Quality screwdrivers

[Tom K]

For most jobs you can't beat a spiral ratchet screwdriver

Cheers :wink:

Paul

You seem to have almost a collection there Paul

 

[Karl]

You seem to have almost a collection there Paul

One of many - planes, screwdrivers, honing guides......

And those are just the ones we know of :lol:

Cheers

Karl

 

[wizer]

I'd like to know what he does with the other 7 ? :lol:

 

[devonwoody]

Am I correct in thinking that a long s/d has more leverage than those short ones shown above?

 

[promhandicam]

Am I correct in thinking that a long s/d has more leverage than those short ones shown above?

For opening tins of paint and prying up floor boards - yes certainly! For turning a screw the most important feature is the shape/size of the handle - length of handle doesn't make the slightest difference to leverage.

Steve

 

[Calpol]

Wera do wooden handled screwdrivers, I got hold of a set on the 'Bay not long since...

Peachy

 

[woodbloke]

You seem to have almost a collection there Paul

One of many - planes, screwdrivers, honing guides......

And those are just the ones we know of :lol:

Cheers

Karl

I think possibly...no without a doubt, that Paul's on a steady slide down the 'Slope', not quite up there with Waka or Martin (or me ) but making good progress :lol: :lol: :lol: - Rob

 

[Night Train]

For turning a screw the most important feature is the shape/size of the handle - length of handle doesn't make the slightest difference to leverage.

Steve

I was told that a longer shaft on a screwdriver will be a little springy and so can be used to apply more effort then a short or non spring shaft.
The theory being that as you apply torque to the handle the energy is stored in twisting the shaft and that adds to the peak torque at the screw head.
Much like Kinetic Energy Recovery Ropes (KERR) used in off road motorsport.

 

[Karl]

For turning a screw the most important feature is the shape/size of the handle - length of handle doesn't make the slightest difference to leverage.

Steve

I was told that a longer shaft on a screwdriver will be a little springy and so can be used to apply more effort then a short or non spring shaft.
The theory being that as you apply torque to the handle the energy is stored in twisting the shaft and that adds to the peak torque at the screw head.
Much like Kinetic Energy Recovery Ropes (KERR) used in off road motorsport.

Perhaps that explains why, in my experience, more torque (not leverage) can be applied with a longer shafted screwdriver. I use an 18" one all the time - it is the first I go to pick out of my toolbag.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Steve Maskery]

I have to say that I've never bought into this idea that a longer screwdriver produces more torque. I do, however, think that a longer screwdriver is easier to use. It's more stable in the slot, for a start.

Let's say you've got a wobbly hand when you screw. Your hand moves back and forth a bit, say 1/2". If you've only got a short one, that 1/2" is a long way off straight, but if you have a long one, that 1/2" is neither here nor there.

I think that's where the advantage of a long screwdriver comes in, stability.

S

 

[oddsocks]

I have to say that I've never bought into this idea that a longer screwdriver produces more torque. I do, however, think that a longer screwdriver is easier to use. It's more stable in the slot, for a start.

Let's say you've got a wobbly hand when you screw. Your hand moves back and forth a bit, say 1/2". If you've only got a short one, that 1/2" is a long way off straight, but if you have a long one, that 1/2" is neither here nor there.

I think that's where the advantage of a long screwdriver comes in, stability.

S

Steve - I'm with you on that logic and always choose the longest screwdriver I can

Dave

 

[Paul Chapman]

Of those spiral ratchet screwdrivers, the largest one drives in screws far more easily than the shorter ones - I love it

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Night Train]

I have to say that I've never bought into this idea that a longer screwdriver produces more torque.
S

This was many years ago (1983 I think) when my MV teacher showed me this idea. He had a really tight machine screw in a machine and using a standard length screwdriver neither of us could turn it. He then got out a driver that was nearly 2' long and as he turned it I could see the shaft twist very slightly like a torsion spring and then suddenly the screw gave up the battle and turned.

