Eric I had the same question. I'm going to chalk it up to 2 related things: 1)10mm is super common, and 2)because it's so common the 10mm is always in use and therefore more likely to become lost than sizes just sitting in the tool box.
Yep. The joke (I'd say "meme", but that term wasn't in usage at this point) used to be about always losing the 1/2" socket...back when cars were still using imperial sizes. It just happened to be the most common size used. (And fortunately, we could always substitute a 13mm when the 1/2" went missing - they're incredibly close in size.) :-D
I would also add that on most of the cars I've worked on the 10's hold the covers to the parts I need to actually replace. So if you aren't as organized, you use the 10, pull the socket off set it on a something like a strut tower. Use the sockets you need to replace parts. While you are trying to get to the parts to replace you knock the socket out of it's resting place.
Bingo. Seems like most of the plastic covers that protect the actual component you need to get to are 10mm. My guess is once you get the covers off you put the 10mm socket on top if the engine somewhere and it ends up falling into some crevice of the engine. Finding the 10mm will probably solve 90% of automotive rattling complaints out there
I once lost two 10mm sockets on one wiper motor replacement job, and had to drive that car in the rain back to the used tool shop to pick up another (couple) 10mm sockets to finish. Thanks for the video, ETCG1!
Your doing a damn good job finding an 11mm. I had one on my drive shaft. Had to go digging in my dad's old tool pile for one because no one near me fucking had one.
My garage sits at the bottom of a steep incline. One day wirking inside of a Ford ranger in neutral with emergency brake on. Bumped brake and it rolled into garage and hit my work table. No real damage. But 10mm socket went missing. 2 months later truck is in garage for inspection. Mechanic finds socket embedded in grill.
I am a weekend warrior when it comes to cars, but I work on large production printers for a living and I carry 4 different lengths and 6 point and 12 point. And yes!! they roll around and sometimes never to be seen again.
Kohler engines, Kawasaki engines, Kubota tractors, older Wal-Mart bikes. Everything Joe Smith works on has 10mm. 8mm and 13 or half inch are popular too.
I'm from Brazil and we use metric system, 10 mm socket is like you said ; easy to loose and very popular, so we have often problems whit that. Congrats for your channel and videos.
Put one 10mm socket in the clothes dryer with a pair of matching socks. Run for 30mins. Open the dryer. Enjoy your new pair of 10mm sockets and one mismatched sock. Your'e welcome!
Hey Eric.. in all this time I've been subscribed to you and watch your shows... for once I can actually say that IT LEGITIMATELY IS my Birthday, and thank you and thanks for the cake buddy! Keep on rocking
I'm a former vehicle mechanic here in the UK and it was the case with mine back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when I used to work in garages that my 10mm sockets would go walkabout along with the 10mm spanners. Due to a back injury even though I rarely work on cars nowadays the only spanner missing in my tool box is....a 10mm. I had three of them, one of them being a 10mm/11m combi and even that's gone.
You nailed the reason why it's the one lost the most, it's one of the more common sizes. As to why you don't lose them, well, you're a bit OCD with your tools and their organization. Not everyone is like that, especially not most at home DIYers.
I have only found back probably 2 10mm sockets in my life.. i work mostly alone. And its the most bought tool in our house. Ever since.. i always clean up and i really dont kno..
When you get a new set of sockets, immediately throw away the 10mm. You loose it after two days anyway, keeps the heat down when you need it but can't find that darn thing. 🤣🤣🤣
Hey Eric, yes it apparently is a thing...I saw something amusing somewhere once that made me chuckle....It was one of those red boxes with 'In Emergency Break Glass'...inside was a 1/4" drive 10mm socket...lol Personally I've never lost one, but I've been close. Here's a tip that works for me....always keep your sockets on socket rails, and return all sockets to their correct homes when you finish a job.....easy to see if one is missing, and gives you the opportunity to chase up anything 'missing' or dropped into the abyss, before you forget where you used it last....hopefully that saves it from the 'gone forever' gremlins🤔..lol👍🇦🇺
Lmao! When I saw the title I had to watch to see if it was what I thought. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one always dealing with the elusive 10 mm socket!
I overheard 5/16, ⅜, and 7/16 at the last tool convention. Tired of being on the bench, overlooked and overshadowed. they couldn't change the hardware world, so now they keep hiding the 10mm.
When I was a kid, it was always the 1/2" (7/16" probably coming in second place) that went missing, that being the most common size on the cars I was tinkering with. But at least I could always substitute a 13mm and get the job done. :-D
Good question. I don't know. I use metric sockets 90% of the time on my cars. 10% sae I 0wn 5 vehicles and they're all Asian. Toyota, honda, subaru, and lexus. Most common sizes I use are 10,12,14,17 and 19.your videos are greatly appreciated in these times stay safe
Hey ETCG 10mm is maybe the most used fastener in the auto industry now. But yeah got em in my small box, shop boxes, junk yard tools, for when pick n pull has a teg or an ef hatch! Now for why I'm chiming in, if your boxed in can't get out and about, set up the camera and start replacing those parts on the itr! Man that's a nice car. And a GSR! You must be living right my brother!
IIRC 7/16 was the SAE long lost brother of the 10mm. I like the idea of a strip of 10mm in various configurations. I lost one when the retaining ball on an extension failed, it dropped into the hollow of a Nissan PU with a V6. I replaced both extension and socket.
I think it's a combination of the 2 as a mechanic we both keep our tools clean and where they belong. When I wrenched for a living (I'm a carpenter now) I was able without looking pull open my socket drawer and pull out exactly what I needed. But I know a lot of people who just throw their sockets into a tool box and can never find a 10mm socket
Almost every import car repair starts with using a 10mm to remove a cover or panel of some sort. Then the 10 gets set aside for a 12 or 14 and subsequently rolls around or is forgotten that it’s sitting on the radiator shroud. Take a test drive before buttoning everything up and there goes the 10.
Two weeks ago I dropped a tray of 1/4 inch drive sockets. I found all but 1 and guess what size it was. Yep the ole 10 mm. Yesterday I found the sneaky bastard under the ledge of the wall on my carport. 3 feet away from where my tool tray fell.
Look up the video "10mm struggle!" It depicts the madness perfectly. If I am EVER looking for a socket or a wrench, it is a 10mm. I also think it matters more when you are not the only one in a shop. On my last project, replacing headlight assembly on a 1996 Saturn, I only needed one socket.... guess which one it was? Yup. I had 3 available to me (because I just recently re-organized my tools) and I had them connected to 3 different variations of extensions and swivel/u-joint sockets to help me get into tight spots.
I've lost one socket in my first 40 years, a 10mm. That was when I mostly used SAE sockets, but that one day I dropped the 10mm and it disappeared somewhere between me and the ground. I think I heard it fall out a few days later when I went around a corner. In the past 10 years, just a few days ago, I lost another socket, also a 10mm. That one was probably because of the "most common" aspect. Good thing my nearby home depot has a good selection.
