Making miniature nut drivers

[mklotz]

In the days before I treated myself to a nice set of Wiha nut drivers, I needed a slim profile nut driver for mounting some thread lock 2-56 nuts on a model engine. There was no clearance to use a wrench and the thread lock feature meant more than average torque was required to seat them; a nut driver was the only practical solution.

I happened to have some stainless shoulder bolts that took a 1/8" AF Allen wrench and the 2-56 nuts were also 1/8" AF. I threaded a stainless rod handle to match the 10-32 thread on the shoulder bolt and Loctited the bolt into the handle. Then the bolt head was turned down to a profile that would allow the nut driver to work in the available access area.

This photo shows the shoulder bolt on the left and the nut driver business end on the right. Front center is a 2-56 bolt with one of the nuts.

Here's another photo showing a side view of the components.

Of course, forging your own hex holes can be done but reworking a SHCS or similar is generally a lot easier for the novice machinist.

[Frank S]

Thanks Marv, the use of the socket head of a bolt is a great idea. Just turn the head down to the desired outside diameter then screw a handle on the bolt

[Gramps43]

That's very cool, never occurred to me to use allen bolt heads as wrenches.

[DIYer]

Thanks mklotz! We've added your Miniature Nut Driver to our Fastening category,
as well as to your builder page: mklotz's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Miniature Nut Driver by mklotz

tags: nut driver

[Jonny]

In the days before I treated myself to a nice set of Wiha nut drivers, I needed a slim profile nut driver for mounting some thread lock 2-56 nuts on a model engine. There was no clearance to use a wrench and the thread lock feature meant more than average torque was required to seat them; a nut driver was the only practical solution.

I happened to have some stainless shoulder bolts that took a 1/8" AF Allen wrench and the 2-56 nuts were also 1/8" AF. I threaded a stainless rod handle to match the 10-32 thread on the shoulder bolt and Loctited the bolt into the handle. Then the bolt head was turned down to a profile that would allow the nut driver to work in the available access area.

This photo shows the shoulder bolt on the left and the nut driver business end on the right. Front center is a 2-56 bolt with one of the nuts.

Here's another photo showing a side view of the components.

Of course, forging your own hex holes can be done but reworking a SHCS or similar is generally a lot easier for the novice machinist.

That is a very logical idea. probably too simple when you'r under pressure. Often the best ideas are so simple they get overlooked.

[lavern s]

Thanks for the post. I have used this in the past myself.
LaVern

[Toolmaker51]

That is a very logical idea. probably too simple when you're under pressure. Often the best ideas are so simple they get overlooked.

I've singled out that quote, not who wrote it, because we all suffer that on occasion. And far too often the simplest ideas have been capitalized on, we run out and buy them without a second thought...
Really, it's more rewarding to solve and create then let some one else get the credit. Expand capabilities. Save resources for what you cannot do, or aren't ready for.

[Jon]

Congratulations mklotz - your Miniature Nut Driver is the Homemade Tool of the Week!

Clever use of a bolt, and this one certainly also wins the "Why Didn't I Think of That?" award. This is often a rhetorical question, but it's also a perfectly legitimate real question - why didn't I think of that?

This is related to a cognitive bias called Hindsight bias. More specifically, a clever idea that seems obvious after the fact is called an Egg of Columbus. This concept takes its name from a most likely apocryphal story involving Christopher Columbus. As the tale goes, Columbus was told that his discovery of the Americas was actually an easy task. In response, Columbus then challenged his critics to make an egg stand on its tip. When they failed, Columbus tapped the egg on the table, breaking and flattening one end of its shell so that it indeed stood upright. Nikola Tesla famously demonstrated his own "Egg of Columbus" device in 1893, with a copper egg in a rotating magnetic field.

The Egg of Columbus tale is nicely depicted in this 1752 engraving by William Hogarth.



Some nice entries this week: a Tailstock Pressure Pad by olderdan, a Wood Lathe Live Center by Tuomas, a Four Dollar Slapper by yhprum, an Angle Grinder Wall Rack by Frank S, a Tractor Step by vaughn45, and a Retractable Guide Mount by carrdo.

mklotz - we've added your tool entry to our All Homemade Tool of the Week winners post. And, you'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and gift card choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

This is your 11th Homemade Tool of the Week win. Here are all of your winning homemade tools:

Bore Measurement Gauge by mklotz

tags: gauge, dial indicator, measurement

Miniature Indexing Faceplate by mklotz

tags: indexing unit, collet

Pocket Tools by mklotz

tags: magnet, measurement

Bench Block Clamping Setup by mklotz

tags: clamp, V-block

Model Cement Mixer by mklotz

tags: mixer, cement

Sphere Drilling Jig by mklotz

tags: jig, drilling

Countersink Gage by mklotz

tags: measurement

Bench Motor by mklotz

tags: chuck, motor

Lathe Height Gauge by mklotz

tags: lathe, height gauge

Sensitive Drilling Platform by mklotz

tags: drilling

Miniature Nut Driver by mklotz

tags: nut driver

[mklotz]

Many thanks. I feel a tad guilty but console myself with the fact that ideas are as important to tool making as the actual construction is.

Columbus didn't need to break the egg. All he needed to do was hard boil it and then spin it. Even if started with the principal axis horizontal, the egg will soon stand up with its axis vertical. In fact, this is the non-destructive way to differentiate raw from boiled eggs.

[Ralphxyz]

Thanks for the idea, I would need to drill the bolt so I could tighten nuts not just bolts.

Ralph