Allen key who invented

Rolland Pilgermann Professional. What is an allen key used for? A hex key , Allen wrench or Allen key , is a simple tool used to drive bolts and screws with hexagonal sockets in their heads. Carina Raissouni Explainer. How many sides does an allen key have? Dmitriy Cabello Explainer. What are the sizes of Allen wrenches? Allen wrenches are made in fractional inch and metric sizes.

Tracey Guria Explainer. Do you capitalize Allen wrench? I 've always capitalized it. It's the name of William G. Allen , who founded the Allen Manufacturing Company in Connecticut about a century ago to make them.

If you don't want to use a person's name for these, you can use the generic name hex wrench. Marli Pedrouso Pundit. How it's made Allen key? Allen wrenches , also called "hex keys ," start as large pieces of steel alloy known as billet.

These to lb. Natashia Kirmani Pundit. How does a ratchet wrench work? A ratchet incorporates a reversible ratcheting mechanism which allows the user to pivot the tool back and forth to turn its socket instead of removing and repositioning a wrench to do so. Tsira Mazquiaran Pundit. How many types of Allen keys are there? Faly Estallo Pundit. Are Torx and Allen keys the same? Allen keys , also called hex keys , feature a hexagonal cross section, while Torx keys feature a star- or asterisk-shaped cross section.

Ruggero Baitchikov Pundit. What can I use instead of an Allen key? Sometimes you can use small types of flat headed screwdrivers as an allen wrench by putting the end in the socket so that the 2 edges of the screwdriver work as leverage in the hole to turn it.

Before that, the driving end of screws tended to protrude from machinery and create a safety hazard. In , William G. Allen patented a method of cold-forming screw heads around a hexagonal die U. Patent A. Although it is unlikely that Allen was the first person to think up a hex socket drive, his patent for a manufacturing method and its product appears to be a first. In his Application for a Patent filed on 7 June , Allen wrote:.

ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Manufacture of Screws, of which the following is a specification: This invention relates more particularly to the manufacture of flush head set screws, that is, set screws so shaped and threaded that when put to use their heads are sunk even with the outer surfaces of the parts into which they are driven, although the invention is applicable to the manufacture of machine screws and set screws having projecting or fillister heads.

Pursuing a commission by The New York Times Magazine , Rybczynski discovered that the screwdriver is a relatively new addition to the toolbox, an invention of the Late Middle Ages in Europe and the only major mechanical device not independently invented by the Chinese. Then there are those inventions that appear seemingly out of the blue. Unsurprisingly, that master of invention Leonardo da Vinci was there at the start, designing a number of screw-cutting machines with interchangeable gears.

But it took generations for the screw and with it the screwdriver to come into general use, and it was not until that a quantum leap in manufacturing screws took place.

That is, until someone put a hex on them! Writer and musician who tries to join up the dots. View all posts by Philip Lee. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. A Closer Look At The…. Share on Facebook. Marc Zorn. Who Invented Ranch Dressing. When Was Gorilla Glass Invented.

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