I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy. I've had some
that are hardened and break easy and others that are too soft. If I made
screwdrivers by machining drill rod and hardened and tempered, would they be
as good as or better than the top name brand commercial drivers? Or would
they need to be forged, cold worked, or something to achieve higher than
store-bought quality?

Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!! :-)

RogerN

"Roger_N" wrote in message
...
I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy. I've had
some that are hardened and break easy and others that are too soft. If I
made screwdrivers by machining drill rod and hardened and tempered, would
they be as good as or better than the top name brand commercial drivers?
Or would they need to be forged, cold worked, or something to achieve
higher than store-bought quality?

Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!! :-)

RogerN



I buy Klein screw drivers, good stuff! I find the cabinet screw driver works
great for electrical work #605-4. They hold up for everyday, job sight use
quite well.

Greg

Biggest issue is getting the heat treating exactly right. You want to be
able to get the rockwell within 1 or 2 points, you may want to vary the
temper from tip to shank.

I was reading an article on wood chisels a while back. The Buck tools
product manager was quoted as saying that the consumer grade chisels
were hardened a couple of points softer than the super premium line.
They figure the cheap units would get used as pry bars more often than
the premium ones.

I run Klien screwdrivers with the rubber grips. I have broken the tip
off of a phillps, chewed up a straight blade and reground it but many
years of service on the rest.

Roger_N wrote:
I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy. I've had some
that are hardened and break easy and others that are too soft. If I made
screwdrivers by machining drill rod and hardened and tempered, would they be
as good as or better than the top name brand commercial drivers? Or would
they need to be forged, cold worked, or something to achieve higher than
store-bought quality?

Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!! :-)

RogerN

My opinion is that the best screwdrivers are casehardened.
They resist deformation of the tip because of their hardness but
resist breakage because of their less brittle interior.
The only downside to this, I have found is that they deteriorate fast
once they have been touched up on a grinder.

Engineman

On Mar 15, 10:40�am, RoyJ wrote:
Biggest issue is getting the heat treating exactly right. You want to be
able to get the rockwell within 1 or 2 points, you may want to vary the
temper from tip to shank.

I was reading an article on wood chisels a while back. The Buck tools
product manager was quoted as saying that the consumer grade chisels
were hardened a couple of points softer than the super premium line.
They figure the cheap units would get used as pry bars more often than
the premium ones.

I run Klien screwdrivers with the rubber grips. I have broken the tip
off of a phillps, chewed up a straight blade and reground it but many
years of service on the rest.



Roger_N wrote:
I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy. �I've had some
that are hardened and break easy and others that are too soft. �If I made
screwdrivers by machining drill rod and hardened and tempered, would they be
as good as or better than the top name brand commercial drivers? �Or would
they need to be forged, cold worked, or something to achieve higher than
store-bought quality?

Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!! �:-)

RogerN- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Screwdrivers for electrical terminal strips? Brass binding-head screws?
You don't need anything special for that. Use whatever is in your tool box.

On Mar 15, 12:04*pm, "Roger_N" wrote:
I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy. *I've had some
that are hardened and break easy and others that are too soft. *If I made
screwdrivers by machining drill rod and hardened and tempered, would they be
as good as or better than the top name brand commercial drivers? *Or would
they need to be forged, cold worked, or something to achieve higher than
store-bought quality?

Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!! *:-)

RogerN

Wiha, or Klein -no need to reinvent the wheel. Otherwise the Ace
Hardware brand is pretty good, might be Enders tool.

I started gunsmithing a few years back when I was involved in competitive
pistol shooting. I often made my own screwdrivers and other specialty tools
from drill rod (cheaper than buying from Brownells... and fun too!)

You'll have to anneal the drill rod to work it if it isn't in that state
already (mine always came annealed). You can find color charts on the web
that'll guide you when you're ready to heat treat the rod to hardness. A bit
of experimenting and you should have good results.

--
Message posted via CraftKB.com
http://www.craftkb.com/Uwe/Forums.as...rking/200803/1

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:49:26 -0700 (PDT), beecrofter
wrote:

On Mar 15, 12:04*pm, "Roger_N" wrote:
I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy. *I've had some
that are hardened and break easy and others that are too soft. *If I made
screwdrivers by machining drill rod and hardened and tempered, would they be
as good as or better than the top name brand commercial drivers? *Or would
they need to be forged, cold worked, or something to achieve higher than
store-bought quality?

Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!! *:-)

RogerN

Wiha, or Klein -no need to reinvent the wheel. Otherwise the Ace
Hardware brand is pretty good, might be Enders tool.

These are exellent tools -- but you can't beat a screwdriver that fits
the slot very closely in both slot width and head diameter. That's
why the expensive "gunsmith" screwdriver sets have so many bits. One
can be made for a particular screw in just a few minutes including
some semblance of heattreat. It won't be as good as the same bit would
be if made by Enders or Wiha from carefully heat-treated high-alloy
steel -- but it'll very likely work better than a "better" one that
doesn't fit as well, and it can be made in a few minutes.

"Roger_N" wrote:

I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy.

I'd like to find a decent screwdriver designed to fit these idiotic half
phillips half straight screws on many IEC contactors.

Wes

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:57:09 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, Wes
quickly quoth:

"Roger_N" wrote:

I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy.

I'd like to find a decent screwdriver designed to fit these idiotic half
phillips half straight screws on many IEC contactors.

