41 mm (1 5/8") socket DIY

[Irving]

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least 7 stores within 2 miles of me that probably sell a 41 mm socket. I can get one off Amazon for under $25. But I wanted to make one instead. I didn't get all of the cool build pictures, especially the ones showing how terrible this looked while I was tacking it up. In the end it's not even close to "square" and the hole in the back isn't centered, but it works the way I intended in my head this morning when I had this idea.

1/8" plate steel I have laying around.


Cut into six sections about 2" long.


I skipped sooo many pictures, like the two hexagon shapes I cut out to fill in the back.



I managed to get the mig gun down in there and get some decent beads. Not all of them turned out though. I had to figure it out. There are two identical-ish hexagons out of the same 1/8" plate in the back, welded on the inside and outside, as well as a bit on the sides as there was enough gap between the plates that everything got closed up together.


I marked and drilled the hole before I cleaned up all the welds, so this probably would have been centered better had I made all my corners sharp first.


I'm always amazed at how much stuff a grinder is able to hide.



I chose a drill bit that was as large as the edges of the 1/2" drive to take out as much material as possible up front.


I started to file the corners, but then realized I could stick my jigsaw with a metal blade in there and take out even more material to get me close.


A bit difficult to see, but two 1/8" plates is the perfect amount to give clearance for the ball to lock in. You can see the ball on the top.


Disappointingly out of center, and I didn't even try aligning the square sides to the hex sides. I have Harbor Freight impact drivers that aren't concentric, so I'm not too worried about it.




Finally, had to clean up the inside with a file in the corners where the weld penetrated enough to cause interference.


In my head I had planned to grind the size in a side or two. Heat the whole thing up to red hot, then drop it in a bucket of oil in an attempt to harden it. Then maybe blue it or something. Think that'd be a waste of time? I'd like to finish it off some way. I'll probably paint, "Made in USA" somewhere on there at some point as well.