Never had any problems with them, and find them easier to undo tight bolts without bits rounding off.
Hi,
I am looking for opinions on your sets of allen keys.
I am cheesed off with crap cheap keys that round off leaving them useless.
I am not into spending money on Snap on stuff as they won't be in daily use.
I need keys not ratchet mounted sockets.
Halfords don't list their professional keys any more, my dad has a set of these from 15 years ago and they would be fine, he would notice if they
went missing though!
What have you got and how much were they and would you recommend them?
Col
I am a fan of bicycle ones.
Park tools AWS-11 is very handy as I tend to lose the ones when kept loose.
Been exactly where you are, and ended up buying a set very similar (if not identical) to 16PC T HANDLE BALL POINT HEX &' STAR
DRIVER SET / HEX KEYS / ALLEN KEYS
Never had any problems with them, and find them easier to undo tight bolts without bits rounding off.
Park tools are usually pretty good, pretty much bike oriented but damn fine tools.
I have a set of their folding keys that are a good 10 years old, and still pretty much fine.
Looking about £30 for a set.
Put in 276840 or 276857 in the halfords search bar
Should get you what you want.
Halfords Professional 9 piece Hex Key Set
[Edited on 10/1/13 by Ben_Copeland]
I use these:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wera+allen+keys&hl=en&client=ms-android-tmobile-gb&tbo=u&source=android-browser-suggest&v=1413386
91&source=univ&tbm=shop&sa=X&ei=j8fuUIn8DoqU0QWS94CgDw&ved=0CEEQrQQ&biw=320&bih=508
Very good quality but I still lose them though!
Cheers chaps,
Ben I searched for allen keys not hex Key set, that's why I didn't find anything!
Ive got a set of £1 shop jobbies, not managed to snap one yet. Had them for about 6 years. I did buy another set about 4 years ago, but only beacause
I lost one or 2 of the orginal set.
Allen keys arent intended to have much force through them any that are, I tend to use socket based ones, which I have a cheapo set of (local market),
both hex and torx which have also lasted well.
I only managed to snap a 45 torx one of them when trying to remove driveshafts bolts, so bought a set of Dewalt bits (tictac box) for a few quid off
ebay which whipped the shafts off fine.
Also worth noting the socket based ones included a 7mm which rarely come outside of specialist kits.
[Edited on 10-1-13 by loggyboy]
I do a lot of guitar repair and setup work. I use Allen (hex) keys all the time. After a lot of frustration due to ill-fitting, cheap and nasty
tools, regularly replaced, I finally came across Bondhus. I bought two sets, metric and
Imperial sizes. I bought them online, through Garrison Dales Limited, in the
UK.
I thoroughly recommend these keys as they fit perfectly, with no slack, unlike every other key I had in the past.
Bondhus have a vast choice for you to choose from. And I had excellent service from
Garrison Dales Limited so will be worth getting in touch.
Albert
I bought a set of these some time ago and they have been great.
Ok these are in the states but the price seems right
eBay Item
Edit: Just noticed that those are imperial but they do come up from time to time
[Edited on 10/1/13 by mookaloid]
Lidl ones are great when they have them in.
Stu
Ensure you buy a quality set!
Also ball end ones are imo Crap.
quote:
Originally posted by Bare
Also ball end ones are imo Crap.
quote:
Originally posted by whitestu
Lidl ones are great when they have them in.
Stu
I have a set of the Jetech Axminster Allen keys which seem to be really good quality, however I only bought the ones I commonly used not the full
set:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/set-of-8-jetech-tee-handled-ball-end-hex-keys-prod822065/
I've a set of these, think I got them from Buck and Hickman a long time ago. Still good after years of abuse.
quote:
Originally posted by locoboy
Cheers chaps,
Ben I searched for allen keys not hex Key set, that's why I didn't find anything!
I've had a CK set for years now & they've been the best I've come across. Often used to slacken drain & level bungs on quads which can get silly tight, cheap will not do!
Just got a set of lidls this week special offers last monday. Look OK for quality but not used them yet. 2 year gaurantee as well.
We went through a lot of different sets at work and found Facom to last well, Bondhus are also very good.We did try some Allen branded ones which were
supposed to be good but im convinced they were no better than the pound land Chinese quality but much more expensive.
Paul
I'm very happy with the Cromwell supplied Kennedy brand. Proper tools for not a lot of money.
allen keys
I also don't like the ball end type, they tend to break where the shaft necks down, plus you can't stand the bolt on the key and then offer
it up to the hole. So one hand holds the key with the bolt and the other puts the nut on the end of the bolt.
Cheers
Fred W B
[Edited on 11/1/13 by Fred W B]
Machine Mart Extra Long
Keys worked really well for me - it's definitely worth having the extra length. Girth is your own problem 
They're a good fit and well packaged.
The Wera keys I mentioned earlier are not to be confused with the stuff you get from Lisl or the pound shop! They are shaped to drive the corners of the Allen bolt so prevents rounding. Since buying mine, the 20yr old Snap-ons have been retired!
quote:
Originally posted by omega 24 v6
Just got a set of lidls this week special offers last monday. Look OK for quality but not used them yet. 2 year gaurantee as well.
Another vote for the Lidl set.
Have two sets with ball ends. The newest set has an extra handle grip for greater leverage.
Brad.
quote:
I also don't like the ball end type, they tend to break where the shaft necks down, plus you can't stand the bolt on the key and then offer it up to the hole. So one hand holds the key with the bolt and the other puts the nut on the end of the bolt. Cheers Fred W B