14mm spanner

[VicParticipant @vic]

I worked as a mechanic many years ago and thought I had all the spanners I would ever need. Some time ago though I found a nut or bolt that needed turning and my digital caliper told me I needed a 14mm spanner. Spanner bought and job done but I never did check what size thread it was. Looking back the most used spanners in a Ford main dealer were 10, 13, 17 and 19mm AF. Looking in my tool box though I also have a 15mm Snap-On spanner. According to a chart I looked at recently it's not a common size but I must have bought it for a reason! Anyone know what size fastener threads are used with 14mm and 15mm spanners?

I thought there was some kind of law against non standard spanners …

[VicParticipant @vic]

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

Hi Vic,

According to this table it could have been either a 9mm fastener or a Japanese 10mm…

**LINK**

Jon

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

14 is a common size used on motorcycles and often you will find the finer metric thread pitches and just to be totally mad brake bleed screws can be M7x1.

Mike

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Was it for undoing hazel nuts at Christmas?

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

+1 on motorcycles. Had to buy 14mm socket and spanner to add to my kit years ago for working on my Laverda and more recently Honda. Never thought to measure the thread size though. 8mm I would have presumed. Will check next time I'm in the shed.

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

A lot of Japanese motorbikes will have a 10mm thread that requires a 14mm spanner on the head. Fairly normal.

Nick

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

My Chinese stuff uses 14 mm spanner for M10 , Cit. 2CV uses 11mm for M7 nuts and 14 mm for M9 nuts.

[Trev67Participant @trev67]

Hi

14mm is common on a lot of jap cars, I think the thread is M10 but fine pitch, they also use 12mm heads on M8 bolts instead of 13mm. Also nowadays you get a lot of 15, 16, 18 mm heads that you never used to. Also come across 7 and 9 mm hex on bleed nipples and 9mm 12point bolts on a vw clutch. Along with all the various torx, ribe and other fixings, there's always something to spend money on!

Trevor

[Old ElanParticipant @oldelan]

Bicycle pedal spindles are generally 15mm across the flats with a 9/16" x 20 right or left thread.

My tool kit for modern vehicles and bikes comprises 8mm through to 17mm (others as well, eg 19 and 23) and they all get regular use.

I still have the Whit and AF kit of course.

Edited By Old Elan on 28/10/2016 14:14:55

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Get a Volkswagen and you will find a use for those 16 and 18 millimetre spanners, those bolts that look at first glance like torx may well be spline drive.

Mike

Edited By Michael Poole on 28/10/2016 14:23:35

[Nick HughesParticipant @nickhughes97026]

DIN Standard nuts, rather than the more usual ISO?

[HacksawParticipant @hacksaw]

Jap 12mm head 8mm thread drive me up the wall !!! The bolts you then lose, get replaced with a 13mm head and the next time you want to remove it you're hammering on the 12mm socket…

Did i just say that?

 

15mm is for certain Whitworth bolts …. and that 1 annoying spanner , not 14mm ,nor  9/16    bsf  is it ?? It only fits that particular bolt…

Edited By Hacksaw on 28/10/2016 16:07:41

[VicParticipant @vic]

I'm getting the impression this "problem" has been caused by the Japanese and the Germans then?! I thought we won the war.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

It's why every tool manufacturer sells spanners/sockets in sets. I'd never used a 15mm spanner until I bought a BMW. Before this week, the only place I'd used my 7mm socket/spanner was on Jubilee clips; it's since had a workout on Sukhoi turnbuckles.

Does it really matter if a European M8 bolt uses a 13mm spanner and a Japanese one is 14? It's the need for hex, internal hex, the same in Imperial and Whitworth, then Torx, E-Torx, Ribe etc, etc that rankles. 22 years ago I inherited some BA spanners from my Grandfather, that I've never used, but they are another standard.

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 28/10/2016 19:18:37

[Bob YouldonParticipant @bobyouldon45599]

Hi Vic,

I've got a metric adjustable!

Regards,

Bob

[Roy MParticipant @roym]

Hydraulic and pneumatic fittings use thes sizes.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by Vic on 28/10/2016 19:15:52:

I'm getting the impression this "problem" has been caused by the Japanese and the Germans then?! I thought we won the war.

That's why we use Whitworth threads.

JA

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

You will have bought the 15mm spanner for working on Ford brakes.

[VicParticipant @vic]

Posted by Chris Evans 6 on 28/10/2016 20:31:38:

You will have bought the 15mm spanner for working on Ford brakes.

Thanks for that, I was wondering!

[John Parry 4Participant @johnparry4]

Hullo all,I am surprised no one has mentioned that a 15mm is very close to a 5/8 American AF spanner. As I was a mechanic in the 1960/ s 70/ s the British industry had moved to UNF & UNC at that time. At the dealership I was at we were sub agents for Ford & Renault,so having MM spanners as well was normal. The new R8 cars arrived with a nice tool roll with 3 spanners,a plug spanner & a wooden handled screwdriver. Of course the lads soon increased their tool kit with these ! The biggest of the 3 was 14 & 17 in size, with The name Renault on one side. I still have some of these which are used occasionally. Just to mention,just for fun. Can you bend a spanner in your hands ? I can. I have some Stahwille A/F ones. Put one in a vice,push hard,it bends but of course comes back again. Now try that with a Britool or any other. Why ? A superior kind of steel I suppose.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by JA on 28/10/2016 19:46:41:

Posted by Vic on 28/10/2016 19:15:52:

I'm getting the impression this "problem" has been caused by the Japanese and the Germans then?! I thought we won the war.

That's why we use Whitworth threads.

JA

I've been employed in real (ie not model engineering) industry for over 40 years. For only one of those years did we use Whitworth, and that company went bust. If it's destined for Europe (and that does include UK) it's metric threads, if it's for USA it's probably unified.

[alan-lloydParticipant @alan-lloyd]

I worked on german envelope machines for 30 years, back in the 60s their 6mm screws had 14mm heads, then in the 70s they changed the head size to 13mm, I assume to save money etc, a 10/14 spanner was common back then but a rarity now, its 10/13 nowadays.

[An OtherParticipant @another21905]

Just had a browse around the garage, and found a chainsaw, a grass trimmer and a generator set all with 8mm threaded bolts with 14 mm heads. I have a grass tractor with a (original) mix of 6mm threads, and 10 or 11 mm heads. I have a small japanese tractor (Yanmar), and it also has 8mm bolts with 14mm heads. I also found some 10 mm bolts, some with 15mm heads and some with 17mm. I also have a Dacia Duster car, and mmost of the 8mm threaded fittings appear to have 14mm heads, so I would say – so much for standardisation. I can't say I have ever found any of this a problem – the socket and spanner sets I own all range from about 8mm to 22mm in 1mm steps, so whats the problem? (too lazy to use the correct spanner?)

The one that really annoyed me was (to the best of my recollection) when I did some work on the cylinder of (I think) a Ford Escort (more years ago than I care to remember), and I found that the cylinder head nuts used some strange internal splined drive. I had to buy a special socket for that one job, and at that time, needless to say, I had to buy it from a Ford garage at some ridiculous price. I still have it, rusty as Hell, in my toolbox – I use it as a drift  these days. As far as I am concerned, all these 'special' fasteners should be junked – it seems to be just a scam either to prevent you working on things, or to generate cash for the manufacturers. (rant over)

Edited By An Other on 29/10/2016 19:20:57

[alan-lloydParticipant @alan-lloyd]

Sorry yes 6mm is 10mm AF, but it was 11mm, and 8mm is now 13mm AF.

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