Just be aware that those flatpack furniture wrenches are made from quite soft material. If you try to use them on, say, the rear brake rotor bolts on a 2007 Triumph Rocket III, both the wrench and the bolt will be ruined, you'll have to go to the hardware store to get a proper hardened steel tool, end up having to reuse the damaged bolt anyway, damaging it more in the process, and leaving it for the next guy to figure out. The next guy is me, but I hate that guy, so it's fine.
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
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Everyone knows you can only use the wrenches on the front brake rotor bolts of a 2007 Triumph Rocket III. What an embarrassment.
I forgot about the part where you take your little bike to the hardware store and it melts the top end on the way back and you have to push it home. And also the part about how cylinders for it are unobtanium.
1985 Yamaha Riva 125 XC125N if you have any leads on top end parts. Yes, I already saw the $425 new old stock one on eBay. No the later model cylinders will not work.
I did a winter project with a friend, rebuilding an original Trident rolling basket. He had always wanted one. I have never hated any motorcycle as much as that one. We finish it, the snow melts, it runs great, sounds awesome, rides like shit, he loved it anyway. It lasted a full 11 days before it sheared a wristpin and launched a piston through the head.
Im sure that's just mechanical but it reads as something more painful and possibly deadly
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Should have bought a KTM. Every fastener has both torx and hex so you can strip each bolt twice!
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I keep them all in the hope that some day I can have someone forge a lifetime of Allen wrenches into a Damascus steel battle-axe
I feel like there should be some quotes in there. Damascus "Steel"
For a minute I thought you were throwing shade at Damascus steel but then I realized that those Allen Wrenches are probably made of aluminum.
Nah my wife loves Forged in Fire too much for me to dare criticize Damascus, its way too cold in my neck of the woods to spend a night in the dog house... And we don't have a dog house.
As long as it has a massive IKEA logo embossed (or with filigree) on there somewhere, you have my vote.
The absolute best thing any adult can do is buy a GOOD set of allen wrenches. Good hand feel and solid construction combined with MUCH longer levers and it makes building furniture/whatever a joy.
Bonus points if you also buy a set of cheap hex head blades for your ratcheting driver of choice.
These days? The ikea/whatever allen keys get tossed in the recycling bin faster than I can remember if those are actually recyclable.
I worked as a bike tech for a sporting goods store and replaced most of the store tools with my own. The ones they had were all the cheapest crap from ebay or Amazon or something. One of the wrenches snapped on the first group of bikes we built when the store opened.
A nice tool that feels good in the hand will pay for itself with the comfort it provides.
I had to threaten to sue them because when they fired a bunch of us and barred us from the store, they tried to say those tools belong to them even after sending them the receipts for everything. And informing them where the box of original tools went. And having to call someone still in the store to bring me out the most expensive tool there and they had the audacity to tell me that me taking it would make their jobs harder because there was no replacement for it and if I could just be reasonable they'll have a replacement in a month so I can come back then.
Oh a good ratcheting hex set will make you question everything you thought you knew for sure.
They’re all the same, until they’re not. Some are extra long or specialized for the item being assembled. Sometimes they come with brothers.
I don’t know where they all go, but they’re here, somewhere.
I have a drawer specifically for things that tighten or loosen fasteners.
I have one of those.
It's labeled "screw it."
I put together a chair for my mom and they included a consumer grade T-hex with a molded plastic and rubber handle. This was for a single $120 wooden chair. It's now in my toolbox next to my multi size hex key tool.
I have even more than that. We regularly replace furniture at work and I end up with so many cheap tools. Once a year I put them in a box, hang a free take one sign and place it out front. It takes a day or two but they leave. Most likely it in their glove box in the car. They are not however in my office anymore.
Put it, along with the documentation for whatever the thing is, and tape (packing tape works well) to the back of the thing. When it comes time to move or do something that requires the manual and/or tools, you have both the tools and documentation easily at hand and not lost in some junk drawer somewhere.
Every 10th one you add to the drawer you get a prize.
I did this with my new daybed: tucked/taped the instructions, key and extra screwthingies under the mattress, so if it's ever moved or sold they'll be visible as soon as you take off the mattress to start.
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I have so many high quality hex wrenches now from work. I do not want the cheap ones, but I still feel bad throwing them away.
I just have an Allen key bit set that I use with an electronic screwdriver or ratchet now. Saves a decent amount of time.
Aren't you a smartie.
It feels wrong to throw an apparently pristine tool in the trash.
Put it in the recycle bin?
I bought a set of Allen sockets years ago as well as an adapter so I can use a drill/impact with them too.
The hell with spinning that crappy little piece of metal. Right into the bin they go.
Most places will only accept metal items if they're a certain size, which most allen keys almost certainly won't meet.
For example, it looks like Seattle, (which has some of the best recycling system rates and practices in America) will only accept metal tools or scrap metal larger than 3 inches. Anything smaller than that can damage the machines they use for recycling, get diverted into the landfill stream because it can't be sorted out, and/or slow down or stop the recycling process for other materials because it needs to be filtered out before it can make its way into the machinery that can't handle small parts.
However, they do have drop-off options, which can take scrap of any size. So the choice is either throw it in the recycling bin and potentially damage or slow down the recycling machinery, or stash them away until you have enough to justify going to a drop-off.
Also get either a 90 degree attachment or a right angle drill. Good for those spots when even an impact, or even sub compact impact, drill is just too big.
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Yep.
I keep mine in the same drawer with those SIM tray ejector things 🤣
Stab yourself once while rummaging around and you never do that again. Stab yourself under the fingernail while rummaging around and you might burn a whole building down.
If you do any kind of precision work (e.g. electronics, glasses, changing the battery on a kid's toy, etc) I strongly encourage getting a proper precision driver and bit set. I like ifixit but there are knockoffs that come from literally the same factories for a lot cheaper. Those tend to come with a bit that is literally a sim ejector pin AND a box that keeps everything organized and together.
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$20 and you will never need those pieces of soft metal trash again.
Until you take out the most-common size, set it down somewhere, lose it, and have to buy another set, at which point you find the lost one.
Oh heavens! Can relate!
Or buy Bondhus and never need another set. Seriously.
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if they could all be the same size as i need for my fruit boots (4mm i think) that would be perfect.
constantly losing those bastards.
I've got several of those little bastards. I feel the same way.
Made we collect them and melt them down to make a super tool. Because I have ton of these things.
bro, they should be sending me metric drill bits instead. Those fucking drywall anchors they send are always in metric and I can never find my metric drill set.
Were we supposed to give it back?
Just purged about ten of these a couple of weeks ago.
That's when you'll discover you need them.
After I started a 3d printing hobby all the hexes have been put to good use
£10 says you have a set of flush cutters with blue rubberised handles.
Mine broke, but.. guilty lol
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Excellent use of Bilbo 😂
They've been handy as levers for all kinds of stuff. They often won't resist being used as that, but well, the other option is throwing them out and bending something else.
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