I would say it’s common among those of us who are less organized. I’m a bit disorganized and a hobbyist wrencher. When I misplace a socket, generally there is an sae replacement that will work. If I lose a 13, a 1/2” will work, a 14 can usually supplant a 9/16” etc. But not the 10 mil. So it’s those of us who are disorganized and always losing sockets that are complaining. That same can be said of the 12 mm, the 7/16, and the 3/8. But since the 10 mil is so very commonly used, it’s the one that stands out.
Been working on Jap stuff since 69 Eric and you know it's like you said a hell of a lot of fasteners are 10 MM and you drop em and kick em. We used to leave them on our motorcycles after working on them and take em for a test ride and my Dad would Go for a walk with Mom and find them down the block sometimes. We were always replacing 8MM 10MM and 12 MM.
There's just something about the 10mm that makes it disappear. It's probably a bit that it's used a lot, and it's small. I mean, increased frequency of use means the quantity (if not the percentage) of 10mm's lost is pretty high, but they're also, as an object, just not very big. A fact that also makes them easier to lose. The 9/16th is a close second though, and I think that again comes down to the general size and frequency of use. They also fit easily in a pocket and I used to be pretty bad about throwing wrenches in my coverall pockets when I had to stop working on one thing and go take a look another when I was doing ranch work or Army work. I know in jobs where I was frequently moving from one thing to another, having a couple common tools in my pocket just saved time, but it also meant they had more opportunities to get lost.
It's probably the most common size used on cars since the mid 80s it also nearly perfectly fits 3/8 bolts and nuts so that almost doubles it's usage. With that it is the socket that is most likely not to get put back right away or dropped in some inaccessible spot etc.
I'm very good about keeping track on my tools. That being said, i have managed to loose 2 12mm sockets over the years. I also think that a good analogy for SAE sizes would be the 7/16 socket, since it fits on most 1/4 bolts
I lost 3 in the last 6 months. One in a tractor engine. It fell in a crack and disappeared. I took all the tins off the engine looking for it. Never found it. I dropped another into a Honda CRV engine bay. Never found that one either. This was after I watched one of your videos too! These were both shorts.... so I bought a new one at the parts store. I went to put in my tool box and I accidentally dropped it on the floor. Never found it. They are small and Japanese cars use them all over the place. (i own 3 Hondas) I typically lose the sockets by pulling my wrench up and catching them on something and they pop off my wrench and go flying off somewhere. I confess that I buy cheap tools and maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
Growing up I remember my father having 5x 10mm spanners and 5x 10mm sockets all sprayed signal red. As an adult I ended up having multiples myself. It's the one and only size you will struggle to find when you need it. It's the curse of the 10mm. I even keep a socket wrench in my car and in my laptop bag that is size 10mm. The one in my bag was recently bought because I couldn't find the one in my car. I have since found it.
Mine usually break or just wear to the point they don't grip the fastener. I did, however, loose a 1/4" drive, shallow 10mm socket (Bluepoint) on a 2005 DeVille. I knocked it off the wiper cowl, it fell behind the engine and I completely forgot to look for it BEFORE test driving the car! Otherwise, it would be in my tool box.
I have only lost a couple but that’s on par for using them that much more than other sizes. My theory is you use it to remove a cover or whatever then put it down under the hood to use a different socket. It’s pretty small so it’s easy to bump into the engine bay without noticing, maybe it was sitting on a rag and you use it to wipe something up or you just don’t see it when you close the hood. It would make sense for us to find them under hoods, in the parking lot, etc which is the weird part
I don't know either Eric, that being said; I have 3-4 10mm sockets that are extra. Mostly because I lost the one I was using at the time, REALLY needed one and didn't think to see if there was an SAE equivalent that would work. So I'd go out and buy one, only to find the original later. I'm not a messy person when it comes to tools, I'm neat and organized and particular about it, and I have a magnetic tray specifically for my sockets so they don't roll around loose; still manage to loose a 10mm every now and then still.
I think it started with one of the first imports, particularly with the battery terminal bolts. From there you find grill and other small component bolts to be 10mm and it became a standard most manufacturers would never deviate from.
Well, it might be because as an Express Lane Tech the first thing I do is pop the hood then perform the 23 point check. Check the battery (which requires a 10mm) the air filter (10mm) sometimes one has remove the air intake hose which lays over the battery. Point being one uses the 10mm socket under the hood a lot. From what I gathered at gaining my experience. 👨🔧
I believe its normally because its the most used bolt size and everyone uses it. That increases the chance of getting lost. I work at the railway industry giving maintenance to our local subway, and normally for maintenance operations, we use 8, 10, 13, 16, and 17 mm sockets and wrenches, we also need 5 and 6mm hex bit sockets. The ones that get lost the most is the 8mm socket, then the 10mm and after that the 5mm hex bit.
At work, for me, it's always 3mm allen keys. Our equipment uses them often, and the keys are small enough to misplace. I think with 10mm's it's the same issue. Used enough to be often pulled, and small enough to be easily lost.
Combination of it being the most common fastener (most used) being small, and because of all of that being easy to lose down an engine compartment. Pre metric takeover it was 1/2in lol. Thats the reason for the 10mm only socket rail assortment as well. Those different lengths and types come in handy in some odd tight areas where using extensions or whatever isnt always an option.... Plus since they are misplaced often it gives you the ability to basically buy them in a small bulk set lol
Hi, 10 mm sockets are extensively used on motorcycles as most small fasteners are M6 x 1.0 thread form added to which 8mm sockets are used as most casing screws having 8 mm hex heads have been in use for years. Sufficient to say because they're used so much they soon wear out which is why I use power sockets in those sizes and I've found a few on the road over the years.
Oh I definitely have experienced the 10 mm socket pain. I think its because its the most common fastener size, so it tends to be the most used and potentially broken or lost socket and the one you always need. I have had to a lesser extend experienced this phenomenon with the 12 mm and 1/2'. In my experience if I was missing a 3/8' it would be months before I would even notice.
I think it's a combination of it's ubiquitous nature and it's relatively smallish size. Use it enough, the chances of dropping it go higher, and it's small size means it can get worked into areas that are hard to get it out of, or roll away *somewhere* on the floor, usually under something big. Manufacturers ought to grind a pair of flats into the outer barrel of every 10mm socket to inhibit it's rolling ability.
10mm is popular size and sockets are relatively small, so they can easily roll under a seat or drop into engine bay. Sloppy home mechanics can esily forget such a small thing under a bonnet when finnishing up and going to test drive etc.
