A Minimalist Way to Identify SAE Sockets

[rgsparber]

I will only know if this idea has merit after I've lived with it for a while. Such is the lot of those trying stuff out.

If you are interested, please, click here.


Your comments are welcome. All of us are smarter than any one of us.


Thanks,

Rick

[mklotz]

Yikes, curse the inferial convolution ! I'm comfortable with fractions and mental arithmetic but that's beyond my comfort threshold. Good luck and I hope it works for you.

If it doesn't, buy one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/Olsa-Tools-Ma...%2C206&sr=8-26

BTW: Proofread the first sentence in your pdf; I think your "make" should be "mark".

What about marking each socket with the number of 32nds with the following coding.

green dot = 10
red dot = 5
white dot = 1

Only two sockets would have five dots...

1/8 = wwww
5/32 = r
3/16 = rw
7/32 = rww
1/4 = rwww
9/32 = rwwww
5/16 = g
11/32 = gw
3/8 = gww
7/16 = gwwww
1/2 = grw
9/16 = grwww
5/8 = gg

Introducing a dot color for '2' would reduce the dot/socket count but might be too confusing.

[rgsparber]

Yikes, curse the inferial convolution ! I'm comfortable with fractions and mental arithmetic but that's beyond my comfort threshold. Good luck and I hope it works for you.

If it doesn't, buy one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/Olsa-Tools-Ma...%2C206&sr=8-26

BTW: Proofread the first sentence in your pdf; I think your "make" should be "mark".

What about marking each socket with the number of 32nds with the following coding.

green dot = 10
red dot = 5
white dot = 1

Only two sockets would have five dots...

1/8 = wwww
5/32 = r
3/16 = rw
7/32 = rww
1/4 = rwww
9/32 = rwwww
5/16 = g
11/32 = gw
3/8 = gww
7/16 = gwwww
1/2 = grw
9/16 = grwww
5/8 = gg

Introducing a dot color for '2' would reduce the dot/socket count but might be too confusing.

Marv,

Thanks for catching the typo. It is fixed now.

I find your approach interesting. It does a great job of illustrating how individualist these schemes are. I bet there are plenty of readers that hate both of these schemes equally ;-))

Rick

[mklotz]

Marv,

Thanks for catching the typo. It is fixed now.

I find your approach interesting. It does a great job of illustrating how individualist these schemes are. I bet there are plenty of readers that hate both of these schemes equally ;-))

I enjoy exercises like this as a means of advertising just how complicated the inferial nomenclature is compared to the intelligent system employed in metric.

Before someone jumps on me here...

Nomenclature systems are NOT part of a measurement system. The inferial measurement system could have rational nomenclatures if they had given it some thought. Rather, they chose to pull stuff out of ***** **** the air and we end up with a mix of letters, meaningless numbers, and rational fractions. I marvel that music wire is not labeled by the frequency it emits when plucked. Bible chapter:verse numbers represent another missed opportunity for maximizing information-free naming.

[mklotz]

Now that you're armed with a larger selection of color paint pens, the scheme below, a takeoff inspired by the resistor color code, would allow you to label with only two colors per collet. Painting half the rim of the collet with a given color would mean it would take a long time to wear the paint until it needed retouching. With the fractions identified by metallic colors, the direction to "read" the colors would be obvious.

Note that I didn't bother to define a color for 1/4 or 1/2, rather representing them as 2/8 and 4/8.

u = 0 (unpainted)
br = 1 (brown)
r = 2 (red)
o = 3 (orange)
y = 4 (yellow)
gr = 5 (green)
bl = 6 (blue)
v = 7 (violet)
gy = 8 (gray)
w =9 (white)

go = 1/8 (gold)
si = 1/16 (silver)
co = 1/32 (copper)

1/8 = br/go
5/32 = gr/co
3/16 = o/si
7/32 = v/co
1/4 = r/go (2/8)
9/32 = w/co
5/16 = gr/si
11/32 = br-br/co (two brown stripes in place of solid brown)
3/8 = o/go
7/16 = v/si
1/2 = y/go (4/8)
9/16 = gy/si
5/8 = gr/go

There are probably lots of other ways to approach the problem. Roman numerals and Braille patterns (in paint, not tactile dots) offer some interesting possibilities.

On a related note...

I have the Huot drill index with the numbered drills in a long strip. I put a white dot at every multiple of five and overpainted with red at the multiples of ten. Now I can scan quickly to within five of the desired number and pick what I need without additional wear to my bifocals. The fractional drills have similar marks at every multiple of one eighth, IMS.

Although I've yet to do it, the resistor color code could be used to identify the ends of round stock with a 3 digit number. Coupled with a placard relating the numbers to metal type, that would allow a thousand types to be catalogued - far more than the average home shop will ever have.

[rgsparber]

Now that you're armed with a larger selection of color paint pens, the scheme below, a takeoff inspired by the resistor color code, would allow you to label with only two colors per collet. Painting half the rim of the collet with a given color would mean it would take a long time to wear the paint until it needed retouching. With the fractions identified by metallic colors, the direction to "read" the colors would be obvious.

Note that I didn't bother to define a color for 1/4 or 1/2, rather representing them as 2/8 and 4/8.

u = 0 (unpainted)
br = 1 (brown)
r = 2 (red)
o = 3 (orange)
y = 4 (yellow)
gr = 5 (green)
bl = 6 (blue)
v = 7 (violet)
gy = 8 (gray)
w =9 (white)

go = 1/8 (gold)
si = 1/16 (silver)
co = 1/32 (copper)

1/8 = br/go
5/32 = gr/co
3/16 = o/si
7/32 = v/co
1/4 = r/go (2/8)
9/32 = w/co
5/16 = gr/si
11/32 = br-br/co (two brown stripes in place of solid brown)
3/8 = o/go
7/16 = v/si
1/2 = y/go (4/8)
9/16 = gy/si
5/8 = gr/go

There are probably lots of other ways to approach the problem. Roman numerals and Braille patterns (in paint, not tactile dots) offer some interesting possibilities.

On a related note...

I have the Huot drill index with the numbered drills in a long strip. I put a white dot at every multiple of five and overpainted with red at the multiples of ten. Now I can scan quickly to within five of the desired number and pick what I need without additional wear to my bifocals. The fractional drills have similar marks at every multiple of one eighth, IMS.

Although I've yet to do it, the resistor color code could be used to identify the ends of round stock with a 3 digit number. Coupled with a placard relating the numbers to metal type, that would allow a thousand types to be catalogued - far more than the average home shop will ever have.

Marv,

You have again far exceeded my expectations :-)) I have tried to summarize your suggestions in the article.

Thanks!

Rick

[DIYer]

Thanks rgsparber! We've added your SAE Socket Identifying Method to our Storage and Organization category,
as well as to your builder page: rgsparber's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

SAE Socket Identifying Method by rgsparber

tags: socket