Stainless Steel Allen Wrenches

Does anybody have a source for stainless steel allen wrenches? The allens that I keep with my housing are rusting from salty air exposure.

Thanks,

Elmer

Does anybody have a source for stainless steel allen wrenches? The allens that I keep with my housing are rusting from salty air exposure.

 

Thanks,

Elmer

A nice set of chrome plated hex wrenches came with my Nexus housing. They show no sings of corrosion with 3 + years of service. A chrome set might be easier to find than s/s.

Bob

Available on EBay UK so would be surprised if not in the States.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WERA-9-Piece-IMPERIA...=item439afbc310

Available on EBay UK so would be surprised if not in the States.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WERA-9-Piece-IMPERIA...=item439afbc310

Thanks, have e-mail them. Also looked on EBay in the States and no luck. I did a google search and found surgical quality ss allen wrenchs that are very expensive.

Available on EBay UK so would be surprised if not in the States.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WERA-9-Piece-IMPERIA...=item439afbc310

Yowza! They are darn proud of those wrenches. Elmer may want a metric set.

Still steep $$$ <-- click this

Bob

Have you checked McMaster-Carr? They have all sorts of SS tools. Not sure if the price is good for this particular item, though.

Yowza! They are darn proud of those wrenches. Elmer may want a metric set.

Still steep $$$ <-- click this

Bob

Bob,

thank you so much, this should work

Elmer

Have you checked McMaster-Carr? They have all sorts of SS tools. Not sure if the price is good for this particular item, though.

I looked at their site, no ss allens wrenches, just bolts.

thanks

Price is not as good as the eBay auction, but since that's ended, here is another source (Metric only):

http://www.amazon.com/Wera-3950-PKL-Ball-P...t/dp/B000VCZQ74

And Grainger carries the SAE version for a few bucks more: http://www.grainger.com/1/1/280231-wera-05...s-sae-9-pc.html

May also be worth checking some boat shops near you... I've found a number of stainless steel tools there in the past. (West Marine, etc.)

Price is not as good as the eBay auction, but since that's ended, here is another source (Metric only):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Wera-3950-PKL-Ball-P...t/dp/B000VCZQ74

 

And Grainger carries the SAE version for a few bucks more: http://www.grainger.com/1/1/280231-wera-05...s-sae-9-pc.html

 

May also be worth checking some boat shops near you... I've found a number of stainless steel tools there in the past. (West Marine, etc.)

thank you again. Will also check out marine suppliers on the east coast.

Elmer

Interestingly, found a tidbit on this topic discussing this on another board.

You may be better off getting good quality chrome-plated hex keys and just try to be a little better about cleaning them off. Stainless steel is a lot softer and not nearly as strong as other metals used, and you end up with a rounded-off, useless (but expensive and rust free!) hex key far too easily. Chances are you can buy 3-4 chrome plated keys for the cost of one SS hex key, and each of them will have a more useful lifespan than the soft SS keys.

Interestingly, found a tidbit on this topic discussing this on another board.

 

You may be better off getting good quality chrome-plated hex keys and just try to be a little better about cleaning them off. Stainless steel is a lot softer and not nearly as strong as other metals used, and you end up with a rounded-off, useless (but expensive and rust free!) hex key far too easily. Chances are you can buy 3-4 chrome plated keys for the cost of one SS hex key, and each of them will have a more useful lifespan than the soft SS keys.

Point well taken, harden steel is stronger than stainless. So if much torque is needed, use harden steel.

Point well taken, harden steel is stronger than stainless. So if much torque is needed, use harden steel.

McMaster indeed has them, just not in sets. About $4 each. Titanium ones too if you are rich (like $25 each).

Bill

http://www.mcmaster.com/#hex-wrenches/=4cjpis

McMaster indeed has them, just not in sets. About $4 each. Titanium ones too if you are rich (like $25 each).

 

Bill

 

http://www.mcmaster.com/#hex-wrenches/=4cjpis

Bill,

They do indeed.

thanks again,

Elmer

One point that seemed to push against stainless steel hex wrenches is that they might be a bit too soft. True if you are trying to tighten hardened steel bolts, but don't forget the bolt you are tightening on a housing is stainless as well. I have a bunch of the silver coated mcmaster wrenches that pass 600 hours of salt spray and no rust yet (in spite of probably not cleaning them as well as i should).

Bill

One point that seemed to push against stainless steel hex wrenches is that they might be a bit too soft. True if you are trying to tighten hardened steel bolts, but don't forget the bolt you are tightening on a housing is stainless as well. I have a bunch of the silver coated mcmaster wrenches that pass 600 hours of salt spray and no rust yet (in spite of probably not cleaning them as well as i should).

Bill

I've heard very good things about those.

But they're not stainless steel.

That said, I have a couple on order from yesterday.

Hmm, does Sears have a Craftsman set? They come with a lifetime warranty against anything. I regularly trade in small tools off my boat that get rusty.

Jack

Look into a set of Bondhus allen keys. Gates is supplying them with the Deep red Housings, they are very strong and very high quality!