Screwdrivers

When choosing screwdrivers for boat building it will pay you in the long run to buy good quality.

A screw driver should be chosen with the same care as any other tool.

Unfortunately there are numerous cheap varieties on the market made with inferior steel and horrible ribbed plastic handles.

The best screwdriver is still the traditional cabinet driver.

Its oval hardwood handle fits the hand to deliver maximum torque to the bit.

The blade should have a flat wide heel which fits into a slot in the handle.

And it will be even better if the blade is held in the handle with through rivets.

Always chose a driver whose head is the same width as the slot in the screw.

A flare tipped driver might damage the sides of a counter bored bung hole.

This can be remedied by grinding off the shoulders but be careful not to over heat the blade.

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The Ratchet driver is handy in that it allows for quickly changing direction when screwing and unscrewing without having to change your grip.

The Spiral, Ratchet or Yankee is excellent for small screws if you are used to using one.

They do take a bit of practice to get used to and you can do a lot of damage with them if you are not careful.

Bib and Brace is excellent for driving heavy duty screws.

They will take the hex-shanked bits intended for power drivers.

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Apart from the extra torque, it allows the screw to be driven with a continuous movement. This avoids the jerky turning movement of a normal hand driver, however care needs to be taken not to over torque the screw and twist the head off.

A Power Driver has the best of all worlds.

However, you need to take care not to allow the bit to wander off.

The Philips, Posidrive and other cross headed type drivers and screws have become quite widespread.

These give a better grip on the screw head for fast driving.

However, there are several types and you must use the appropriate driver head each type of screw.

Once damaged, there is little that can be done to repair either the screw or the driver.

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