Screwdivers

[DonInReno]

Gunsmiths deal with a lot of hardened screws and numerous sizes of slotted screws.  Brownells and numerous others sell great sets with hard bits - no gunsmith stays in business if they don't have good screwdrivers that don't slip.

Off the shelf at Home Depot or lowes Klien electrical screw drivers are pretty hard.  Stanley bits appear hard, but it's overly hardened crappy steel - they cheapened the metal about a year ago and all the guys I know stopped using them.  Bosch and Makita bits are ok, Milwakee is middle of the road and stay away from kobalt or Ryobi.

I'm not a big fan of craftsman in general, but the little black handle ratchet for screw bits is inexpensive and works ok.  A big step up is the Gearhead screw bit ratchet.  I like these with an extension to break larger screws and without to break tight quarter screws.  In super tight situations a bit can be cut almost in half or aviation suppliers seem to stock shorty bits.

The little thumb wheel (this one is craftsman but available from others) gets used all the time with or without an extension.  

To me a dremel is essential to slightly thin a bit that is just a little too tight.  Keep it handy and instead of messing up a screw head you'll have a perfect fit and not only do screw heads last longer, but the bit will as well.

if you're a restorer or simply OCD there are screw slot files available from Brownells to either widen or deapen a screw slot.

[garypl]

I checked which bits fit most of the screw on my CB4500.  I can use flat bits #90, 25, 19, and 98 for every screw I could locate on the outside of my machine.  

Gary

[R8R]

On 5/3/2017 at 10:55 AM, Gregg From Keystone Sewing said:

These are some of the best darn, tried and true screwdrivers I can find, and I've tried a lot of 'em.  Don't want to drop brand names, but I can attest to the fact that they were made here in USA.

I bought a full set of these  a couple months ago and I can say without hesitation that Craftsman screwdrivers have become absolute and complete garbage. Every flat head driver in the kit had the plating coming off the tip on the first use. All of the flat head drivers were essentially unusable after a few uses. Nothing major, just basic adjustments to a machine and a couple uses around the house. The tips would flare out and chip and would often not even fit in the slot anymore. Garbage. Returned the whole kit. 

I got a set of Klein's that I'm happy with for now.

[Evo160K]

This is the only set I've ever used.....bought it in 1996.  It normally resides in a leather saddle bag on my Harley.

https://www.specialized.net/wadsworth-super-deluxe-mini-ratchet-screwdriver-set-4-52-pc.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIif_G_8Sf2wIV3LjACh3rYwdLEAQYASABEgIz__D_BwE

 

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by Evo160K

[garypl]

7 minutes ago, Evo160K said:

This is the only set I've ever used.....bought it in 1996.  It normally resides in a leather saddle bag on my Harley.

https://www.specialized.net/wadsworth-super-deluxe-mini-ratchet-screwdriver-set-4-52-pc.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIif_G_8Sf2wIV3LjACh3rYwdLEAQYASABEgIz__D_BwE

 

 

That looks like a really nice set!

Gary

[Evo160K]

It's pretty amazing, cost $63.13 delivered in 1996.

[suzelle]

On 5/3/2017 at 4:05 AM, trash treasure said:

Get a set of Chapman gunsmith screwdrivers - Wouldn't be without them :

https://chapmanmfg.com/collections/slotted-flathead-sets/products/8900-standard-set-12-slotted-bits

This Chapman set comes in pink! Thanks for mentioning it!  

Edited May 28, 2018 by suzelle

[chrisash]

Regardless of the make, only use either parallel flat head or slightly hollowed out flat heads which have a parallel tip and then a slight hollowed out area. They fit the screws properly and put all the turning power onto the whole blade that's in the screw

Normal spanners are shaped with slopping sides going into a parallel sided screw hole so as you turn only one tiny part takes all the power