I keep my tools organized, and I tend to keep my 10mm close. I've lost SIX 10mm sockets. I think it's several things. They're small sockets, they're common fasteners, they're used in small places a lot. It's easy to lose one on the frame of a vehicle, have it sit on a subframe or roll in to someplace really hard to access with your hands. Usually they end up sitting on top of Transmissions, for me. I've also broken like ten different extending magnets, retrieving 10mm sockets.
i would say its because its so popular you loose it all the time, especially on fender bolts and loosing them into the engine bay. (i usually worked on 80s-early 2000's cars and 10mm seems to be popular for most body panels and in the engine compartment, which is were ill drop and loose them,
I think it is a combination. They are soo common so you are always pulling them out to use them, because they are used so much they are more susceptible to being lost. Almost every car I have worked on has used 10mm bolts, I have also lost a few 10mm sockets.
The 10mm is used for so many things that I prefer to have different depths rather than use extensions. I got a pass-through socket set as a gift; I rarely use any of them but the 10mm. I was POd when I bought a rebuilt caliper that had 12mm caliper pin bolts instead of the 10mm originals. (AFAIC, the 10mm, 12mm and 14mm are 90% of the vauue of a socket set, and for Hondas the 10mm is half of that. )
I lost one, then two, then went to wally world and bought every single one they had. Haven't had to search for one in years. Keep them(36 at last count) in the top of my toolbox. Pick up more every now and then. And 15mm. Have a collection of those too.
I have amassed a decent collection of 10mm sockets over the years. If I'm successful for the next couple of years sneaking into toolsheds,garages, and tool boxes....I plan to open a museum in Centennial City, WY.
Its a popular fastener, they fall off wrenches and get lost in the engine bay, etc. I lost a 10mm Socket WITH extension in my Tahoe one day. How, just how! I eventually found it, but the entire neighborhood knew I lost my 10mm socket. Where was it? It fell into a tiny location about 3' from where it fell...and I had to remove an underbody shield to get it. Now then, I've actually FOUND a 1/4" Snap-on socket wrench, with 3" extension, WITH a 10mm socket on the end of it in my 1991 Saturn back in about 1993. Best I can tell? It was left there when they had done the 12,000 mile full inspection on the car (yea, My Saturn dealer took the car at 12K Miles and went over the entire car and fixed anything that was not working properly)...I loved that car. Anyway...it happens...I've never lost one that I couldn't find, but I have "misplaced" a few for a while....
I have just lost my first nut. It got stuck when replacing a thermostat, and it fell between the metal brackets when I tried to rescue it. Needless to say, it was a 10mm one.
Working on the wife's 1988 T-Bird turbocoupe. Managed to use:and never find again.... 2-10mm 3/8" sockets...and a 10mm deepwell impact socket. I've gutted out the tool room where I store everything, gone through the car with a set of fine tooth combs.. They just vanish!?!? As someone mentioned- it's like the elusive sock in the dryer... It just vanishes.. Maybe it's like the Carlin routine where stuff vanishes and goes to a little room in Heaven where: once you pass on-- You get back everything you've ever lost!
That's a good question braw. I pull wrenches for a living on semi trucks and yeah I use my 10mm a lot, but no more than my 13mm, 14mm or 18mm. Guess it's just one of life's little mysterys
As a carpenter I don’t deal with nuts & bolts that often, much less metric ones. I have on occasion not been able to find any sort of 9/16” wrench or socket. This probably explains why I have at least one Crescent wrench in each of our four vehicles plus one or two in the kitchen junk drawer and at least three in the basement, and of course one in my work vest, (now....which pocket has the wrench?)
I service and repair my own Japanese motorbikes and yes the 10mm socket is a thing. If you lose it you will get stuck at some stage of the service process because guaranteed the last bolt that needs to be removed is 10mm. Never had an issue losing one myself as I have collected way too many sockets over the years, but yeah I have put one down and had to dig another up many a time. You don't really lose them, for some reason you just cant find the bloody thing when you want it.
I remember when I was a teen working on my old Chevys. You could almost rebuild those with a 1/2" and 9/16" wrench. I still have many of those wrenches from almost 60 years ago. Never lost any of them. I'll bet my Dad is still pissed from me losing his hacksaw when working on my 63 Impala and he has been gone since 1995. I have no idea what happened to that thing!
I've "lost" many a 10mm socket... I usually find them about 6 months later, exactly where I put them last (usually on the floor, under a pile of interior parts waiting for me to reassemble the car.) I think it's just so common a fastener size that ,especially if you're not working alone, it's easy to misplace.
I've actually lost (truly lost) more 8mm sockets than anything, since that's the size my friends borrow for hose clamps or dash components, then they place them down to switch to something else, and forget where it was.
I've only ever actually lost and not recovered a single 10mm but I can say my dad lost a couple over the years. I think the reality is that everyone needs a 10mm and not everyone is organized and responsible. I've dropped them in the driveway and dropped them at the parts yard and been able to find them every time but I know from working at a shop with multiple techs sometimes one will get borrowed and not returned to its home causing a frustrating search. My dad taught me a lesson early on, paint all your tools pink so if someone walks away with it in the same shop it's easy to find.
My theory is that it's a combination of being frequently used and us ADD folk often put down somewhere close at hand under the hood when we temporarily need a different socket on the same wrench and it gets left or falls into the bowels of the engine compartment.
I haven’t lost a 10mm socket but I’ve lost 2 10mm wrenches while working on a Honda XR200R and had to stop what I was doing and go to the store to get more so I could finish the job. Currently cleaning out the garage in hopes of finding them.
10 mm socket is the most used tool to bolt and unbolt things and that means it also get misplaced the most because you are always using it and leaving it in vehicles,shop floor or on the bench. So the next time you go looking for it in a tool box say after the weekend or after being away from work you spend time looking for it around the shop.
Four things: 1) 10mm is a common fastener, 2) 10mm is small enough, said fasteners are in tight spaces, 3) the 10mm socket itself is small enough to get lost in hard to reach/see areas, and 4) for some American mechanics, we don't have as many redundant sets of sockets because of metric/standard options. Now all that being said, I've lost more 8mm sockets ;-)
I have 10mm in 1/4" drive deep and shallow, 3/8" drive deep and shallow, 1/2" drive deep impact, nut driver, open end and box wrench, 2 different ratcheting wrenches and flare/line wrench. Also 10mm allen key and hex drive sockets. I've never lost a single one. Actually I still have all the sockets since my first socket set my dad gave me 20+ years ago. I don't get why people say they're losing them all the time.
I bought that same 10 piece set at az. Within 30 minutes I needed 3 of them. I'm sure somebody proposed that set as a joke. Like giving out left handed nut assortments for holiday gifts to techs. Yes I did that one year. A few thanked me months later when they needed one. It's like the 10mph bumpers on your Fairmont. No those are not 5'ers. As long as we were discussing 10s.
