The Great Screwdriver Discussion of 2024

[great white]

(I don’t think non-woodworking screws are made with square drive?)

They sure do. Machine screws in pan head or countersunk at any hardware store. They do tend to be in the smaller sizes only though.

Robertson is so common its replaced Phillips in most places like deck screws, etc. Drywall screws are still Phillips though, I’d wager so they can be used with drywall guns where you want the bit to cam out of the screw when it hits home.

But I’m in Canada and Robertson drive is pretty common here. Might be a different story in the ‘States where the conventional wisdom seems to be to not want to adopt anything “not made here”.

We ordered in a bunch of “survival tools” (ie: multitools) once and spec’d a Robertson driver in the tool, which was an option from the manufacturer. US customs got ahold of them somehow and didn’t want to release them until we could prove to them what the…“unusual”… tool bit was for…..lol!

 

[Mauzinette]

Robertson is so common its replaced Phillips in most places like deck screws, etc.

Luckily Robertson hasn’t made it’s way into Europe. I’m happy with Torx.

 

[rwdenney]

Oh, golly. I have screwdrivers galore. One can never have enough screwdrivers.

In my main SAE-tool box, I have a Wright philips-head set, and a Proto flat-head set. And there's also a Snap-On magnetic-tip set with a couple of handles. And there are some Craftsman Torx drivers and some cheapie nut drivers.

In my metric box, I have a set of Craftsman screwdrivers, only 3/4 of which are ever in the drawer at any one time. I also have a couple of Vessel new-JIS-head drivers that are interchangeable with philips. And there's an assortment of other cheapie sacrificial drivers in there, too. The picture doesn't show the Vessel drivers, which are newer than the photo, or the Xcelite nut drivers that I bought in my last big purchase from Harry Epstein.

Hiding in the Kennedy box that stores my lathe tools, I have a couple of vintage H. D. Smith Perfect-Handle screwdrivers, the tips of which I have properly dressed. The bigger one is 16" long with a 1/2" blade--perfect for the large flat-head screws on the South Bend 14-1/2. Those just seemed appropriate for a 77-year-old lathe and I really like how they feel.

In the "work on stuff" bench drawer, I have a set of Wiha interchangeable-tip drivers, a set of Wiha electricians drivers, a set of Wiha precision drivers, a Wiha JIS philips, a set of Wera drivers, and some sacrificial cheapies.

On the "rebuild-stuff" bench, hiding in my Gerstner box that now sits there, I have a set of Grace hollow-ground screwdrivers, and these are for gunsmithing and in my view aren't much good for anything else.

The universal-tip Kleins and the like are in my portable boxes. The house box has a set of Craftsman interchangeable tips plus a handle, and I have something like it in my RV box.

Yeah, lots of screwdrivers. All of them work great except for those Grace drivers, which seem to me soft, probably to avoid marring screws on guns. But I don't test to destruction the way Project Farm does.

Rick "and then there are the watchmaker screwdrivers on the watchmaking bench" Denney

 

[StevSmar]

They sure do. Machine screws in pan head or countersunk at any hardware store. They do tend to be in the smaller sizes only though.

Oops, I’d forgotten about those... And I have lots of boxes of them…

 

[Mauzinette]

Today, my ass got saved by a set of Jawco ScrewTrivers™ bought from a sample sale a couple of years ago. I had to remove a bunch of old flathead screws from a concrete wall. The screws were made out of some weird, soft metal and there wasn't much space to operate. With the side of the three-way tip, I was able to break the screws loose enough to finish the job with a palm ratchet.

 

[SouthernChap]

Today, my ass got saved by a set of Jawco ScrewTrivers™ bought from a sample sale a couple of years ago. I had to remove a bunch of old flathead screws from a concrete wall. The screws were made out of some weird, soft metal and there wasn't much space to operate. With the side of the three-way tip, I was able to break the screws loose enough to finish the job with a palm ratchet.

Today I was reminded of why my loathing for flat head screws is so immense.

I had to wire up some sockets underneath the top of my new workbench. There was I kneeling on the floor, bent forward straining my inadequate core strength, with my neck turned at an unnatural angle that would impress Regan from The Exorcist, with inadequate light, trying to clamp down 2.5mm twin and earth cables that seemed to be intent on being anywhere but in the appropriate clamps.

Of course, the screws were flat-head screws because electricians seem to want to punish themselves and the only flat head screwdriver that would fit in the space was a small one, almost perfectly designed to slip.

When the universe is in heat death and entropy rules, all that will remain is my hatred for flat head screws, burning with the power of a million supernovae.

So yeah, not a fan of flat head screwdrivers.

 

[lafoeng]

I find it very hard to tell a JIS cruciform screw from a Philips cruciform screw by eye. Once I insert the screwdriver, it becomes instantaneously obvious.

Does anyone here have JIS-type screwdrivers by Moody? Are they worth their price? Micro-tools sells a set of four anti-static handle drivers for $30.

I bought two sets of japanese Engineer brand JIS sets, for camera and instruments work. Not expensive and good quality. Look for it at Eba.

 

[Pevehouse]

Hello tool junkies of H-M,

I want to hear your thoughts on screwdrivers.

What's your favourite screwdriver or more specifically, what makes a good screwdriver? Any screwdrivers you absolutely hate? Know a neat driver for a very specific use case? Ran into a good deal? And so on...

Let's discuss!

Snap on, hands down the best I have ever used. The tips are kind of serrated and they bite like hell

 

[Harry Knutz]

I have a drawer full of Snap On, Mac and Witte screwdrivers, I find myself always reaching for the Witte's. The only negative is the handles stain easily. But they are very nice screwdrivers. Made in Germany.

WITTE Tools: About WITTE

 

[Mauzinette]

I bought two sets of japanese Engineer brand JIS sets, for camera and instruments work. Not expensive and good quality. Look for it at Eba.

I tried to search for these, but could only find sets that aren’t ESD safe.