Post by Sam PlusnetPost by Mike McMillanPost by Vicky AyechOn Thu, 31 Dec 2020 10:42:03 +0000, Jenny M Benson
Post by Jenny M BensonI want to buy either a set of assorted screwdrivers or one of those
handles into which one fits the appropriate "blade." There are 2
(Usually called "bits".)
Post by Sam PlusnetPost by Mike McMillanPost by Vicky AyechPost by Jenny M Bensonconsiderations - I want the (assembled) screwdriver to be long enough to
get a good leverage when undoing really tight screws and I don't wantthe
Philips/Posidrive type "blades" to wear into a point like a pencil after
just a couple of uses.
The usual reason for that happening is use of the wrong size, or
particularly type; there are actually two types - I forget which one is
Posidriv; they are the ones where the cross-section truly is just a
cross, and the ones where there are thinner blades (?) between the main
four. Basically, try the bit in the screw head before you attach the
handle; it should fit snugly, so you can't turn the bit on its own
without the screw turning. If you can, you've got the wrong size and/or
type.
Post by Sam PlusnetPost by Mike McMillanPost by Vicky AyechPost by Jenny M BensonLooking sy Amazon I am totally boggled by the choice. I'm sure there
must be a few Umrats who DoItThemselves who can advise.
Person who does says you only need 2 screw drivers, a flat head and a
medium size Philips. Those cover everything more or less. You should
Depends on your range of activities.
Post by Sam PlusnetPost by Mike McMillanPost by Vicky Ayechget case-hardened steele, not soft, but the harder the more chance it
sill break. If you spend about 10 quid per one he says you will have
it and so will any grandchildren.
I think 10 each sounds a lot to me but I have never bought a screw
driver. Capt Ex got a DIY book from my mum once and I htink a set of
tools. or maybe a box of them, or a box for them. And B loves that
stuff. He was electrician helper as one of may jobs and has neat draws
and boxes with screws and batteries and many mysterious things.
Depends how much you think you are going to use them. If professionally,
then maybe a tenner each makes sense. For my use, it doesn't.
Post by Sam PlusnetPost by Mike McMillanOn a point of order M’Lud, I find that one requires rather more than two
dry scroovers to cover the average odd-jobs around the house. I have at
least three sizes of Phillips, a Pozidrive and three or more sizes of flat
blade that are used often; then there are smaller Phillips and flat blade
plus very large flat bladed drivers used from time to time. Then of course
there are all the odd-ball styles of driver and these are covered by
several sets I have accumulated over the years. I wouldn’t say you might
need as many as I use but my range must exceed 30 tools.
True.
I have (more or less) the same range of 'one-off' screwdrivers (flat,
Pozi & Phillips) - backed up by a couple of sets of those hex bits
which fit into a separate handle. One of those sets contains all the
'Security' bits for fasteners which are supposed to defeat the common
range of screwdrivers.
I always use the 'one-off' screwdrivers if at all possible, because
they fit into tight spaces much better and don't wobble.
The hex bit & holder stuff is there as a back up.
P.S. Whatever type of screwdriver you settle for, a nice fat handle
with a good grip allows you to apply the maximum torque to those really
stubborn screws.
P.P.S. Some screwdrivers have a hexagon section on the shaft near the
handle. If you can grip that with a spanner, you can apply even more
torque.
I mainly use two little grey cases I got from Lidl, I'm sure for not
very much (and I suspect I bought one forgetting I had the other) -
they're about 4 by 5 or six inches. One has a handle with a socket and a
set of about ten bits, which serves me most of the time. The other day I
had to use a mole grips on the handle to start a screw, but I think I
would have had to regardless of the type of driver; it was just a plain
slotted screw - but I think it was just that it had been done up for
about 20-21 years, and was brass, so had sort of part-seized. [I had a
fire in my grill, so had to replace my double-oven unit; fortunately I
found one 18 miles away where someone was doing up their kitchen so had
the old unit for very little. Despite what one might expect, these units
are just connected by normal - though heavy! - three-core cable; but,
the screw on the live wire definitely didn't want to budge.] I think the
case contains one or two other items - a wee tape measure and a spirit
level - that I've never used.
The other little case has about half a dozen "Jeweller's screwdrivers" -
I rarely need them, but they're invaluable when I do.
They don't (either case) seem to be on Lidl's website at the moment - I
think they come round about once a year - but looking at what is, this
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/diy/parkside-screwdriver-bit-set/p38740
looks like a good set - and at that price, you can afford to break a
few, though I don't actually think you would. The handles have a
transverse hole, too, which would allow leverage. I think "precision"
means "jeweller's", i. e. tiny tips; the normal ones (including the one
that takes the bits) have broad handles anyway. And are magnetic.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)***@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
live your dash. ... On your tombstone, there's the date you're born and the
date you die - and in between there's a dash. - a friend quoted by Dustin
Hoffman in Radio Times, 5-11 January 2013