The Added-Torque Option: Craftsman 10-Inch Flex Handle

Craftsman ³⁄₈-inch Drive 10-inch Flex Handle

A homeowner’s tool kit is not complete unless it includes an assortment – make that a set (or two) – of socket wrenches and the necessary drivers. These tools come in a range of drive sizes, where “drive” refers to the dimensions of the square bit that plugs into every socket and allows you to turn it. Drive sizes range from ¼ up to ¾ inch , though the biggest drives are only needed for work on large machinery. Most homeowners get by quite well with either ³⁄₈- or ½-inch drive set, which as a rule comprises seven or eight sockets and a ratchet.

Save Your Knuckles: Use a Craftsman 6-Inch Extension with Your 3/8-Inch Drive

Craftsman 6-inch Extension Bar (3/8-inch Drive)

A socket set is nothing but a tool to some people, yet to other people all each shiny pieces-part is another fix for their addiction. Makers of these marvelous tools are quite happy to sell you basic sets; usually the ratchet handle plus a few sockets in metric or English sizes. Only after you’ve started building a tool kit do you realize that basic socket set is the tool guy’s gateway drug. Once you’re gotten into a buying mode, you quickly learn there are all manner of accessories, adapters and other parts that don’t simple make using those shiny toys easier, sometimes they’re just plain indispensable. A case in point is the Craftsman 3/8-inch Drive 6-inch Extension bar.

It looks pretty simple. 

Craftsman 44261 6-in. extension bar, 3/8"

Heck, it is simple: it’s a forged alloy steel rod slightly more than 1/2” in diameter. At one end there’s a hollow bell shape that hides a 3/8-inch female socket where a ratchet or breaker bar fits, at the other end you’ll find a 3/8” cube of solid steel. The male end slots into a socket or other accessory. It’s accessorized with a end spring-loaded ball bearing that helps hold a socket securely, and has a slightly bevel end to guide it into a socket more easily. The nickel-plated extension is a total of six inches long; the total reach is a tad shorter if you take into account the socket end. 

Craftsman Socket Racks

Finding that Socket Gets Easier When They're Organized on Craftsman Racks

If your toolbox contains a screwdriver or two, pliers, a hammer and roll of duct tape; organizing "all" that stuff probably isn't much of a problem. Me, I'm nearer the opposite end of the spectrum: I've got drawers filled with sockets in my tool chest in ¼", ⅜", and ½" drive; both SAE and metric units; six and twelve-point and regular vs. deep-well. I do still have the duct tape, though. Hunting for a specific socket out of the dozens in those drawers would be more frustrating if I didn't have a lot of them organized on several Craftsman Socket Racks. I've got separate racks for ⅜" drive metric and SAE sets, separated by standard and deep-well. It makes life that much easier.