Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

General Discussion => Tech Tips => Topic started by: hpwaco on April 02, 2018, 08:12:39 pm

Title: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: hpwaco on April 02, 2018, 08:12:39 pm: To ease the my wrist pain ( not carpal tunnel ) when removing fork tubes, I went to bilgemasters favorite store - Harbor Freight - and bought a 18pc (metric and sae) ball end T handle hex set for $13 with coupon. Found out the "stubby" hex sticking out of handle frequently gets in the way. Should have bought the plain T handle set(s)!
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: Bilgemaster on April 02, 2018, 11:19:26 pm: Well, if you got 'em at a store, hold on to your receipt and just bring 'em on back within 90 days, and it's a no questions asked return.

I always seem to have a harder time sizing up allen keys than wrenches or sockets, so unless it's an unusually large or minuscule size, When I don't want to rummage around my toolbox drawer full of random keys and sets, I tend to grab for the little three buck metal folding Metric (https://www.harborfreight.com/fold-up-hex-key-set-94589.html) and SAE (https://www.harborfreight.com/fold-up-hex-key-set-94590.html) key sets I keep together. They're beefy enough to give you pretty fair purchase and leverage too. I even cannibalized one just for the two of its keys most often needed on my Norton (fuel cap mod) and Amphicar (carb's inset flame arrestor retaining screws, which constantly rattle loose) respectively. Once easily unscrewed, the set's curve-ended keys dangle nicely on a keychain...

(https://shop.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_14931.jpg)
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: mattsz on April 03, 2018, 12:11:29 pm: Quote from: Bilgemaster on April 02, 2018, 11:19:26 pm
I even cannibalized one just for the two of its keys most often needed on my... Amphicar...

Bilgemaster - I've enjoyed the breath of fresh air your funny, interesting, informative and, ahhh.... sometimes a bit, errr... epic (;))... posts have provided. But now I'm properly impressed!
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: Bilgemaster on April 03, 2018, 02:10:02 pm: Quote from: mattsz on April 03, 2018, 12:11:29 pm
Bilgemaster - I've enjoyed the breath of fresh air your funny, interesting, informative and, ahhh.... sometimes a bit, errr... epic (;))... posts have provided. But now I'm properly impressed!

Wait...Lemme get the wife. 'Cause I'm pretty sure she's convinced she hooked up with a sub-moronic dullard. As for the Amphicar (http://www.amphicar.com), I'm just glad I picked her up in the mid-'90s, before the Interwebs really took off, when they were still dirt cheap. No way the likes of me could get one now...

(http://www.amphicar.com/images/amphicar.jpg)
Global Warming, Part IV: Motoring on the New Jersey Turnpike
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: mattsz on April 11, 2018, 12:41:31 pm: Your wife doesn't get to ride shotgun?
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: Bilgemaster on April 11, 2018, 12:59:15 pm: Quote from: mattsz on April 11, 2018, 12:41:31 pm
Your wife doesn't get to ride shotgun?

Coffee's still brewing. and it's too early to riff on the immortal Henny Youngman's "That's no lady, that's my wife", but that's not my wife.
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: mattsz on April 11, 2018, 02:32:17 pm: Quote from: Bilgemaster on April 11, 2018, 12:59:15 pm
Coffee's still brewing. and it's too early to riff on the immortal Henny Youngman's "That's no lady, that's my wife", but that's not my wife.

I admit, I did have a vague suspicion that was a "stock photo"...
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: Stanley on April 19, 2018, 06:39:34 pm: I have two sets of HF hex tees and prefer the earlier color-coded ones.
Wish they still sold them! My other fave from HF is the $50 electric impact driver for removing alternator and clutch nuts and those pesky nuts at the bottoms of fork legs. Works like magic.

I recall the Amphicars in the showroom of the Hillman/Sunbeam dealer my brother wrenched at. Very eccentric and so suitable in this case...
Title: Re: T Handle Hex Keys
Post by: Kevin Mahoney on April 19, 2018, 06:49:41 pm: I also use the keys in "all in one" packaging. I can never seem to find the right T-handle when I need it. In 50 years of wrenching I have never been defeated by a stuck hex nut unless it was damaged. On the other hand a T-handle is handy when you have to reach into something that your hand won't fit.