I didn’t even know there was a “thing” with 10mm sockets. It’s always been my 1/2” sockets and spanners that have gone walkies. The phrase “who’s half inched my half inch this time?” used to be very common 😁
Combination of the two... Very common size AND people have a tendency of losing them, or never having one to hand when they need one half way through a job 😊
The more an item is needed the more chance you will lose it, damage, or have it stolen. For some reason they are always needed in tight spaces. If you are like me, I have a bad habit of keeping common tools in arms reach. I have "lost" a fair share of 10mm sockets to the radiator grill space. I just right it off it is usually not worth pulling the radiator.
Multiple 10mm are a must especially with Integras. You need short ones, long ones, in all drive sizes, angled, u-jointed, impact, non-impact, thin wall, and every single variation of it.
I did not understand that either. Sure 10mm is a common size, but so are many others all depending on what you work on. It makes more sense to be to just buy a set of the common sizes with the skips in there if what you want is a common size. I personally have no real use for a rail of an assortment of 10mm as the 10mm is already in all of my sets. When I owned a Toyota many years ago, I needed a 12m and a 14mm for almost everything.
It's both we use it more because theres more ten mm fasteners out in the wild today so laws of probably says more misplaced 10mm sockets. While ive never lost a 10mm socket i did leave a 10mm wrench in the well of a customers hood and got it back a few months later when he came back for an oil change.
I haven't lost many tools. I can say that theres not as many metric tool sets in comparison to imperial sets so theres 2 times as many 3/8" to 10mm. Metric sets are also smaller kits (bigger increments) than imperial
It is possible some of those sockets you found are mine. I think it's a chicken or egg thing, 10mm is popular so it's used more which means it is more prone to being lost. With me, it's the same with 10mm wrenches.
Combination of the two. Commonly used, commonly misplaced. Also, if you have multiple vehicles, you might not need your whole socket set, but a 10mm, 12mm, etc might be good to have in your door pocket just in case you have to do some roadside maintenance. Especially is you live in remote rural areas in a large, sparsely populated country like Canada (and some parts of the US).
I find myself always needing a 10 mm on cars, small engines, other machines, etc. It is one of the standard sizes used by manufactures for small size bolts. I don't really lose 10 mm more but I can see the issue. If you drop on into the abyss of an engine compartment, or forgot it somewhere, they are small enough to be hard to find. Larger sizes are easier to find. Especially if you do not have a garage, and are working outside, where there is small for something to roll, and the floor isn't perfectly flat, so then it can blend in better.
Not sure about america but here in Australia 10mm is a very common size that is used all the time so it gets lost easily and when it gets lost its hard to remember the last thing you used it on because you use it on so many different things in many different places. And if you only have one set of sockets it is always the first one to go missing because it is used so much.
Working on motorcycles for many years and sometimes cars, I usually have a 10 mm and 12 mm socket on the ends of various T-handle wrenches or L-handles. Between switching them around and losing them and occasionally losing the bolts as well, they seem to be a real pain in the ass to ever have enough when you really need them.
My uneducated guess is a bunch of things that all add up. The 10mm is used more than most other sockets, therefore it has more chances of being lost. You don't lose the odd sized socket that never leaves the toolbox. It is relatively small so it can fall into smaller spaces as well as be more easily overlooked when collecting tools. Another person said here it is a common size for things like covers, so you start out using it and move on to other sizes so it can be easily forgotten and left behind or knocked on the floor when you are using other sockets. At my job the machines I need to fix on occasion use 7/16 and 9/16 almost exclusively so that's what I lose. I have 10 12 and 13mm sockets coming out the wazoo, but finding a 7/16 when I need it is impossible.
IMO, 10mm is a quite common sized bolt head. I live in Canada where use both metric and standard so I’m biased towards it either. However, car manufacturers tend to use metric more now. Most small parts that are bolted on used to use a 1/4” bolt, so that has since been replaced by a 6mm bolt, which uses, you guessed it, a 10mm bolt. You probably don’t realize how often you use a 10mm socket/wrench but there is a lot out there. So with that said, if it’s the most common, it’s the most likely to get lost. It’s the same where I work at, a boat shop where we use a lot of 1/2” bolts. So in turn, we find it difficult to find 3/4” sockets
It's just because it's a popular automotive fastener size it gets used more, so it gets lost more. When I switched over to a heavy equipment mechanic I stopped losing my 10mm. The 17mm suddenly grew legs though.
I've found more 10mm sockets over the last few years (don't think I've ever bought one) and I use them a lot...didn't know it was a thing though...you probably are going a little stir crazy buddy! :)
I run a 10mm socket homeless shelter for all the lost and abandoned 10mm sockets.
I'm sure all 34 of mine that I have lost are out there.......somewhere.........scared and alone!!!!
Lost in the wilderness......🥺😭
If you find an old grey pneumatic duo 14mm deep check in with a young 10mm, please call me. Ha Ha
The 'Lost-sock' theory gives way to the 'Lost 10mm sock-et theory'. LoL!
There's symmetry here!
I think you might have an old 10mm socket from my first auto tool set
Hahahahaha best comment ever,if you never lost one I’m not sure you wrench hard enough
Eric I had the same question. I'm going to chalk it up to 2 related things: 1)10mm is super common, and 2)because it's so common the 10mm is always in use and therefore more likely to become lost than sizes just sitting in the tool box.
Nailed it.
Yep. The joke (I'd say "meme", but that term wasn't in usage at this point) used to be about always losing the 1/2" socket...back when cars were still using imperial sizes. It just happened to be the most common size used.
(And fortunately, we could always substitute a 13mm when the 1/2" went missing - they're incredibly close in size.) :-D
@@aussiebloke609 It's cause 1/2" is 12.7mm. Hence why .50 BMG (.5 inches) is called 12.7x99mm Nato. : )
I would also add that on most of the cars I've worked on the 10's hold the covers to the parts I need to actually replace. So if you aren't as organized, you use the 10, pull the socket off set it on a something like a strut tower. Use the sockets you need to replace parts. While you are trying to get to the parts to replace you knock the socket out of it's resting place.
Bingo. Seems like most of the plastic covers that protect the actual component you need to get to are 10mm. My guess is once you get the covers off you put the 10mm socket on top if the engine somewhere and it ends up falling into some crevice of the engine. Finding the 10mm will probably solve 90% of automotive rattling complaints out there
Eric has “found” 10mm sockets! This is where our sockets disappear and run off to! I wonder if my dryer transports the socks it eats to him as well :)
Dang it! Give them back!!!
Lol!
Might want to check to see if our socks go to him too.
All ya'll are tool funny
Too
I welded a 10 mm socket to an extension, now i can't find either
😭😭 minus the welding, same thing happened to me. I thought keeping the socket on an extension would help me find it quicker. Fail. Lost both haha
I’m going to weld a 10 mm socket to that annoying customers car!
lol..they always seem to disappear..
A 10 mil welded to an extension, nice. Said the last guy to see your set up before you “lost” it. 😀
Next, try welding the socket and extension to a ratchet!
