Nut drivers etc...?

[lazylathe]

Hi all,

A while ago i asked about places to buy fasteners from for our models.
The reply was overwhelming!!! Thanks!! ;D
See this thread:
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=15364.0

I decided to go ahead and order some fasteners, taps and drivers from microfasteners.com
So far they have been pretty good!
Apart from the broken tap that was totally my fault...
While i was browsing there i ordered their set of nut drivers.
They are just thin tubes of steel with an internal driver and some knurling on the top for grip.

I am finding the to be extremely fiddly to use and quite annoying.
They are only about two inches in length and quite thin.
http://www.microfasteners.com/catalog/products/TNMWR.cfm

Where do you buy your tools from for these applications and what tools do you use?
I have seen some of the cheap nut drivers but most are in mm.

I am also using some dental pliers for holding the small nuts but a specific pair for nuts would be great!

Any suppliers and links would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[kcmillin]

I can't tell you where to get these small nit drivers, as I don;t know myself, but I have heard of people using socket head cap screws as nut drivers.

If you loctite a SHCS in the end of an aluminum or steel bar, this can be used as an effective and cheap nut driver.

Just a thought.

Kel

 

[Blogwitch]

First off Andrew, make yourself a couple of pairs of these, one in Imperial, the other with metric holes, they will help a great deal in holding small stuff for all sorts of jobs.

http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1441.0

For good quality nut spinners, you can end up paying a fortune for them. Those cheap ones you have got, just the thin tube type, will get into places that some of the more expensive ones can't, so it isn't wasted money.

I can't give links for the US, you are better searching those out yourself.

What I normally do, is using K&S brass or ali tubing of the correct size, put the nut in the close fitting tube, and using my bench vice or using a pair of flat nose pliers if doing very small ones, crunch the sides of the tube in until it is a good fit around the nut. Instant nut driver of the correct length I want to make it.

What you have to realise, small nuts don't need large torque to tighten them up, and any one with a largish handle is liable to shear the bolt or strip threads as they allow you to put too much torque on them. That is why your cheap ones have knurls on them, fingertip pressure only.

Hope this helps.


John

 

[George_Race]

I don't know if these will work for you but if they would, they are of very high quality and very nice to use. The smallest is 3/32 in size. See the web page here. Xcelite makes some nice tools, but are a bit pricy to buy.

http://www.all-spec.com/products/PS120.html

I have used mine for years and they don't show any signs of wear in the sockets, they are made from very nice hard material.
George

 

[mklotz]

I'll presume you're interested in tiny Imperial nuts.

The best drivers come form Wiha and are sold by (among others, I'm sure) MicroMark...

http://www.micromark.com/8-piece-Precision-Nutdriver-Inch-Set,7777.html

Pricy but Wiha tools are the Mitutoyos of this genre.

Two other essentials (IMO) for manipulating small nuts are pearl tweezers...

http://www.micromark.com/Pearl-Tweezer,8033.html

and the four-pronged pick up tool that jewelers use to manipulate diamonds...

http://www.micromark.com/Gripster-Nut-Starter-00-10,6735.html


You'll find that the latter two tools have many other uses beyond the manipulation of miniature nuts.

 

[Troutsqueezer]

Tower Hobbies. Here are a couple of possibilities.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBEZA&P=0

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLFT7&P=0

 

[Jasonb]

I use a 1/4" square drive "screwdriver" handle with small sockets, mine go down to 8BA which would be about a 2-56 thread. I also find that a 1/4" drive extension is usually enough to spin up nuts in the smaller sizes.

I also have a set of BA box spanners these are about 3.5" ling and go down to 10BA (1-72) they are cross drilled for a small tommy bar if I want to really torque then up.

J

 

[Catminer]

Hi Andrew;

My small nut drivers are Moody tools # 58-0420, the set is from 5/64''-5/32'' five pieces US made.
Princess auto has small wrenches, kinda crappy but they do fit alright.
Peter

 

[Mainer]

I did this: http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=12639.0

I've also made a couple out of various sizes of hex socket screws by threading and Loctiting them into the end of a piece of 1/2" brass hex stock, chucking it in the lathe, turning down the o.d. of the screw a bit, and tapering a section of the hex handle down to meet the screw o.d. The screws are tougher than woodpecker lips, as Guy Lautard would say, but they will cut with sharp HSS and patience.