Best Hex/Allen Wrenches

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Buy a "Chapman" tool set, used by professional gunsmiths. Assorted bits from flat blade, phillips and yes all the hex sizes from sae and metric sizes. Extremely well made, never broke one in 30 years of use. Fit the screw heads precisely, little to no play. Comes in a kit with a couple different handles. All flat blades are hollow ground to prevent slipping. Availuable thru Brownells and other quality tool sources. Once you use these, you won't want to use anything else
 
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I use vibratite on fasteners that are 2mm to smaller that are prone to getting loose, as the vibratite keeps them in place but at the same time makes the fastener still easily removable without the need for heat.
If you service your own guns, identify which fasteners are the most removed and replaced(as an example, the 15 screws on the top bar of the impact which includes the scope rail) and switch out to Torx head. No worries of rounding off anything then.
Trigger guard screws to access regulator adjustment easier fall into this group of high service fasteners on an impact, along with the screw that cinches down on the beak of the power plenum. Torx on those.

I have both the metric and inch sets of the husky brand wrenches with the serrated corners to bite into the inside corners of an Allen socket. I use these for emergency situations only in removing a stripped out socket. Be careful when using these as THE set to remove fasteners day in/day out, as they do a number on the inside corners of a socket head where eventually a standard allen can’t be used and they do turn a fastener into an ugly sight after awhile. And when the fastener eventually rounds off where the husky ones won’t work, then you’re fooked and hopefully you’ve invested in some type of easy out tool.

My standard approach is if a fastener doesn’t “pop” loose like how Ernest does it in his videos with a quick flick of his wrist, don’t keep trying, but instead reach for the micro torch instead and pre heat the fastener.
 
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Bigragu said:
I use vibratite on fasteners that are 2mm to smaller that are prone to getting loose, as the vibratite keeps them in place but at the same time makes the fastener still easily removable without the need for heat.
If you service your own guns, identify which fasteners are the most removed and replaced(as an example, the 15 screws on the top bar of the impact which includes the scope rail) and switch out to Torx head. No worries of rounding off anything then.
Trigger guard screws to access regulator adjustment easier fall into this group of high service fasteners on an impact, along with the screw that cinches down on the beak of the power plenum. Torx on those.

I have both the metric and inch sets of the husky brand wrenches with the serrated corners to bite into the inside corners of an Allen socket. I use these for emergency situations only in removing a stripped out socket. Be careful when using these as THE set to remove fasteners day in/day out, as they do a number on the inside corners of a socket head where eventually a standard allen can’t be used and they do turn a fastener into an ugly sight after awhile. And when the fastener eventually rounds off where the husky ones won’t work, then you’re fooked and hopefully you’ve invested in some type of easy out tool.

My standard approach is if a fastener doesn’t “pop” loose like how Ernest does it in his videos with a quick flick of his wrist, don’t keep trying, but instead reach for the micro torch instead and pre heat the fastener.
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All great advice - many thanks. The VibraTite sounds like a great product - I’ll plan to get some. On the advice of others I also got some of the VibraTite Drive Grip. Haven’t used it yet but it is also a handy thing to have around.
 
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If you want the Absolute best then pony up the cash and buy MIP .
They are mostly sold as individual pieces and they are Very pricey.

But i can assure you they will outlive you.
They are made buy an RC car tool and driveline parts manufacturer and trust me, we are hell on allen wrenches, keys, tools , whatever you want to call them in the RC car world.

I have tried virtually every other brand, including all the above mentioned and None of them have lasted even 1 Race season..

I have some MIP's that are 20+ years old and as good today as they were new, I personally use the " Speed Tips " as they are a good crossover from RC to Airgun applications.
They fit a standard 1/4" driver and the Wheeler Electronic Gun Torque Wrench

Link
 
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bfloyd1095 said:
If you want the Absolute best then pony up the cash and buy MIP .
They are mostly sold as individual pieces and they are Very pricey.

But i can assure you they will outlive you.
They are made buy an RC car tool and driveline parts manufacturer and trust me, we are hell on allen wrenches, keys, tools , whatever you want to call them in the RC car world.

I have tried virtually every other brand, including all the above mentioned and None of them have lasted even 1 Race season..

I have some MIP's that are 20+ years old and as good today as they were new, I personally use the " Speed Tips " as they are a good crossover from RC to Airgun applications.
They fit a standard 1/4" driver and the Wheeler Electronic Gun Torque Wrench

Link
Click to expand...
I’ve read about MIP - think I’ll give them a try - thanks!
 
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AirShot said:
Buy a "Chapman" tool set, used by professional gunsmiths. Assorted bits from flat blade, phillips and yes all the hex sizes from sae and metric sizes. Extremely well made, never broke one in 30 years of use. Fit the screw heads precisely, little to no play. Comes in a kit with a couple different handles. All flat blades are hollow ground to prevent slipping. Availuable thru Brownells and other quality tool sources. Once you use these, you won't want to use anything else
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Also available direct from Chapman. I bought the smaller #8900 kit from them. All the bits have knurled ends for very delicate finger-tightening, if desired. The kit contains 2 Phillips head bits, 10 Allen bits, 12 slothead bits, a regular handle, extension piece, mini-ratchet, and a special flat disklike piece that slips over the knurled ends for when just a tiny bit more torque is wanted than with finger tightening, but less than the mini-ratchet or regular handle provide.

The assorted ways to tighten/loosen allow access to tight spaces also. Chapman says their gunsmithing tools are meant to let the tools slip before damaging threads or tiny parts. Trivia tidbit: these are used on old-fashioned Singer sewing machines as well as guns. Nobody wants to damage a fastener that might be irreplaceable.
 
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Allen was a brand of hex wrench that was so popular people started calling them an allen wrench. Yes I'm old.

A56004__16485.jpg
 
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rangur1 said:
Bondhus has a big rep, however certain brands with a square edge work well where bondhus can round out the fastener with their rounded ends.
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I got the three piece MIP set. Beautiful machining, sharp edges and perfect fit which is especially important in the small sizes. 1.5mm, 2mm, and 2.5mm
 
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I just saw this. I use Wera, Wiha, and Stahlwille products. Also, my favorite place to buy hand tools is KC Tool. KC Tool regularly has sales on their products. They ship fast, and often free. They also have the largest selection of unique metric tool sizes that apply to airguns, that I have found.

KC Tool | America's #1 German Tool Distributor

Find quality hand tools such as screwdrivers, pliers and insulated tools. Order catalogs and read customer reviews and our tool reviews and comparisons.
www.kctool.com www.kctool.com
 
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Hateful McNasty said:
This last time i went with the impact series bits .. several jobs where id twist or snap other torx bits/ drivers this Milwaukee impact driver bit ain't flinched and fits screw heads pretty snug.. so far so good.. and they come in different shank lengths as well

View attachment 378186
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I twisted off a Makita bit putting a screw into a stud, yesterday. I will look into these.
 
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