The 1/16th of raidus isn't the problem for rounding off bolts, you won't get flush on any bolt with a flange anyway and if the bolt has that shallow of a head you should be using an open end or box wrench, not a socket. The problem is loose engineering tolerances and the fact that most people buy 12pt sockets, both due to convenience of use. It's darn near impossible to round a bolt off with a 6pt socket. As for the engineering tolerances, that goes all the way back to the decision of how often they are replacing tooling in the factory and how loose of a fit their demographic demands. The cost of sockets isn't metal, its the tooling.Ed in Tampa wrote:A very good friend has a bus company and he does most of the repair work. He will not use Craftsmen. I asked why and he showed me the Craftsmen socket. He said notice how the top edge is rounded over and the actual nut engaging section is about 1/16 down into the socket. Well aparently after you round over enough bolts and nuts becasue of this you get sockets that was ground so the actual engaging part is right at the edge of the socket.
Actually I'm going to edit that and say a socket should be your last resort for breaking a bolt loose. Box end wrench is the right tool for the job. I have triple and sometimes quadruple of all my standard combo wrenches because I use them so much more often, and one set of long handle combo wrenches for breaking bolts loose on motors on the stand. To me a socket is for reassembly or taking something apart that's in good enough condition to not have stuck bolts.
