The Home Machinist!

What is the difference between Hex socket wrenches designed for Impact Drive (the black ones) versus the regular shiny one?

Impact sockets are made of more malleable steel, and have a thicker wall than regular sockets. Regular sockets can and do shatter when used on impact wrenches. The impact sockets are designed to handle the torque.

Biggest dis advantage if impacts, is because of their increased diameter, there are places they won't fit.....like on the lugs of pickup mag wheels.

Bill

Impact sockets are built thicker & heavier to withstand the strain. They're not chromed because it would just flake off. Regular sockets can be used on an impact wrench, but they won't last long. And even Snap-on will not warranty a regular socket if it has obviously been used on an impact...
I have a set of Snap-on 1/2" impacts that are over 30 years old, & still as good as ever, other than appearance...
If you're talking about specific hardness or metallurgy, I dunno...Google would probably be your friend on that.

Standard sockets are chrome vanadium.
Impacts are chrome moly.

Bill

Snap-on sockets are thin wall, great for cars, not so good on machinery. A rep from a tool company, Gray, said their impacts and regular sockets were the same just different finish. I use their brand of sockets, the impacts are all shiny from use. Over the years, I've broken number of Proto 3/4" to 1/2" impact adapters, but never a impact socket, using a 1" impact.

Williams and IR Proto were considered millwright tools, Snap-on for car mechanics.

I was takin' pictures this morning, so I shot this: Both 13/16", 1/2" drive.
Armstrong on the left, 1.250" OD.
Proto on the right, 1.112" OD.

I've worn out more impact sockets than I've broken, but mostly 3/8" and 1/2" drive, and a few 3/4" drive. Some broke, because they were worn out. Generally....they are softer than standard sockets.
And adapters.... I've twisted off an unknown quantity of those, both impact and regular, and of many brands.

Bill

Downwindtracker2 wrote: Snap-on for car mechanics.

By whom? I've used them on farm & heavy equipment for 40 years, never broken one...ever...
Now an S-K socket? I have a scar on the bridge of my nose...

Evidently impact sockets are 6 point only.

Mr Ron wrote:Evidently impact sockets are 6 point only.

That is incorrect,

Back in the day, I worked on the east and west engine lines at AMC.,
and all of our production line sockets, extensions, and universals, etc.,
from (Snap-On) and (Mac) were Black Hardened Impact Sockets in
six point and twelve point. More expensive but they would out last
the standard sockets many times over.

We were the slowest U.S. Auto Manufacturer in the industry.
As an example of the production abuse they received,
they were used on three eight hour shifts, five days a
week. Our normal production build line speed equated
to one completed car every 71 hundredths of a minute.

Standard socket sets wouldn't hold up.

Ken.

Once explained to me as the crow syndrome - crows prefer shiny objects over dark ones and people do to. So, industrial sockets are black finished, not chrome plated - makes them less likely to wander off!

Regular sockets flex too much and absorb much of the shock you are trying to use.

I had a 27mm nut to remove once. Spent a few hours with wrenches and regular socket on impact. Went and bought the impact socket and it came right off.

SteveR

If you have the opportunity to see the latest professional impact sockets (e.g. Matco or Snap-On), you would see that they are not much bigger than chrome sockets. At my local community college automotive department, it is recommended to students that they get the impact sockets. If they really need a thinner wall socket down the road they can get the chrome one. Sometimes you really need a thin socket, but most of the time the (modern) impacts will work.