Bending allen keys without ruining them?

[Astro_Al]

Hi guys, someone has asked me to bend the long end of an allen key / allen wrench / hex key so that it can be fed onto a keyring.

They are only 2mm or so, but without heat, they feel like they'll just snap under extreme bending?

If I use heat, how do I ensure it stays stiff as it is to start with? Also - how would you create the keyring style end on it? Proper parallel loops or just a little loop which is closed off?

Thanks for any help, Al.

[Rich Hale]

This is a simple forging and heat treating exercise. If yoiu have the basic down will be no problem If not Then start with a small pile of them. rad about basic forging so youi can make the ring..I would use scrolling tongs or needle nose pliers for the bend while hot. It will lose heat really fast. The you need to heat treat . and without being sure wot steel they are made from It will be a guess. Try heating til a magnet does not stick and remember that color..after testing with a magnet it will lose too much heat for the quench. bring it back to that same color and dip in oil,,,I use ATF. Then it will be hard enough so a file will kind of slide off and not cut it. So...it needs to be tempered..stick in oven for half hour at aboiut 350f and then see wot you have.
By the way as you heat metal it gets scale all over it,,,you can remove all or most of it when you are done with a hand wire brush...then you may find it is too small to work as it did before.........

[John B]

I would just heat the end, flatten it and punch a hole through for the key ring to pass through, allow to cool,

Use of a torch on the end could be an option

could still be used as intended then

[Astro_Al]

Ok, thanks guys. Well since I've just set up my new oxy-propane torch, I think I'll try just heating the non-working end with a torch. Not sure there is enough meat on these tiddlers to flatten and drill or punch. I'll try the plier-bending option on a spare one first.

Cheers, Al.

[ciladog]

Put the business end in a vise so you won't draw out the temper. It will act as a heat sink.

[Astro_Al]

Yup - all done. I followed the advice of all three of you - stuck it in the vice, used the oxy torch & used round nosed pliers to form the loop. The working end stayed cold, so I think no harm was done.

Took me 3 months off-and-on to get the leg vice, table and oxy-propane set up and 10 minutes to do the job, including a test one to start with...

Cheers, Al.

[Frank Turley]

I sometimes use a wet rag as a heat inhibitor. It surrounds the part where you want to preserve the original temper. On critical jobs, I've been known to use "Heat Fence" compound and a wet rag.

[John McPherson]

An alternative is to braze or weld half a chain link onto the outside of the short leg. Something like this: ______D


It gives the keyring someplace to go, and acts as a handle to turn the allen wrench.