I always try a #2 phillips first, then a #1 if that doesn't fit
perfectly, and I don't recall ever having a problem. I also get a
good, heavy contact with it at a perfect 90 degrees before I attempt
to remove a terminal screw. They're usually -very- tight.

With blade screw heads, I've never found a perfect fitting screwdriver
tip. All my blade headed screws are replaced by phillips, square, or
Torx heads wherever possible.

Q: Does anyone here NOT have a scar to show from an old blade
screwdriver wound? (I didn't think so.)

--
Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.
-- A. Sachs

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:15:06 -0700, Larry Jaques novalidaddress@di wrote:

Q: Does anyone here NOT have a scar to show from an old blade
screwdriver wound? (I didn't think so.)

I do, but not as impressive as one guy...I was first EMT on scene years
ago for a "screwdriver injury". You know those little green electronics
technician style screwdrivers? He'd been working on something cupped in
his left palm, pushing hard and the screw slipped out. Right through
his palm & out the back.

Wasn't a lot for me to do, it was self-stabilizing, no bleeding, just
checked his vitals and waited for the ambulance to show up.

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:15:06 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:57:09 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, Wes
quickly quoth:

"Roger_N" wrote:

I've been needing some good electrical terminal block screwdrivers and was
wondering if I could make some better than the ones you buy.

I'd like to find a decent screwdriver designed to fit these idiotic half
phillips half straight screws on many IEC contactors.

I always try a #2 phillips first, then a #1 if that doesn't fit
perfectly, and I don't recall ever having a problem. I also get a
good, heavy contact with it at a perfect 90 degrees before I attempt
to remove a terminal screw. They're usually -very- tight.

With blade screw heads, I've never found a perfect fitting screwdriver
tip. All my blade headed screws are replaced by phillips, square, or
Torx heads wherever possible.

Q: Does anyone here NOT have a scar to show from an old blade
screwdriver wound? (I didn't think so.)
Found out once that many Japanese cross-point screwheads are NOT
Phillips, or Pozidrive but something different. I bought a Japanese
screwdriver for PLC screw heads and never looked back!
Re flat blade drivers, lookout for the WERA range which are serrated
on the tip. Excellent bite to the screw. They do not work as well
after being touched up on the grinder though G

Working on a boat the other day and was annoyed to hear the continual
ratcheting of an electric driver bit in a screw head. In the end I got
so peed off I took a look at what the customer was using. Well worn #1
Phillips bit driving a #2 Pozidrive screw. Explained the difference
over a coffee and suggested that they buy the correct bits. He and his
wife are now screwing with cries of delight not frustration!



--

Richard

Email address is valid but remove burrs before sending!

"Robert Swinney" wrote in message
...
RogerN Sez: "Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!!
:-)"

If you have to inquire about such a fundamental premise as the metallurgy
of screwdrivers, I'm not
sure you are ready for CNC yet.

Bob (still learning manual) Swinney


Since I don't know the fundamentals, would I be better off using W1, O1, A2,
D2, S7, or other steel? What difference in strenght would be obtained by
forging vs machining? What Rockwell hardness is borderline between bending
vs breaking?

I never had any formal education in metal working, I woked at a shop for a
couple of years using manual machines in the 1980's. Other than that it's
just been hobby type stuff with a few paying home machining jobs here and
there.

My home machine shop consists of a manual South Bend 13 X 54 lathe, an
Anilam Yam 14 X 22 CNC lathe (converted to EMC control), an Enco manual knee
mill, a Anilam Bridgeport CNC mill, and a KempSmith horizontal mill with a
Bridgeport head on the overarm, plus saws, press, welders, drill press, &
grinders...

RogerN

Richard Edwards wrote:

Found out once that many Japanese cross-point screwheads are NOT
Phillips, or Pozidrive but something different. I bought a Japanese
screwdriver for PLC screw heads and never looked back!
Re flat blade drivers, lookout for the WERA range which are serrated
on the tip. Excellent bite to the screw. They do not work as well
after being touched up on the grinder though G

I can't remember the manufacturer but Wera might be it. Guy at work has
screw drivers that fit the cross point screws on Japanese so well that you
can put a driver in a horizonal screw and it will levitate.

Wes

Wes wrote:

I can't remember the manufacturer but Wera might be it. Guy at work has
screw drivers that fit the cross point screws on Japanese so well that you
can put a driver in a horizonal screw and it will levitate.


Don't do this outdoors!


--
aioe.org is home to cowards and terrorists

Add this line to your news proxy nfilter.dat file
* drop Path:*aioe.org!not-for-mail to drop all aioe.org traffic.

http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 13:44:03 -0600, "Roger_N"
wrote:


"Robert Swinney" wrote in message
...
RogerN Sez: "Hey, I need to justify my CNC lathe and mill somehow!!!
:-)"

If you have to inquire about such a fundamental premise as the metallurgy
of screwdrivers, I'm not
sure you are ready for CNC yet.

Bob (still learning manual) Swinney


Since I don't know the fundamentals, would I be better off using W1, O1, A2,
D2, S7, or other steel? What difference in strenght would be obtained by
forging vs machining? What Rockwell hardness is borderline between bending
vs breaking?

Among those choices, and for the hardest practical screwdriver blade,
I'd use S-7. O-1 would be OK, but I think you'll get a better balance
between hardness and toughness with S-7. For a tougher tool at the
expense of a few points of hardness, use one of the chrome-moly alloy
steels; 4140, 4340. etc.

--
Ned Simmons