When everyone started clearing the shelves of toilet paper, I started buying 10 mils
Big brain move
ten thous wtf. millimetres
And the reward for best 2020 comment goes too...
I once lost two 10mm sockets on one wiper motor replacement job, and had to drive that car in the rain back to the used tool shop to pick up another (couple) 10mm sockets to finish. Thanks for the video, ETCG1!
cause 9mm is too small, and 11mm is too big.
11mm work on a 7/16 bolt!
Goldielocks effect
Been wrenching 40 years never found a 9mm bolt all my sets have new 9mm sockets
@@mperrenoud01 19 and 3/4 ,11/16 and 22, and barley 7/8 and 24
Your doing a damn good job finding an 11mm. I had one on my drive shaft. Had to go digging in my dad's old tool pile for one because no one near me fucking had one.
My garage sits at the bottom of a steep incline. One day wirking inside of a Ford ranger in neutral with emergency brake on. Bumped brake and it rolled into garage and hit my work table. No real damage. But 10mm socket went missing. 2 months later truck is in garage for inspection. Mechanic finds socket embedded in grill.
When I married my wife, she came with a 77 Chevette, a hammer and a 10mm wrench. I still have the wife and the hammer...
Not everything goes to plan in life!
Ahh, the humble 10mm. The most begged, borrowed an stolen size.
Guilty. Was using 10mm wrench at friends shop. Got home and found it in my pocket. Dropped it in when switching sizes. Honestly forgot to put it back
I am a weekend warrior when it comes to cars, but I work on large production printers for a living and I carry 4 different lengths and 6 point and 12 point. And yes!! they roll around and sometimes never to be seen again.
Clink tink clank thunk lol
I work in small engine repair, I find most Honda engines can be disassembled with a 10 MM socket alone
I work on honda cars and 1/2 the car can be disassembled with a 10mm, lol.
10,12,14,17,19 will disassemble a Honda pretty much completely
Kohlers are 8mm and 10mm
@@corykluthe355 so will hammer and large flat screw driver. Lol
Notice he said "disassemble"....You can reassemble it because you lost the 10MM after disassembling it!
Kohler engines, Kawasaki engines, Kubota tractors, older Wal-Mart bikes. Everything Joe Smith works on has 10mm. 8mm and 13 or half inch are popular too.
I'm from Brazil and we use metric system, 10 mm socket is like you said ; easy to loose and very popular, so we have often problems whit that. Congrats for your channel and videos.
I think my 10mm is self-isolating.
HAHAHA
Lol I've had that problem with mine for years and years!
Comment of the week
Put one 10mm socket in the clothes dryer with a pair of matching socks. Run for 30mins. Open the dryer. Enjoy your new pair of 10mm sockets and one mismatched sock. Your'e welcome!
Hey Eric.. in all this time I've been subscribed to you and watch your shows... for once I can actually say that IT LEGITIMATELY IS my Birthday, and thank you and thanks for the cake buddy! Keep on rocking
Good Morning Eric. I hope you're staying safe and we thank you for the awesome uploads during this crazy time. It helps us stay positive 😊
I'm a former vehicle mechanic here in the UK and it was the case with mine back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when I used to work in garages that my 10mm sockets would go walkabout along with the 10mm spanners. Due to a back injury even though I rarely work on cars nowadays the only spanner missing in my tool box is....a 10mm. I had three of them, one of them being a 10mm/11m combi and even that's gone.
Sorry to hear about your back. Thanks for the comment.
You nailed the reason why it's the one lost the most, it's one of the more common sizes. As to why you don't lose them, well, you're a bit OCD with your tools and their organization. Not everyone is like that, especially not most at home DIYers.
I have only found back probably 2 10mm sockets in my life.. i work mostly alone. And its the most bought tool in our house. Ever since.. i always clean up and i really dont kno..
I lost a 10mm while watching this video ...
Now that funny!
It's on its way to Eric's tool box.
Found it! I think. I've got 4 I can't account for.
mrphiscal
I did too
When you get a new set of sockets, immediately throw away the 10mm. You loose it after two days anyway, keeps the heat down when you need it but can't find that darn thing. 🤣🤣🤣
You loose the 10mm socket when your discipline level is as low as Whitney Houston has been.
@@SE45CX your reference to Whitney Houston is low.
@@SE45CX oh and the correct spelling is lose btw
@@804_Rider Ok, I admit, it was low. Also the Whitney Houston example isn't much relevant to the kind of discipline in maintaining your sockets.
@@SE45CX nice, i didn't think I'd get a response since you commented a year ago 😆
Hey Eric, yes it apparently is a thing...I saw something amusing somewhere once that made me chuckle....It was one of those red boxes with 'In Emergency Break Glass'...inside was a 1/4" drive 10mm socket...lol
Personally I've never lost one, but I've been close.
Here's a tip that works for me....always keep your sockets on socket rails, and return all sockets to their correct homes when you finish a job.....easy to see if one is missing, and gives you the opportunity to chase up anything 'missing' or dropped into the abyss, before you forget where you used it last....hopefully that saves it from the 'gone forever' gremlins🤔..lol👍🇦🇺
I think "freedom units" is the term that you're looking for. Be safe, have fun and stay clean in this pandemic, Eric!
Lmao! When I saw the title I had to watch to see if it was what I thought.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one always dealing with the elusive 10 mm socket!
I overheard 5/16, ⅜, and 7/16 at the last tool convention. Tired of being on the bench, overlooked and overshadowed. they couldn't change the hardware world, so now they keep hiding the 10mm.
When I was a kid, it was always the 1/2" (7/16" probably coming in second place) that went missing, that being the most common size on the cars I was tinkering with. But at least I could always substitute a 13mm and get the job done. :-D
Haha. 😆. 5/16 is 8mm. 7/16 is 11. Surprise more mm sockets aren't missing
When I find a 10mm socket in my garage, nothing can go wrong on those days
Good question. I don't know. I use metric sockets 90% of the time on my cars. 10% sae I 0wn 5 vehicles and they're all Asian. Toyota, honda, subaru, and lexus. Most common sizes I use are 10,12,14,17 and 19.your videos are greatly appreciated in these times stay safe
always store your 10mm upside down in the set tray, you'll never lose another
i have a dedicated 10mm socket/extension/ratchet
Hey ETCG
10mm is maybe the most used fastener in the auto industry now. But yeah got em in my small box, shop boxes, junk yard tools, for when pick n pull has a teg or an ef hatch!
Now for why I'm chiming in, if your boxed in can't get out and about, set up the camera and start replacing those parts on the itr!
Man that's a nice car. And a GSR!
You must be living right my brother!
IIRC 7/16 was the SAE long lost brother of the 10mm. I like the idea of a strip of 10mm in various configurations. I lost one when the retaining ball on an extension failed, it dropped into the hollow of a Nissan PU with a V6. I replaced both extension and socket.
I'll let my 94 year old grandfather know that you said happy birthday!
