A Cordless Screwdriver Without the Battery Problem
Experience the satisfaction of using old hand tools for efficient and eco-friendly work.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still get a lot of satisfaction from using my old hand tools like my yankee hand drill. I sometimes can even outperform modern power tools, especially cordless tools, and be quieter and safer at the same time. Plus, I wonder if anyone knows how many man-hours are wasted every year searching for a charged battery or a place to plug in a charger?
The Job Site Hydra
At precious job-site electrical outlets, the old Medusa of extension cords has been replaced by Hydras of battery chargers. I wonder, too, how much energy is lost and wasted in the charging and storing of batteries. And what about all those batteries? I don’t know many people who are conscientious about recycling them. And even if they were, I have been told by more than one service center that collected batteries are simply chucked into the garbage.
Think Green
I just love the feeling of political and environmental correctness that comes over me when I get out my old North Bros. Model 31 Yankee Hand Drill (for which I paid $1 at a tag sale) and plow in hundreds of screws without using an electron of nuclear- or fossil-fuel-generated electricity. It is faster than a cordless driver, and I have just as much depth control, if not more. The length of this model of screwdriver extends my reach 18 in. to 25 in., and I can snake it into tight areas where a bulky drill cannot go. It is lightweight and hangs neatly in the cat’s paw/trisquare loop of my tool belt.
I admit that the bits for this dinosaur are expensive, short-lived, and of limited utility with modern fasteners. So years ago, I had my local machinist turn a magnetic bit holder from my screw gun into an adapter for my beloved antique, as shown in the drawing. I can use any 1/4-in. hex bit and replace it cheaply and quickly when it becomes worn or broken. The magnetized bit not only holds screws ready for driving but also can retrieve dropped screws and small hardware.
— Albert Ginouves, Lakeville, CT
From Fine Homebuilding #202
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Great tool. Have the large and small version. Don’t forget the push drill bits that fit these too. Keep ‘em pointed away from you when changing bits!
It would appear that Garrett Wade has found a German tool company that makes a modern version of a Yankee screwdriver that incorporates a 1/4 ANSI bit holder in lieu of the traditional bit drive, so that one can use any 1/4 ANSI drive bit too.
Har! I dig mine out to show the youngsters how we did it in the wayback. I recall the slotted bit slipping out and shredding my fingertips on more than one occasion. That was before square and star and all those wonderful new bits.
For larger screws or bolts, or driving into harder material I have used a brace. Mine has a simple mechanism to switch direction of rotation so I can back out fasteners as well. Lee Valley sells a 1/4" bit holder to fit a brace, as well as one to fit 3/8" sockets. Quiet, and always ready to go.
No question that 1/4" hex bits are way cheaper than Yankee bits, and tend to be of higher quality, especially if you buy premium bits like those made by Ape –– my favorite, if hard to find brand.
But no need to reinvent the wheel, and pay a machinist big bucks for something easily available off-the-shelf:
I've got the biggest Yankee, I think it's the 131A. Back in 1977, I bought a Yankee-to-1/4" hex adapter, made by Apex, that I still have, and I know that others currently market similar products –– IIRC, McFeely's sells adapters to fit three different Yankee shaft diameters.
Back in '77, I guess I was lucky to have a local source. Today, with the Internet, there's no excuse for not googling what you want, then just buying it, rather than having it custom-made.
This is another old tip. Among other sources, Lee Valley Tools sells a 1/4" bit holder for just under $10. Item # 24K0580.
Yankee screwdrivers are a favorite of instrument repair techs who can't take lithium batteries on an airplane...
I have well over a dozen Yankee screwdrivers, in all the sizes, and sometimes they really are the best tool to use. In the 1980s when I could still wear a large well-equipped tool belt, I had a special slot for the biggest Yankee screwdriver.
But even more frequently, I still use Bit Braces with varying sweep sizes from 3” to 9” radius.
More finite control, and care can be utilized with these tools, particularly with a bit brace when drilling a large hole in the face of a door, for installing LOCKSETS in fancy-veneer doors.
Many of these tools are well over a half a century old and since I’ve been using cordless tools (Especially MILWAUKEE), beginning in the mid-1980s, I have gone through several generations of them, each change and upgrade resulting in significant additional reinvestment. I’m certain that if I could work another 50 years, I’d still be using my Yankee screwdrivers and my Bit-Braces.
Always do your best work, nothing less.