"Best" 5mm hex (allen) socket? (1 Viewer)

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Try mild heat on the metal surrounding the screw and something cold just on the screw.
 
I'm open to new ideas. Last time I had to have a nut welded on, but that one was in much worse condition.

I wonder if the weld also helped with very focused application of heat. I wonder if a large solder gun on the bolt head might do it? I'd bust out the oxy/acetylene with a very small tip (an excuse to buy a 000). I never found butane to get hot enough.

Of course any heat on a valve makes me all kinds of nervous. But sometimes...
 
May be counterintuitive, but have you tried tightening the KDSS bolt? Cycling between tightening and loosening can get things moving too. Though don't get caveman with the tightening torque, rather work it back and forth.
 
May be counterintuitive, but have you tried tightening the KDSS bolt? Cycling between tightening and loosening can get things moving too. Though don't get caveman with the tightening torque, rather work it back and forth.
Yes, I did and periodically continue that technique. No dice.

For people keeping score from home, it is shutter valve screw 4 to allen sockets 0. :)

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I have used several makes Snap-On Matco MAC Craftsman ets while working on drilling rigs where a s*** tool no matter the brand can cost you a lot of money not to mention piss you off. The only ones hex sockets that are any good are PROTO impact. Well worth the money.

Thanks!
 
I wonder if the weld also helped with very focused application of heat. I wonder if a large solder gun on the bolt head might do it? I'd bust out the oxy/acetylene with a very small tip (an excuse to buy a 000). I never found butane to get hot enough.

Of course any heat on a valve makes me all kinds of nervous. But sometimes...
I suspect you are right with the weld and focused heat. I don't think the solder gun I have is powerful enough to matter. I have oxy acetylene torches, but they are the nuclear option. With my skill level, the narrow focused tip will make the screw molten, and the rosebud tip will put too much heat into the general area. I'm going to hold back on that option for now. Another random thought I had was to use my mig welder with a (copper?) barrier, not to actually weld into the metal, but to use the process to really heat it up... sounds like a stupid idea when I type it out...
 
Long shot but you might try intensely heating the damaged hex driver with an oxy torch, then shoving it in (if it still fits?) to shock heat the immediate bolt head. Then reverse it with some ice water cotton swabs. Maybe several cycles of that.
 
Wera Hex plus is my go-to for not stripping a hex head. The patent is interesting and has proven to be effective in my use. I haven't broken one yet but haven't tried on a seized bolt.
Amazon product ASIN B0055R2RXQ
Side note, their L key set is one of my all-time favorite tools. Wera 073593 Multicolor Hex + Ball End Hex Metric L-key Clip Set (Retail Package)
 
All these cool tools I've never heard about. Good stuff!
 
I suspect you are right with the weld and focused heat. I don't think the solder gun I have is powerful enough to matter. I have oxy acetylene torches, but they are the nuclear option. With my skill level, the narrow focused tip will make the screw molten, and the rosebud tip will put too much heat into the general area. I'm going to hold back on that option for now. Another random thought I had was to use my mig welder with a (copper?) barrier, not to actually weld into the metal, but to use the process to really heat it up... sounds like a stupid idea when I type it out...

Beauty of learning to gas weld is that the heat is easy to control. I went from gas to TIG. Anyway, tips are cheap. A Haris, 000-6 sizes, is $9 on Amazon. Something to consider if all else fails. Agree on not using a rosebud :)

Those Wera bits are pretty interesting too.
 
Yes, I did and periodically continue that technique. No dice.

For people keeping score from home, it is shutter valve screw 4 to allen sockets 0. :)

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I took an impact 5mm socket, 1/2” drive from dewalt and cryo froze it. It had a much longer shank than the 3/8” drive one you are using. So it has more ability to “twist” and not deform. So far, it’s popped quite a lot of those screws from rusty KDSS. Only been defeated once. Maybe getting it cryo’ed is the little edge it has to not fail?

At least you have the older 5mm style. The newer 8mm hex head is proving to be a real downgrade. Hex heads round off significantly easier than expanding a 5mm head inside a block of steel.
 
I took an impact 5mm socket, 1/2” drive from dewalt and cryo froze it. It had a much longer shank than the 3/8” drive one you are using. So it has more ability to “twist” and not deform.

You are correct. Cryo metal treatment allows very hard metals to become flexible and still retain RC hardness. It changes the molecular bond. I'll stay off the hard science. But you make the metal very cold very slowly and hold it there for a while and then slowly raise the temp to very hot. Those temp numbers and time depend on the metal type. You end up with very hard flexible metal.
 
Where does one get tools cryo treated? Google, here I come.
 
I usually use inductive heat on stuck bolts. The leads can be twisted to whatever you need to apply it to.
Yet another tool I need. :). They look like they work well, I just imagine they cost a small fortune.
 
Friendly, Captain-Obvious reminder to folks lurking here:

“Have you re-sealed/protected your own KDSS valves yet this season???”

Don’t wait.
Road treatments are happening...even if not in your home town...
 
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Friendly, Captain-Obvious reminder to folks lurking here:

“Have you re-sealed/protected your own KDSS valves yet this season???”

Don’t wait.
Road treatments are here.

Yep just coated liberally with marine grease. No road treatments in San Diego I hope :eek:
 
Yep just coated liberally with marine grease. No road treatments in San Diego I hope :eek:

There ya go! :)
And ya, we don’t suffer here like the snow-folk do...but I think sometimes we’re the ones who fall prey to it because we don’t think about it much.
I discovered just how one really sloppy drive through Silverton post-road-treatment rain can wreak havoc on all sorts o stuff. Nasty...
 
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