I have also never lost a socket (broken though...)
I think it's a combination of the 2 as a mechanic we both keep our tools clean and where they belong. When I wrenched for a living (I'm a carpenter now) I was able without looking pull open my socket drawer and pull out exactly what I needed. But I know a lot of people who just throw their sockets into a tool box and can never find a 10mm socket
Almost every import car repair starts with using a 10mm to remove a cover or panel of some sort. Then the 10 gets set aside for a 12 or 14 and subsequently rolls around or is forgotten that it’s sitting on the radiator shroud. Take a test drive before buttoning everything up and there goes the 10.
They also get caught due to the narrow places 10mm used and fall off the freaking extension and get lost..... Le sigh..
@@walterhubicki5207 I came so close to losing mine while changing the brake light in my hatchback...
I wonder if those little reflective glints in my driveway are my 10mms. hmmmm
Two weeks ago I dropped a tray of 1/4 inch drive sockets. I found all but 1 and guess what size it was. Yep the ole 10 mm. Yesterday I found the sneaky bastard under the ledge of the wall on my carport. 3 feet away from where my tool tray fell.
Look up the video "10mm struggle!" It depicts the madness perfectly.
If I am EVER looking for a socket or a wrench, it is a 10mm. I also think it matters more when you are not the only one in a shop. On my last project, replacing headlight assembly on a 1996 Saturn, I only needed one socket.... guess which one it was? Yup. I had 3 available to me (because I just recently re-organized my tools) and I had them connected to 3 different variations of extensions and swivel/u-joint sockets to help me get into tight spots.
I've lost one socket in my first 40 years, a 10mm. That was when I mostly used SAE sockets, but that one day I dropped the 10mm and it disappeared somewhere between me and the ground. I think I heard it fall out a few days later when I went around a corner.
In the past 10 years, just a few days ago, I lost another socket, also a 10mm. That one was probably because of the "most common" aspect. Good thing my nearby home depot has a good selection.
I would say it’s common among those of us who are less organized.
I’m a bit disorganized and a hobbyist wrencher. When I misplace a socket, generally there is an sae replacement that will work. If I lose a 13, a 1/2” will work, a 14 can usually supplant a 9/16” etc.
But not the 10 mil. So it’s those of us who are disorganized and always losing sockets that are complaining. That same can be said of the 12 mm, the 7/16, and the 3/8. But since the 10 mil is so very commonly used, it’s the one that stands out.
Been working on Jap stuff since 69 Eric and you know it's like you said a hell of a lot of fasteners are 10 MM and you drop em and kick em. We used to leave them on our motorcycles after working on them and take em for a test ride and my Dad would Go for a walk with Mom and find them down the block sometimes. We were always replacing 8MM 10MM and 12 MM.
There's just something about the 10mm that makes it disappear. It's probably a bit that it's used a lot, and it's small. I mean, increased frequency of use means the quantity (if not the percentage) of 10mm's lost is pretty high, but they're also, as an object, just not very big. A fact that also makes them easier to lose. The 9/16th is a close second though, and I think that again comes down to the general size and frequency of use. They also fit easily in a pocket and I used to be pretty bad about throwing wrenches in my coverall pockets when I had to stop working on one thing and go take a look another when I was doing ranch work or Army work. I know in jobs where I was frequently moving from one thing to another, having a couple common tools in my pocket just saved time, but it also meant they had more opportunities to get lost.
It's probably the most common size used on cars since the mid 80s it also nearly perfectly fits 3/8 bolts and nuts so that almost doubles it's usage. With that it is the socket that is most likely not to get put back right away or dropped in some inaccessible spot etc.
I'm very good about keeping track on my tools. That being said, i have managed to loose 2 12mm sockets over the years. I also think that a good analogy for SAE sizes would be the 7/16 socket, since it fits on most 1/4 bolts
I lost 3 in the last 6 months. One in a tractor engine. It fell in a crack and disappeared. I took all the tins off the engine looking for it. Never found it. I dropped another into a Honda CRV engine bay. Never found that one either. This was after I watched one of your videos too! These were both shorts.... so I bought a new one at the parts store. I went to put in my tool box and I accidentally dropped it on the floor. Never found it.
They are small and Japanese cars use them all over the place. (i own 3 Hondas) I typically lose the sockets by pulling my wrench up and catching them on something and they pop off my wrench and go flying off somewhere.
I confess that I buy cheap tools and maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
Growing up I remember my father having 5x 10mm spanners and 5x 10mm sockets all sprayed signal red.
As an adult I ended up having multiples myself.
It's the one and only size you will struggle to find when you need it.
It's the curse of the 10mm.
I even keep a socket wrench in my car and in my laptop bag that is size 10mm. The one in my bag was recently bought because I couldn't find the one in my car. I have since found it.
Mine usually break or just wear to the point they don't grip the fastener. I did, however, loose a 1/4" drive, shallow 10mm socket (Bluepoint) on a 2005 DeVille. I knocked it off the wiper cowl, it fell behind the engine and I completely forgot to look for it BEFORE test driving the car! Otherwise, it would be in my tool box.
I have only lost a couple but that’s on par for using them that much more than other sizes. My theory is you use it to remove a cover or whatever then put it down under the hood to use a different socket. It’s pretty small so it’s easy to bump into the engine bay without noticing, maybe it was sitting on a rag and you use it to wipe something up or you just don’t see it when you close the hood. It would make sense for us to find them under hoods, in the parking lot, etc which is the weird part
I don't know either Eric, that being said; I have 3-4 10mm sockets that are extra. Mostly because I lost the one I was using at the time, REALLY needed one and didn't think to see if there was an SAE equivalent that would work. So I'd go out and buy one, only to find the original later. I'm not a messy person when it comes to tools, I'm neat and organized and particular about it, and I have a magnetic tray specifically for my sockets so they don't roll around loose; still manage to loose a 10mm every now and then still.
I think it started with one of the first imports, particularly with the battery terminal bolts. From there you find grill and other small component bolts to be 10mm and it became a standard most manufacturers would never deviate from.
Or in the case most 2000's or newer GM vehicles 8mm and 10mm are standard for all small bolt components.
Well, it might be because as an Express Lane Tech the first thing I do is pop the hood then perform the 23 point check. Check the battery (which requires a 10mm) the air filter (10mm) sometimes one has remove the air intake hose which lays over the battery. Point being one uses the 10mm socket under the hood a lot. From what I gathered at gaining my experience. 👨🔧
I believe its normally because its the most used bolt size and everyone uses it. That increases the chance of getting lost. I work at the railway industry giving maintenance to our local subway, and normally for maintenance operations, we use 8, 10, 13, 16, and 17 mm sockets and wrenches, we also need 5 and 6mm hex bit sockets. The ones that get lost the most is the 8mm socket, then the 10mm and after that the 5mm hex bit.
