How To Use A Universal Joint Socket

In the course of nearly every DIY boat project, Dave mutters one of ii things. Sometimes both:

Ten pounds of "stuff" in a five pound bag

They must take installed this and built the balance of the boat around it

Basically, information technology means that there is absolutely no room to get to a nut or commodities that he needs to. No room to swing a regular wrench; no way for a regular socket to reach.

And and so his special tool comes out: the Universal Joint Socket Adapter. With it, he can reach just about any nut or hex head commodities he needs to and apply the leverage necessary to break it free.

Mechanics probably already know well-nigh this 1, simply if you've never seen or used one, here's how to do information technology (every bit Dave notes, you'll most always use information technology with a socket extender in order to achieve the bolt or nut, so that's how he's demonstrating it).

The four pieces (you can become universals for i/4", 3/8" and i/ii" bulldoze sockets – the set Dave recommends beneath has all three):

How can you reach that one nut or hex bolt that's just out of reach? Learn how to use a univeral joint socket adapter and socket extender to reach just about anything.

The socket extender goes on the socket handle – skilful ones take what are called "detent" balls and notches so they don't come apart while you're using them. Basically these are like a tiny little jump-loaded ball and matching indentation for information technology to fit into. You tin can come across the detent ball on the rachet handle virtually Dave's index finger (this is what y'all're retracting when you lot press that push under his pollex to get the socket off the handle).

How can you reach that one nut or hex bolt that's just out of reach? Learn how to use a univeral joint socket adapter and socket extender to reach just about anything.

And so the universal adapter:

How can you reach that one nut or hex bolt that's just out of reach? Learn how to use a univeral joint socket adapter and socket extender to reach just about anything.

And finally the socket:

How can you reach that one nut or hex bolt that's just out of reach? Learn how to use a univeral joint socket adapter and socket extender to reach just about anything.

NOTE: The Universal gives you up to about a 45 degree angle.

Vary the length of the extender to achieve what you need – and you can use another extender after the universal, too. Dave has never found a nut or bolt that he couldn't somehow achieve.

His choices, bachelor from Amazon:

Tekton 3-Piece Universal Articulation Gear up
Tekton Extension Confined (three bars per size bulldoze)

These are fabricated of chrome vanadium steel. A few people have asked well-nigh the advisability of having stainless tools on the gunkhole due to concerns with rust. Stainless would be nice but frankly are price prohibitive for most of usa.

A wipe downwards with an oily rag does a good job of protecting almost tools. Of form, annihilation that goes in the water (intentional or not) gets rinsed with fresh h2o, stale and sprayed with WD-forty to remove all traces of moisture in the piddling nooks and crannies.

How can you reach that one nut or hex bolt that's just out of reach? With a universal joint socket adapter, of course!

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It'due south Gratuitous — go it here.