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For socket wrenches to fit metric bolts, go here
The tables below show the commonly-available sizes of socket wrench and the fasteners they fit. The 8-pt sockets fit only square heads. A 12-pt socket fits hexagonal and some square heads. Twelve-point sockets also fit 12-pt heads (which are mainly found in aerospace bolts, and some Japanese automobile engines).
One end of a socket has a square recess which fits the socket wrench. In consumer wrenches, the square drives are ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, and ¾″. In the 1940's, Snap-On made sockets with a 5/16″ drive. One-eighth-inch drive is rare, but in some use for small machine screws. Sockets are made that are deeper than the normal socket, so that they will fit over bolts that protrude so far that the normal socket will not come down far enough to engage the nut. Some firms also make an intermediate, semi-deep socket.
The size of a socket is the width-across-flats dimension. It is marked on the socket. Usually the socket is marked in a way that indicates whether it is inch or metric (metric usually has bands of a sort of knurling). Of course, any size that is a fraction is an inch size; fractions are not allowed in metric sizing.
Most of the sockets sold are for use with hand tools. They are not suitable for use with power drivers, but the sizing of impact sockets made for power drivers is the same.
| Size, inches |
Drive size | Fits head or nut of bolt with this diameter | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¼″ | ⅜″ | ½″ | ¾″ | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 pt | 12 pt | 6 pt d | 12 pt d | 6 pt | 8 pt | 12 pt | 6 pt d | 12 pt d | 6 pt | 8 pt | 12 pt | 6 pt d | 12 pt d | 12 pt | 6 pt d | 12 pt d | current fasteners | obsolete | |
| 1/8 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5/32 | ✓ | #0, #1 nuts | |||||||||||||||||
| 3/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | #2, #3 nuts | ||||||||||||||
| 7/32 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||||||
| 1/4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | #4 nuts | |||||||||||||
| 9/32 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||||||
| 5/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | #5, #6 nuts | |||||||||||||
| 11/32 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | #8 nuts | ||||||||||||||
| ⅜″ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ¼″ square, #10 nut | |||||
| 7/16″ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | #12 nut, ¼″ except sq. | ||||
| ½ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 5/16″ | ||
| 9/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 3/8″ | 5/16 hex nut pre-1950s |
||
| 19/32 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5/8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 7/16″ bolts, sq. nuts | 3/8″ hex nut pre-1950s |
|||||
| 21/32 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 7/16″ hex nut | |||||||
| 3/4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ½″ | 7/16″ hex nut pre-1950s |
||||||
| 25/32 | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||||||||||
| 13/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 9/16″ hex bolts | ½″ hex nut pre-1950s |
|||||||
| 7/8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 9/16″ hex nuts | |||||||||
| 15/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 5/8″ | |||||||||||
| 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 5/8″ hex nut pre-1950s |
|||||||||||
| 1 1/16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||||
| 1 1/8 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||||
| 1 3/16 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 1/4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 5/16 | ✓ | 5/8″ | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 3/8 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 7/16 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1½ | ✓ | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 5/8 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 11/16 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1¾ | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 13/16 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 7/8 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 1/8 | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2¼ | ✓ | ||||||||||||||||||
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Last revised: 5 March 2016.