At work, for me, it's always 3mm allen keys. Our equipment uses them often, and the keys are small enough to misplace. I think with 10mm's it's the same issue. Used enough to be often pulled, and small enough to be easily lost.
Combination of it being the most common fastener (most used) being small, and because of all of that being easy to lose down an engine compartment. Pre metric takeover it was 1/2in lol.
Thats the reason for the 10mm only socket rail assortment as well. Those different lengths and types come in handy in some odd tight areas where using extensions or whatever isnt always an option.... Plus since they are misplaced often it gives you the ability to basically buy them in a small bulk set lol
Hi, 10 mm sockets are extensively used on motorcycles as most small fasteners are M6 x 1.0 thread form added to which 8mm sockets are used as most casing screws having 8 mm hex heads have been in use for years. Sufficient to say because they're used so much they soon wear out which is why I use power sockets in those sizes and I've found a few on the road over the years.
Oh I definitely have experienced the 10 mm socket pain. I think its because its the most common fastener size, so it tends to be the most used and potentially broken or lost socket and the one you always need. I have had to a lesser extend experienced this phenomenon with the 12 mm and 1/2'. In my experience if I was missing a 3/8' it would be months before I would even notice.
I think it's a combination of it's ubiquitous nature and it's relatively smallish size. Use it enough, the chances of dropping it go higher, and it's small size means it can get worked into areas that are hard to get it out of, or roll away *somewhere* on the floor, usually under something big. Manufacturers ought to grind a pair of flats into the outer barrel of every 10mm socket to inhibit it's rolling ability.
10mm is popular size and sockets are relatively small, so they can easily roll under a seat or drop into engine bay. Sloppy home mechanics can esily forget such a small thing under a bonnet when finnishing up and going to test drive etc.
I keep my tools organized, and I tend to keep my 10mm close. I've lost SIX 10mm sockets. I think it's several things. They're small sockets, they're common fasteners, they're used in small places a lot. It's easy to lose one on the frame of a vehicle, have it sit on a subframe or roll in to someplace really hard to access with your hands. Usually they end up sitting on top of Transmissions, for me. I've also broken like ten different extending magnets, retrieving 10mm sockets.
All honesty I believe it's a combination of both very popular size as well as it comes in every Set You buy
That's why I get a few sets of the cheap Harbor Freight ones for around the house.
i would say its because its so popular you loose it all the time, especially on fender bolts and loosing them into the engine bay. (i usually worked on 80s-early 2000's cars and 10mm seems to be popular for most body panels and in the engine compartment, which is were ill drop and loose them,
I think it is a combination. They are soo common so you are always pulling them out to use them, because they are used so much they are more susceptible to being lost. Almost every car I have worked on has used 10mm bolts, I have also lost a few 10mm sockets.
The 10mm is used for so many things that I prefer to have different depths rather than use extensions. I got a pass-through socket set as a gift; I rarely use any of them but the 10mm. I was POd when I bought a rebuilt caliper that had 12mm caliper pin bolts instead of the 10mm originals. (AFAIC, the 10mm, 12mm and 14mm are 90% of the vauue of a socket set, and for Hondas the 10mm is half of that. )
I lost one, then two, then went to wally world and bought every single one they had. Haven't had to search for one in years. Keep them(36 at last count) in the top of my toolbox. Pick up more every now and then. And 15mm. Have a collection of those too.
I have amassed a decent collection of 10mm sockets over the years. If I'm successful for the next couple of years sneaking into toolsheds,garages, and tool boxes....I plan to open a museum in Centennial City, WY.
Its a popular fastener, they fall off wrenches and get lost in the engine bay, etc. I lost a 10mm Socket WITH extension in my Tahoe one day. How, just how! I eventually found it, but the entire neighborhood knew I lost my 10mm socket. Where was it? It fell into a tiny location about 3' from where it fell...and I had to remove an underbody shield to get it. Now then, I've actually FOUND a 1/4" Snap-on socket wrench, with 3" extension, WITH a 10mm socket on the end of it in my 1991 Saturn back in about 1993. Best I can tell? It was left there when they had done the 12,000 mile full inspection on the car (yea, My Saturn dealer took the car at 12K Miles and went over the entire car and fixed anything that was not working properly)...I loved that car. Anyway...it happens...I've never lost one that I couldn't find, but I have "misplaced" a few for a while....
I have just lost my first nut. It got stuck when replacing a thermostat, and it fell between the metal brackets when I tried to rescue it. Needless to say, it was a 10mm one.
Working on the wife's 1988 T-Bird turbocoupe. Managed to use:and never find again.... 2-10mm 3/8" sockets...and a 10mm deepwell impact socket. I've gutted out the tool room where I store everything, gone through the car with a set of fine tooth combs.. They just vanish!?!? As someone mentioned- it's like the elusive sock in the dryer... It just vanishes.. Maybe it's like the Carlin routine where stuff vanishes and goes to a little room in Heaven where: once you pass on-- You get back everything you've ever lost!
That's a good question braw. I pull wrenches for a living on semi trucks and yeah I use my 10mm a lot, but no more than my 13mm, 14mm or 18mm. Guess it's just one of life's little mysterys
As a carpenter I don’t deal with nuts & bolts that often, much less metric ones. I have on occasion not been able to find any sort of 9/16” wrench or socket. This probably explains why I have at least one Crescent wrench in each of our four vehicles plus one or two in the kitchen junk drawer and at least three in the basement, and of course one in my work vest, (now....which pocket has the wrench?)
I service and repair my own Japanese motorbikes and yes the 10mm socket is a thing. If you lose it you will get stuck at some stage of the service process because guaranteed the last bolt that needs to be removed is 10mm. Never had an issue losing one myself as I have collected way too many sockets over the years, but yeah I have put one down and had to dig another up many a time. You don't really lose them, for some reason you just cant find the bloody thing when you want it.
I remember when I was a teen working on my old Chevys. You could almost rebuild those with a 1/2" and 9/16" wrench. I still have many of those wrenches from almost 60 years ago. Never lost any of them. I'll bet my Dad is still pissed from me losing his hacksaw when working on my 63 Impala and he has been gone since 1995. I have no idea what happened to that thing!
I've "lost" many a 10mm socket... I usually find them about 6 months later, exactly where I put them last (usually on the floor, under a pile of interior parts waiting for me to reassemble the car.) I think it's just so common a fastener size that ,especially if you're not working alone, it's easy to misplace.
I've actually lost (truly lost) more 8mm sockets than anything, since that's the size my friends borrow for hose clamps or dash components, then they place them down to switch to something else, and forget where it was.
I've only ever actually lost and not recovered a single 10mm but I can say my dad lost a couple over the years. I think the reality is that everyone needs a 10mm and not everyone is organized and responsible. I've dropped them in the driveway and dropped them at the parts yard and been able to find them every time but I know from working at a shop with multiple techs sometimes one will get borrowed and not returned to its home causing a frustrating search. My dad taught me a lesson early on, paint all your tools pink so if someone walks away with it in the same shop it's easy to find.
