Good screwdriver bits
- Thread starter pathfinder76
- Start date
Milwaukee are the only ones my impact driver doesn't destroy right away.
https://www.homedepot.ca/search?q=milwuakee torx bit#!q=milwuakee torx bit
https://www.homedepot.ca/search?q=milwuakee hex bit#!q=milwuakee hex bit
https://www.homedepot.ca/search?q=milwuakee torx bit#!q=milwuakee torx bit
https://www.homedepot.ca/search?q=milwuakee hex bit#!q=milwuakee hex bit
For gunsmithing? I've had great success with Wiha for torx. Avoid Chinese crap and you'll be fine. Also, I know you said you were looking for bits. A proper set of torx screwdrivers might cost a couple bucks more, but worth every penny.
Hex - for me there's no substitute for a proper set of long shank SAE and Metric Allen wrenches. As stated above, avoid Chinese crap tools and they'll last forever.
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I found Wheeler torx and ball style allen bits to be sorely lacking. really easy to twist torx and break off the ball on the Allen style, twisted a few of their Allen ones too.. I'd pretty much stay away from Wheeler. Bondhus torx and Allen style not much better. Picked up some Bosch T15 torx that seem pretty good so far. For slot blades, Chapman, Forster, think it was Grace, and those three have been around a long time. I haven't tried the Chapman torx, my kits are from 30-40 yrs ago.
I know the OP task is to find good modern Torx and other weird bits, but I have to say that one of my finest purchases from the old Brownells was a set of Forster gunsmithing screwdrivers, for traditional slot screws of course. Specially shaped for slot screws and bolts, although I will mention Leonard Lee used to recommend filing down a too large-bit for a custom fit and minimum screw damage.
I have two sets of the Forster and Chapman bits, one set of Forster is intact, other is modify to suit, same with Chapman. The T15 wrenches the scope mfgrs supply are junk, tried a pile of T15's, Bosch seems to be OK, haven't wrecked one, yet, haven't tried Milwaukee or Lee Valley.
Weird bits? Hex?
Just being an old fashioned curmudgeon who owned guns quite a while before they put a hex on gun hardware.
Fair enough. But I’m sure a fan of hex over a slotted screw. They are always timed and tend to always be serviceable
I find most anything that comes from china is no good. Low quality steel, recycled non virgin steel, alloys full of crap just to add to the weight and volume so less steel is used and so on. And then they will over heat treat it to compensate for low quality and turn it into even worse brittle garbage.
The steel of yesteryear is gone... new age crap is just that.
Bosch used to be the cream of the crop, I remember drilling into rebar and reinforced concrete for 10-15mins at a time non stop, the bit would turn red hot... but the carbine tip never changed shape or lost sharpness.
Last year I melted a whole box of Chinese Bosch bits in just a few hours... they looked like mushrooms
Name brands don't mean anything anymore.. can't rely on the name to hold up what once it meant. Irvin, milwaukee, dewalt, diablo, rigid, etc... most of the stuff from the big box stores anyways.
Still some quality stuff out there, but for the most part it's the small scale production lines, built in the states or EU... and usually the crazy prices reflect that. Unless you're making money with those tools, it's almost not worth getting it unfortunately.
The steel of yesteryear is gone... new age crap is just that.
Bosch used to be the cream of the crop, I remember drilling into rebar and reinforced concrete for 10-15mins at a time non stop, the bit would turn red hot... but the carbine tip never changed shape or lost sharpness.
Last year I melted a whole box of Chinese Bosch bits in just a few hours... they looked like mushrooms
Name brands don't mean anything anymore.. can't rely on the name to hold up what once it meant. Irvin, milwaukee, dewalt, diablo, rigid, etc... most of the stuff from the big box stores anyways.
Still some quality stuff out there, but for the most part it's the small scale production lines, built in the states or EU... and usually the crazy prices reflect that. Unless you're making money with those tools, it's almost not worth getting it unfortunately.
