M3 (5.5) flat spanners

[Rod AshtonParticipant @rodashton53132]

Having trouble sourcing M3 (5,5) simple flat spanners. Been on the net for some time and cannot find either single spanners or even single 3&4 mm double ended. Except in one case and they where out of stock.

Please offer me your source if you should have found one.

[Rod AshtonParticipant @rodashton53132]

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Rod,

ebay has them, just search for 5.5mm spanner.

Jim

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The Proxxon ones are quite nice, I tend to use the combination but they also do flat, Axminster sell them both. I think they may be branded Elora ones as they are so similar.

Elora also do an right angled ended one which can be useful at times

 

Edited By JasonB on 06/12/2022 07:35:56

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

I needed a spanner to do up some M2.5 nuts a few weeks ago. I have a suitable box driver but could not use it due to poor access. I cut one out of a piece of old bandsaw blade with a Dremel and stoned the outside edges for comfort. It is not pretty but it works.

Martin C

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

Posted by Rod Ashton on 06/12/2022 06:55:00:

Been on the net for some time and cannot find either single spanners or even single 3&4 mm double ended.

'Draper Elora midget double open ended spanner' are the magic words today.

https://www.drapertools.com/hand-tools/spanners/open-ended-spanners/

3mm a/f does seem a little hard to find.

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

I bought a set from Amazon, cheap but work ok, go through M2 to M5. Also have a set of nut spinners which are better for small sizes when you have good face access.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by DC31k on 06/12/2022 08:15:13:

 

3mm a/f does seem a little hard to find.

He wants 5.5mm AF to fit M3, so assume a 5.5/7 for M3/M4 is what was meant

Edited By JasonB on 06/12/2022 08:44:13

[Rod AshtonParticipant @rodashton53132]

Sorry gentlemen. Should have searched for 5.5 a/f not 3mm. My bad.

[David AmbroseParticipant @davidambrose86182]

Model Engineers Laser do various sets of small spanners.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I agree with JasonB about the right angle ended spanners being useful, I bought an unbranded set of eight, ranging from 5mm to 11mm, including a 5.5mm one, from a street trader, probably about 25 years ago and have use them many times over the years. They were quite cheap at the time, compared to similar sized normal open-ended spanners found in local hardware stores, but are of good quality and have a nice user profile which reminds me of the old Britool style.

Regards Nick.

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

Modelfixings  **LINK** list open-ended and combination spanners in these small sizes – although the 5 X 5.5 open-ended is currently out of stock. I have no connection with this company, but was about to place an order, including these little spanners, but, with the postal strike and Xmas chaos looming, will wait 'til all the hullabaloo is over…

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 06/12/2022 09:34:11

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

5BA spanners are readily available and will probably do the job at a nominal 5.58mm AF.

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

Posted by JasonB on 06/12/2022 08:42:09:

…so assume a 5.5/7 for M3/M4 is what was meant

It's an interesting problem in stock optimisation or marketing.

If you start with 19-17 (M12/M10) and go downwards, the next would be 13-10, 8-7, 5.5-??

At the low end, do you include the half mm sizes, skip them or have a special spanner that is only for half mm sizes?

Looking at:

https://www.slsbearings.com/slsbnn/spanner.html

I wonder why Draper do the 3mm A/F one at all as it looks like M1.6 is 3.2mm.

If you had 5.5-7, what would the rest of the range look like? Do you go 19-22 (for M14 that is rare) or 19-24?

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

For occasional use the laser cut BA/Metric sets from Blackgates are great value but separating them from the sprue (they are laser cut as one and look like bits of an Airfix model) can be a bit long.

At under a tenner for something rarely used can't be beaten.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You can get the 5.5 / 7 pair easy enough from makers they also do 6, 9, etc AF for those that may have a need, handy when you get say an M8 with 12 or 14AF which is quite common

[JuddyParticipant @juddy]

small spanner set on ebay: MINI SPANNER SET 3.2mm 4.0mm 5mm 5.5mm 6mm 7mm 8mm 9mm 10mm 11mm Engineer ts-05 4989833063658 | eBay

lots more on ebay spanner 5.5 for sale | eBay

[File HandleParticipant @filehandle]

Some time ago I bought a 5 / 5.5 Proxxon from a hardware store in York. Sadly they never replaced the stock and have switched to Draper, but stop at 6. My nut spinners, box of small BA, Imperial metric spanners normally get me by, but there is also a couple of tiny adjustables in there as well.
I guess those of us that use small spanners are in a small minority now as sops don't seem to stock much below 6mm. Although interestingly they do sell nuts and bolts (screws) with small heads.

[Dave SParticipant @daves59043]

Pimoroni do this nice looking set:

Engineer® Combination Spanner Set

Dave

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

I have the "Engineer super slim" spanner set posted above by Dave S. Though they are just cut from sheet steel they are surprisingly nice quality (made in Japan) and the super low profile makes them extremely useful.

[Steve NeighbourParticipant @steveneighbour43428]

Also these on eBay

Model Makers 10pc Mini Small Size Spanner Wrench Set Combination 4.0-11mm

 

Edited By Steve Neighbour on 07/12/2022 11:02:53

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