Sloppy fit in the head of a little set screw

J

JohnAspinall

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So I wanted some set screws quick, and bought some at the local Big Box. They're stainless, 6-32, 1/8" long, and they have a 1/16" hex recess to drive them.
When I tighten them, the Allen wrench slips in the socket well before I can get a reasonable torque on them.
(Now, a 1/16" Allen wrench is not exactly a rigid hand tool, but I don't even begin to see it flex before it slips.)

So here's the question: Is the hex recess too big (and how would I measure that)? Or is my Allen wrench too soft? The wrench is up to spec as far as its (unstressed) dimension is concerned.
 
It could be a couple of things, John. Imported fasteners are not exactly the finest, so that may be part of it. Same with hex keys. As you might suppose, the smaller the screw, the more critical that things fit well. I have made the mistake of grabbing a 0.050 hex key when I needed a 1/16". Possible? Or perhaps you could try a near-sized Metric.
 
I don't know how often you use your 1/16" hex key, but mine get's rounded off, and it doesn't take much to interfere. I find that grinding a little off the end restores enough sharp corners to work. Just don't get it hot if you try this. Makes it soft, and will repeat the rounding off.
 
JohnAspinall said:
So I wanted some set screws quick, and bought some at the local Big Box. They're stainless, 6-32, 1/8" long, and they have a 1/16" hex recess to drive them.
When I tighten them, the Allen wrench slips in the socket well before I can get a reasonable torque on them.
(Now, a 1/16" Allen wrench is not exactly a rigid hand tool, but I don't even begin to see it flex before it slips.)

So here's the question: Is the hex recess too big (and how would I measure that)? Or is my Allen wrench too soft? The wrench is up to spec as far as its (unstressed) dimension is concerned.
Click to expand...

John,
I think most stainless fasteners available are like a 2. hardness- unless you spec for something better. Hardware store stainless heads seem to strip easy and threads gall w/o some antiseize. My experience anyway
 
my thought is stainless is too soft of a metal for that size of screw i tried the same thing on a project
we used to have a hardware store local that had tiny grade 8 set screws but home Depot and lowes put them out of business so they are not available local now.
steve
 
Mcmaster-Carr to the rescue. I still have two hardwares stores, but driving is the same cost as driving.
 
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I looked at the Allen wrench under a loupe, and it still looks pretty crisp, so suspicion definitely falls on the socket. Will try not to be tempted by big box hardware next time.
 
My local true value or ace hardware store usually carrys much better quality fasteners than the HD. But a lot of times while I'm at hd I bget what I need too. The smaller size socket screws seem to suffer form the improperly size socket. I have a drawer full of allen wrenches, sometimes a metric one will fit better. A torx will work even better sometimes if you can get a nice snug fit because they get right into the corners of the socket.
 
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