A is for Allen wrench
Sets of Allen wrenches can be loose, individual keys or they can be fold-out as part of a set. They can have long handles, L-shaped or T-shaped handles. They can be metric or imperial, since the size of the hex hole can be set in fractions of an inch or in millimeters, depending on the source. Using the wrong size Allen wrench won't move the screw - it'll either strip the hex hole into a round hole or it will strip your Allen wrench smooth, depending on which has the harder steel.
A machinist needs Allen wrenches a lot more than woodworkers do, since hex bolts are rarely used to hold together wooden furniture.1 So why would a woodworker have Allen wrenches? Many power tools use hex bolts for blade adjustment, blade replacement, adapter and fitting connections, etc.
More information on types of holes, with advantages and disadvantages, can be found here.
1. IKEA furniture is held together almost exclusively with hex bolts, but IKEA furniture isn't made of wood - it's made of sawdust, glue and lies.
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For my other posts about woodworking tools, follow this link.
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Help keep the words flowing.
'it's made of sawdust, glue and lies' - LOL!
ReplyDeleteHappy Day 1 of A to Z.
Not just Ikea, but any of the "put it together yourself" stuff you find at big-box stores and the like. Hex bolts and the rest (which is hilariously true).
ReplyDelete"Sawdust, glue and lies"- just priceless!
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy A Day to you!
This feels almost like a Home Depot Wiki now!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you did decide to do this - any more gems like this much appreciated! Take that IKEA!
ReplyDelete'sawdust, glue and lies'... how true! Although, at least it's cheaper than paying for wood, joinery and truth :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see so many like-minded readers when it comes to evaluating IKEA's "disposable furniture"!
ReplyDeleteI love the theme you've chosen; this should be fun.
ReplyDeleteLOL... Love it. I am going to have to keep following so my husband won't get frustrated when he says "honey can you get me that vise over there?" I'm like what? A vise? Happy a to z :D
ReplyDeleteAnd it's built on the exploitation of the GDR, but that's a post for another day!
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I've never set foot in an Ikea, though I've certainly set my butt on enough of their sawdust, glue and lies to know what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, nice to meet you. I found your blog via the Twitter feed for #atozchallenge. I'll be back to see what you dish up for the rest of the alphabet.
Happy A to Z-ing!
~Tui @mentalmosaic
MML - sawdust, screws and lies ... I've never been to an Ikea and I intend to never set foot in one.
ReplyDeletePopped in from the AtoZ Challenge.
thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com
Good post and good blog!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A-Z Challenge.
I use one often in my studio to replace bits I use to grind glass
ReplyDeleteAlmost all the furniture I own is IKEA. The cheaper-end stuff is, well, cheap, but believe it or not their higher-end furniture is solid wood and quite nice. I have a solid beech sideboard from there, and some other pieces as well. IKEA has been using more and more Philips-head screws of late. I prefer the Allen-key assemblies -- you can take apart the furniture when you move house and have a better chance of reassembling it without the heads stripping.
ReplyDeleteScarier than IKEA is the furniture from other shops that claims to be solid but is merely stapled and glued together.
Some people swear by their IKEA furniture. As you note, the ability to take the furniture apart again would be an advantage in lifestyles that involve a lot of moving. More objectionable is the idea of "disposable" furniture - items which aren't designed to last more than a few years, and which facilitate (or encourage) redecorating. Far too much of IKEA's stuff goes into this category.
DeleteBTW, every year Lee Valley Tools posts an April Fool's tool. Here's this years -- a "spider vise" http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=70655&cat=1,41637
ReplyDeleteHa! That looks fantastic! It was completely plausible... until it showed someone using it to sharpen a pencil!
DeleteGreat post. I have a set of Allen wrenches, but I can't even remember what for LOL
ReplyDeleteI have an allen key.. but allen still doesn't know I have it.. and one day I'm going to creep into his house in the middle of the night and scare the living crap out of him
ReplyDelete