No Allen Wrench On Hand? This May Be The Best Alternative

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The Allen wrench, also known as a hex key, is a L-shaped hand tool with hexagonal (six-sided) ends. It all started with a Connecticut inventor named W.G. Allen, who patented both a fastener (with a hexagonal head) and an identically shaped driver in the early 20^th century. His creation didn't take off initially, but over time, various manufacturers realized how inexpensive it was to utilize Allen's creation for product assembly. That's why today, whether you're putting together furniture, bicycles, lawn equipment, or any number of other products, they often come bundled with an Allen wrench. 

Like many tools, there is a right way to use an Allen Wrench, and Allen wrenches can be easy to misplace. You might have a complete set that's hiding in your garage somewhere, refusing to be found. You can always make a trip to the hardware store and buy another set, but inevitably, after spending the money, chances are, your original set will resurface. Fortunately, there is a handy substitute for an Allen wrench that can be found in your miscellaneous nuts and bolts container or catch-all drawer.

When looking at the head of a screw that requires an Allen wrench, you might notice it looks very similar to a typical bolt head. In fact, both are hexagonal, and if you find the right size bolt, it will fit snugly into a hex screw. If you place a bolt upside-down (head first not threads) into the Allen screw, you now have a means to turn the fastener. But how can you twist the bolt, having nothing but the threads to grab onto? After all, if you use something like channel locks to grip the bolt, it could damage the threading and may slip.

Fortunately, if you have two nuts that fit the bolt, you can thread them on and tighten them together, so they won't move. To tighten the fastener, you'll twist the top nut with a wrench, and to loosen, you'll turn the bottom nut. If your Allen wrench set still refuses to turn up, something like the Husky Folding Hex Key Set is a great option and one of the Home Depot finds to complete your on-the-go tool kit.

The reason the bolt and two nuts solution is a good Allen wrench alternative is that it doesn't do any damage to fasteners or tools. While there are other methods that can work, they can either harm your tools or strip the hex screw head. For instance, Torx bits, which are shaped like stars, can fit inside a hexagonal fastener and be used as an Allen wrench alternative. However, when using these specialized bits, all of the applied torque is focused on the tips of the six-pointed star. This can easily strip the bit, making it unusable in the future. While you can pick up something like the Toolant Impact Torx Bit Set 27pcs for $13.99 if you happen to break some bits, it's better to avoid damaging your tools in the first place.

The other issue with some of the Allen wrench alternative suggestions out there, is that they could result in a tool sliding off the hex head screw under pressure, creating a potentially dangerous situation. For example, while using an elastic band and screwdriver is one of the easiest ways to remove a stripped screw, trying to drive a hex screw into place with this method could cause the tool to slip, resulting in potential injuries.