Q: How to make a micro sized nut driver?

[Lemosteam]

After an hour of thought and searching I came up with an idea .

Find a screw with a 0.7MM hex hole head for a 0.7mm male hex wrench .

Use the head of that screw upside down as the socket . You may want to extend the screw end to be more finger friendly , They sell 0.7mm hex wrenches , so there must be a screw too .

Brilliant Richie, except the socket head has to be 1.1mm across flats per drawing, or 0.043" in English

[mmagliaro]

Have a look at the bay under jewelers tools, here is an example I found in the first page of entries:-   http://www.ebay.com/itm/16pc-Precision-Screwdriver-Set-Electronic-Micro-Hobby-Jeweler-Watch-Mini-Hex-/181889603990?hash=item2a59771996:g:Z1sAAOSw9r1WDOOx

The smallest nut driver in that set, like it is in all the smallest sets I could find anywhere, is 1.5mm.
I need 1.1mm. 

[mark.hinds]

Use a torx screw.  They come in different sizes, and I am looking at one in my old cell phone right now that looks about right for a 1mm hex head nut. 

MH

[mmagliaro]

After an hour of thought and searching I came up with an idea .

Find a screw with a 0.7MM hex hole head for a 0.7mm male hex wrench .

Use the head of that screw upside down as the socket . You may want to extend the screw end to be more finger friendly , They sell 0.7mm hex wrenches , so there must be a screw too .

Richie, I am trying, but I cannot understand your idea.  Can you beat me over the head with some more clarification?

Ron (U18b), that goes for you too.  I am not following your idea.  Can you explain more?
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And by the way, everyone, I am astounded at the variety and cleverness of these solutions.   

Lemo, that heat/hammer/quench idea, I read that online somewhere too - a guy made a 2-56 nut driver that way.
I suppose it would work, and since my micro hex bolts are stainless, they are hard enough that I think they could stand up to
this.

If there was a way to apply some liquid chemical to plastic to harden it, that would be cool.  Is there such a thing?
I could probably heat and plunge the bolt head into styrene to make the nutdriver end in plastic.  But then I need to
harden it somehow.  I don't think styrene will hold up long, even with light turning.

[up1950s]

Max , buy a screw that has a 0.7mm allen head female indent , which would be turned with a 0.7mm allen head L shaped wrench . Use that screw head to turn your nuts by twisting the threaded end . The screw becomes the nut driver .

[Missaberoad]

Max , buy a screw that has a 0.7mm allen head female indent , which would be turned with a 0.7mm allen head L shaped wrench . Use that screw head to turn your nuts by twisting the threaded end . The screw becomes the nut driver .

This except since your .7mm bolt has a 1.1 mm head a 1mm allen screw should have enough slop to fit...

Not the right size but what Richie is suggesting...

http://www.boltbase.co.uk/images/john%20images/capfull.gif

[peteski]

Richie's idea is by far the most elegant, clever and simplest idea so far. I love it!
You can then thread the hex (Allen) head socket screw into a handle (dowel, or a styrene rod, or even a brass tubing) and you have a professional-looking miniature wrench.

[Missaberoad]

Use a torx screw.  They come in different sizes, and I am looking at one in my old cell phone right now that looks about right for a 1mm hex head nut. 

MH

and Mark suggests the perfect place to find one.... Have an old flip phone? Torx could work and some even had hex screws.

[narrowminded]

The socket head screw idea is great except that they go from .9mm to 1.3mm.  In these sizes the hex corner to flat is only .0035" max (.00335 actual or .0067" diameter to across corners).  The size range goes from .9 which is .008" too small to 1.3 which is .008" too big, enough to literally spin and never even touch the corners.  Max, they DO measure .0433" actual, right?  Confirming the 1.1 hex size.

Max, do you have a rotary table for your mill?  Or maybe some good hex bar?  You could make the shape and cold head the socket in brass or even mild steel.  Nothing hardened.

[Missaberoad]

.008" isn't alot would freezing a 1.3mm allen screw bring it closer to the size Max needs or is that wishful thinking?

[mmagliaro]

Actual measurement across the flats is .045"

Richie... NOW I get it.   A hex-drive screw... OF COURSE!   Too bad there isn't one in just the right size.
That really is a brilliant idea.

[wazzou]

Does it have to be hex?
Couldn't you just find some K&S brass square stock with a small enough interior dimension to functionally turn it?

[peteski]

Actual measurement across the flats is .045"

Richie... NOW I get it.   A hex-drive screw... OF COURSE!   Too bad there isn't one in just the right size.
That really is a brilliant idea.

But isn't there a metric Allen head screw available which would fit the bill?

[PGE_Modeller]

Max,
Another idea, which is probably not as satisfying as Richie's, and definitely not as economical, would be to adapt the smallest size driver you can find.  The smallest I have found, so far, is for a 16 BA (British Association) nut and is available from Eileen's Emporium in the UK, https://www.eileensemporium.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=26&Itemid=9.  A 16 BA nut is 0.054" across the flats. Internal shimming each of the driver flats with a 0.005" X 0.025" strip of brass would bring you to about the right size.  However, with the 0.045" that you measured, you might do better with a 14 BA driver (same source) which measures 0.069" across the flats and could be shimmed with 0.010" x 0.040" on each flat - or you could make some 0.025" strips from 0.003" or 0.004" shim stock for use in the 16 BA driver.  The main disadvantage is that they sell for 9 British Pounds (about US $12.50) each, plus shipping.

Of course, the same technique would work to shim a socket-head screw that needs a 1.5 mm Allen key!
Cheers

[up1950s]

The socket head screw idea is great except that they go from .9mm to 1.3mm.  In these sizes the hex corner to flat is only .0035" max (.00335 actual or .0067" diameter to across corners).  The size range goes from .9 which is .008" too small to 1.3 which is .008" too big, enough to literally spin and never even touch the corners.  Max, they DO measure .0433" actual, right?  Confirming the 1.1 hex size.

Max, do you have a rotary table for your mill?  Or maybe some good hex bar?  You could make the shape and cold head the socket in brass or even mild steel.  Nothing hardened.

So they make 0.7mm hex wrenches for the hell of it ? I don't think so .