggest issue is that the socket body will be tough (not hard) and tools will tend to alternate between digging and skating. The extra rigidity in a mill / lathe should help a lot with that.

 

[terry_g]

Some worthless trivia. Many years ago it was common for sockets to have a hole drilled them for a pin to hold them on the square drive. There was also a groove for an o-ring to keep the pin in place. To switch sockets you moved the o-ring and pushed out the pin.

One day someone invented and patented the idea of using a spring loaded detent ball in the square drive to retain the sprocket. Shortly afterwards a company was created called Snap-On Tools that started marketing tools using the detent ball that was backwards compatible with the older sockets.