Maintenance is an important part of caring for your tools and components, ensuring that items are not damaged or lost and allowing you to continue delivering a high standard of professional work.
Fortunately, socket set maintenance doesn’t have to be a challenge. In just a few simple steps, you can effectively check and maintain your sockets so that they’ll keep working well for years to come. This can save you the money you’d otherwise spend on replacing damaged sockets!
Are you unsure of where to begin with socket set maintenance? This is a quick and easy guide to everything you need to know.
Cleaning sockets
Cleaning your socket set is essential if you want your sockets to stand the test of time. Every time you use your sockets, it’s important to clean them thoroughly before putting them away. This can help to prevent damage.
After using your sockets, carefully remove any traces of muck or dirt, using an old toothbrush for large sockets and a dental flossing brush for small sockets. Remember to brush all parts of the socket, cleaning both interior and exterior components.
Once you’ve removed dirt that could scratch protective coating on your sockets, you’ll need to dry sockets well to reduce the risk of rusting. Using a dry cloth, wipe water away. Then spray sockets with a water-displacing oil solution.
Storing sockets
When your socket set in clean, you’ll need to store sockets safely so that you can find them easily next time you need to use them. An effective storage system can improve your workflow and prevent damage to sockets.
The best way to store sockets is using a socket case, socket rails, or foam inserts in a toolbox or tool bag. Make sure that you know where all of your sockets belong so that you can easily identify missing or damaged parts.
Ideally, it’s a good idea to organise your socket set based on size. By sorting sockets in order of their size, you can make it easy to find sockets on the job, reducing the time you might otherwise waste searching for loose or difficult-to-locate parts.
Replacing sockets
While there are many things you can do to prevent damage to your socket set, sockets do sometimes need to be replaced. If your sockets are cracked, damaged, or broken, it’s important to purchase a suitable replacement.
Replacing sockets is preferable to repairing them, as repairs may weaken a previously damaged socket and increase the likelihood of additional breaks. Repairing sockets may also affect dimensional accuracy, making you more likely to round or damage fasteners.
When your sockets do break, use your organisational system to identify which sockets need to be replaced with new ones. Ensure that the replacement sockets you purchase match your socket set correctly and are the right size to replace the damaged socket you’re discarding.
Do you need high-quality sockets to add to your tool box? RS Online can help! Visit the online store today, and start shopping the range.
