My air hammer turned on me last Tuesday and I changed my mind about using cheap sockets

I was wrestling a seized bolt on a 2003 F-150 in Des Moines and my harbor freight deep socket just shattered. The chunk hit my safety glasses and I stood there for a minute thinking about how I saved 10 bucks but almost lost an eye. Got home that night and ordered a set of Sunex impact sockets after reading a thread on here. Has anyone else had a cheap socket explode on them or am I just unlucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_roberts8d ago

Read a thread where a guy lost two fingers to a cheap socket on a transit van.

hannah_west398d ago

Elliot that thread was about a guy on a snap-on gun using a regular chrome socket that split lengthwise, not a cheap impact socket shattering. Different situation. Chrome sockets are the real danger on air tools because they're hard and brittle, they crack and send sharp shards everywhere. Impact sockets are softer and usually just split or deform before they blow up completely. But yeah, the cheap impact ones from Harbor Freight can still let go if they have a casting flaw. That's a big part of why Sunex is worth it, they're made right and tested. You made the right call on that upgrade.

rileyprice8d ago

...not to sidetrack too bad but that reminds me of a buddy of mine back in Wichita who had a similar thing happen with a no-name socket from a flea market. He was breaking loose a rusty control arm bolt on a Chevy Silverado and the socket just went poof. Piece of it hit his cheek and left a bruise for a week. He went out and bought a whole set of Gearwrench impact sockets after that. Now whenever I see those cheapo sets at the checkout I just think about that bruise and walk right past.