I have also found when using my Dewalt to drive screws, if I have a 50mm long hex drive No2 Pozi then it can strip the cross off the head of the screw on maximum torque. If I am using a 150mm long hex drive, due to access difficulties, then I can snap the head off the screw before the head strips.

 

[newt]

Of those spiral ratchet screwdrivers, the largest one drives in screws far more easily than the shorter ones - I love it

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Nice one Paul . However the longer the plunge on spiral rachet screwdrivers the greater the advantage you have, in that once the screw starts to turn, you have overcome the stiction. With a conventional driver you have to overcome stiction every half turn.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Of those spiral ratchet screwdrivers, the largest one drives in screws far more easily than the shorter ones - I love it

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Nice one Paul . However the longer the plunge on spiral rachet screwdrivers the greater the advantage you have, in that once the screw starts to turn, you have overcome the stiction. With a conventional driver you have to overcome stiction every half turn.

Whatever the theory might be, I often find that it's more effective to use the screwdriver without the plunge action and sometimes with the spiral extended but locked. Although in that situation you often have to stand on the other side of the room :lol:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[promhandicam]

Perhaps that explains why, in my experience, more torque (not leverage) can be applied with a longer shafted screwdriver. I use an 18" one all the time - it is the first I go to pick out of my toolbag.

Cheers

Karl

The length of the shaft will have no effect on the torque as torque is a measurement determined by the length of a lever, the force applied to the lever and the angle to which the force is applied. This is why spanners become progressively longer as the nut size increases. In a large screwdriver it may well be possible to apply more torque as the handle will be proportionally bigger allowing more force to be applied to it compared to a smaller screwdriver. I've got a couple of stubby screwdrivers which because their handles are quite large and fit my hand well are excellent at shifting stubborn screws.

Steve

 

[Paul Chapman]

The length of the shaft will have no effect on the torque as torque is a measurement determined by the length of a lever, the force applied to the lever and the angle to which the force is applied. This is why spanners become progressively longer as the nut size increases.

While I find it hard to accept that the length of a screwdriver has no effect on the torque, I must admit that one of the most effective screwdrivers I have in terms of torque is this little Stanley Yankee right-angle ratchet screwdriver

It operates much like a spanner would in that the handle is at right-angles to the screw.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

PS It's becoming clear that I am a collector of screwdrivers :lol:

 

[newt]

Steve is right, torque is the turning moment at right angles to the axis of rotation. Therefore unless you can gain energy in a long shaft (don't see how) the length should have no direct effect. However, as mentioned a very long shaft could act like a torsion bar and as you applied torque the bar twists and then the rotation of the bit is released suddenly, a bit like an impact driver.

 

[promhandicam]

. . . However, as mentioned a very long shaft could act like a torsion bar and as you applied torque the bar twists and then the rotation of the bit is released suddenly, a bit like an impact driver.

I'm not sure you would be able to get the bar of a screwdriver to twist much in normal use. A simple test to check would be to put the tip of a screwdriver in a metalworkers vice, make a mark on the handle and see if you can make the handle rotate with the tip effectively fixed. This however doesn't really replicate the situation of trying to undo a screw as the biggest problem in normal use is cam out. You have to apply quite considerable downwards force at the same time as rotating the handle - a problem that the yankee spiral ratchets in part address.

Steve

 

[Karl]

The length of the shaft will have no effect on the torque as torque is a measurement determined by the length of a lever, the force applied to the lever and the angle to which the force is applied. This is why spanners become progressively longer as the nut size increases. In a large screwdriver it may well be possible to apply more torque as the handle will be proportionally bigger allowing more force to be applied to it compared to a smaller screwdriver. I've got a couple of stubby screwdrivers which because their handles are quite large and fit my hand well are excellent at shifting stubborn screws.

Steve

All I know is that I can fasten screws TIGHTER with a long handled screwdriver than I can with a stubby. If that isn't extra torque, I don't know what is.

Cheers

Karl