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12pt or 6pt 1/4 drive deep sockets?

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Scorch

Scorch

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I have 6pt for my 3/8 and 1/2 drives, but I'm wondering if it makes more sense to go with 12 pt for 1/4 drive.

I understand that 6pt are better for applying more force with less risk of rounding out the bolt. However, on 1/4 drive, would it be more advantageous to use 12pt sockets? I mean, the amount of force on small fasteners is less, right? And 12pt gives you a little edge in getting the socket onto the bolt head.
 
William Wolfen said:
6pt > 12pt in every way except ease of slipping it onto the nut or bolt. I'll take 6pt every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
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And this annoying bolt. :D

P1010860-M.jpg
 
Tbh, I agree with all the folks saying 6 point is better in every way, but most of my sockets are 12 point and I've never really had a problem with them 'if they are fully seated' on the fastener. I'm talking about breaker bar with a cheater pipe kind of never had a problem.

I would lean towards 6pt on 1/4" drive just because things get so small that the 12's have a hard time engaging.

Most of my collection is 12pt chrome sockets and 6pt impacts.
 
Doesn't the socket size matter more than the drive size? The faces of each side get so small that the 'missing' 1/3 of each face starts to matter more.

At least that's how it works in my head.
 
I personally prefer 6 point for all sockets, but do have quite a bit of 12 point in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 (except for my impact sockets, which are 6 point of course, I don't even know if there are 12 point impact sockets (except for some of those specialty sockets for things like driveshaft bolts that tend to be 12 point)).
I do agree that if you are using a 1/4 drive, you are not likely putting a lot of force on the nut, so 12 point would probably be fine for the most part.
If no or minimal price difference, I would go for a 6 point.
 
Jeff S said:
Doesn't the socket size matter more than the drive size? The faces of each side get so small that the 'missing' 1/3 of each face starts to matter more.

At least that's how it works in my head.
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Certainly, but most 1/4" drive sockets are so small that you would be solidly into wanting a 6pt territory already. Probably everything 10mm and down.
 
HiSPL said:
Certainly, but most 1/4" drive sockets are so small that you would be solidly into wanting a 6pt territory already. Probably everything 10mm and down.
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10mm you say, I don't care if it is a 6 or 12 point, if I can find one, I am happy. ;)

Walmart had some Stanley sockets on clearance a few years ago, I bought all the 10mm sockets they had (6 point, 12 point, 1/4 and 3/8), I think I have 2-3 left out of the dozen or so I bought.
 
In my former life a long time ago and in a galaxy far far away, I always told my clients when they were starting their tool boxes, start with 6 point and then either buy the small number of 12 points you need for the special fasteners, like the nut Jason pointed out or the rod bolts and nuts on some of the engines, or if you feel like you have too much money, buy both sets.
 
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6 or 12 I don't care as long as it's a 10mm that doesn't disappear. Do they make such an animal?
 
When it comes to 1/4” deep wall sockets, I can tell you the 8mm - 6 point will hold up much better than the 12 point. The side wall has much less material on the 12 point socket and is more prone to breaking.
 
Mine are mostly 6 points, although I did have to get some 12 points for ARP fasteners and for some motorcycle fasteners (head nuts on the Twin cam come to mind). Also had to get a set of 8 points for my farm equipment (square heads)
 
I have both and a couple of 84 tooth ratchets, plus "skinny wrenches", swivel head sockets, lots of different needs/options. But I believe I need both 6 and 12 point.
 
Six-point are great, although there have been only a few--a very few--occasions where the 12-points have not sufficed.

As I plotted out a good toolkit for my 690, I decided to go with 1/4" sockets and a little sliding t-bar, foregoing a ratchet. Decided to go with 12pt for those tight spots. I'm comfortable with this because it's a new bike so the fasteners are in good shape, and they're small and the tightening torques are really small. Most are both HH and star--they have a built-in Plan B. I would be a lot less sanguine about this scheme for the old bikes I've had.

One more thing: Quality of the socket matters more than the number of points.
E.G. the complete set of Craftsman 1/4" that I bought five or six years ago, that I do not like at all, compared to the recent set of Tekton that I got that are very nice. The 12pt Tekton fit HH far better than the 6pt Craftsman.

You don't always get what you pay for when buying tools, but you absolutely will pay, one way or another, for what you get.
 
I use a deep 6pt 8mm in my my riding tool kit. It drives screwdriver bits very well. I carry a t handle as well.
 
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