My theory is that it's a combination of being frequently used and us ADD folk often put down somewhere close at hand under the hood when we temporarily need a different socket on the same wrench and it gets left or falls into the bowels of the engine compartment.
I haven’t lost a 10mm socket but I’ve lost 2 10mm wrenches while working on a Honda XR200R and had to stop what I was doing and go to the store to get more so I could finish the job. Currently cleaning out the garage in hopes of finding them.
10 mm socket is the most used tool to bolt and unbolt things and that means it also get misplaced the most because you are always using it and leaving it in vehicles,shop floor or on the bench.
So the next time you go looking for it in a tool box say after the weekend or after being away from work you spend time looking for it around the shop.
Four things: 1) 10mm is a common fastener, 2) 10mm is small enough, said fasteners are in tight spaces, 3) the 10mm socket itself is small enough to get lost in hard to reach/see areas, and 4) for some American mechanics, we don't have as many redundant sets of sockets because of metric/standard options.
Now all that being said, I've lost more 8mm sockets ;-)
I have 10mm in 1/4" drive deep and shallow, 3/8" drive deep and shallow, 1/2" drive deep impact, nut driver, open end and box wrench, 2 different ratcheting wrenches and flare/line wrench. Also 10mm allen key and hex drive sockets. I've never lost a single one. Actually I still have all the sockets since my first socket set my dad gave me 20+ years ago. I don't get why people say they're losing them all the time.
I bought that same 10 piece set at az. Within 30 minutes I needed 3 of them. I'm sure somebody proposed that set as a joke. Like giving out left handed nut assortments for holiday gifts to techs. Yes I did that one year. A few thanked me months later when they needed one. It's like the 10mph bumpers on your Fairmont. No those are not 5'ers. As long as we were discussing 10s.
I didn’t even know there was a “thing” with 10mm sockets. It’s always been my 1/2” sockets and spanners that have gone walkies. The phrase “who’s half inched my half inch this time?” used to be very common 😁
Combination of the two... Very common size AND people have a tendency of losing them, or never having one to hand when they need one half way through a job 😊
The more an item is needed the more chance you will lose it, damage, or have it stolen. For some reason they are always needed in tight spaces. If you are like me, I have a bad habit of keeping common tools in arms reach. I have "lost" a fair share of 10mm sockets to the radiator grill space. I just right it off it is usually not worth pulling the radiator.
Yup. It's an issue. Lost? Stolen? borrowed? Hefillino. I order them from Amazon since I can't find them singly anywhere else.
Multiple 10mm are a must especially with Integras. You need short ones, long ones, in all drive sizes, angled, u-jointed, impact, non-impact, thin wall, and every single variation of it.
I did not understand that either. Sure 10mm is a common size, but so are many others all depending on what you work on. It makes more sense to be to just buy a set of the common sizes with the skips in there if what you want is a common size. I personally have no real use for a rail of an assortment of 10mm as the 10mm is already in all of my sets. When I owned a Toyota many years ago, I needed a 12m and a 14mm for almost everything.
It's both we use it more because theres more ten mm fasteners out in the wild today so laws of probably says more misplaced 10mm sockets. While ive never lost a 10mm socket i did leave a 10mm wrench in the well of a customers hood and got it back a few months later when he came back for an oil change.
Nice. It actually is my birthday. Good timing :D
I haven't lost many tools.
I can say that theres not as many metric tool sets in comparison to imperial sets so theres 2 times as many 3/8" to 10mm.
Metric sets are also smaller kits (bigger increments) than imperial
It is possible some of those sockets you found are mine. I think it's a chicken or egg thing, 10mm is popular so it's used more which means it is more prone to being lost. With me, it's the same with 10mm wrenches.
used the most means broken the most and lost the most... but i'm with ya, I keep my stuff organized so I don't actually lose any.
Combination of the two. Commonly used, commonly misplaced. Also, if you have multiple vehicles, you might not need your whole socket set, but a 10mm, 12mm, etc might be good to have in your door pocket just in case you have to do some roadside maintenance. Especially is you live in remote rural areas in a large, sparsely populated country like Canada (and some parts of the US).
I find myself always needing a 10 mm on cars, small engines, other machines, etc. It is one of the standard sizes used by manufactures for small size bolts. I don't really lose 10 mm more but I can see the issue. If you drop on into the abyss of an engine compartment, or forgot it somewhere, they are small enough to be hard to find. Larger sizes are easier to find. Especially if you do not have a garage, and are working outside, where there is small for something to roll, and the floor isn't perfectly flat, so then it can blend in better.
Not sure about america but here in Australia 10mm is a very common size that is used all the time so it gets lost easily and when it gets lost its hard to remember the last thing you used it on because you use it on so many different things in many different places. And if you only have one set of sockets it is always the first one to go missing because it is used so much.
I found a 10 mm deep well impact socket in a pickup truck once. I wondered why we have them, have you ever used a rattle gun on a 10 mm fastener?
Working on motorcycles for many years and sometimes cars, I usually have a 10 mm and 12 mm socket on the ends of various T-handle wrenches or L-handles. Between switching them around and losing them and occasionally losing the bolts as well, they seem to be a real pain in the ass to ever have enough when you really need them.
My uneducated guess is a bunch of things that all add up. The 10mm is used more than most other sockets, therefore it has more chances of being lost. You don't lose the odd sized socket that never leaves the toolbox. It is relatively small so it can fall into smaller spaces as well as be more easily overlooked when collecting tools. Another person said here it is a common size for things like covers, so you start out using it and move on to other sizes so it can be easily forgotten and left behind or knocked on the floor when you are using other sockets.
At my job the machines I need to fix on occasion use 7/16 and 9/16 almost exclusively so that's what I lose. I have 10 12 and 13mm sockets coming out the wazoo, but finding a 7/16 when I need it is impossible.
IMO, 10mm is a quite common sized bolt head. I live in Canada where use both metric and standard so I’m biased towards it either. However, car manufacturers tend to use metric more now. Most small parts that are bolted on used to use a 1/4” bolt, so that has since been replaced by a 6mm bolt, which uses, you guessed it, a 10mm bolt. You probably don’t realize how often you use a 10mm socket/wrench but there is a lot out there. So with that said, if it’s the most common, it’s the most likely to get lost. It’s the same where I work at, a boat shop where we use a lot of 1/2” bolts. So in turn, we find it difficult to find 3/4” sockets
It's just because it's a popular automotive fastener size it gets used more, so it gets lost more.
When I switched over to a heavy equipment mechanic I stopped losing my 10mm. The 17mm suddenly grew legs though.
I've found more 10mm sockets over the last few years (don't think I've ever bought one) and I use them a lot...didn't know it was a thing though...you probably are going a little stir crazy buddy! :)