Megan and I are slotted-screw snobs. If you are willing to use Torx screws in reproduction hardware then don’t read any further. This post won’t make any sense.
Now, if you are similarly infected with slotted screw snobbery, then you know the challenge of finding the correct driver to seat your screws. Perhaps sometime in the past, the slots on screws were standardized, but that’s not the case now.
We own a set of Grace USA screwdrivers, which are excellent, but the screws we encounter day-to-day are so odd, that sometimes the Grace screwdrivers are not enough to handle all the screws that pass through our transom. (Plus, the lengths of the shafts of the Grace drivers are a mystery. Why in God’s name is the No. 6 driver almost the length of the No. 10?)
Years ago, to supplement my Grace screwdrivers, I went to a dark place: the world of gunsmith driver bits from Brownell’s. They come in a dizzying array of sizes and shapes. The original kit I bought more than a decade ago has been discontinued, so I bought a new starter pack recently and recorded their sizes for you.
The starter set we recommend has 11 bits and is called the Magna-Tip No. 3 set. With the magnetic handle, the set is $39.99. It is a great place to start. The bits are made in the USA and are ground with parallel tips so that driving slotted screws is a joy – the bits stay in the screw’s slot and don’t damage the screw (unless you have hammy hands).
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