Ladies and Gents,
A fellow editor here at the magazine is diving into the world of multi-bit screwdrivers, and he’s wondering which ones to look at… anybody using these little gadgets? what brands? Also, there seem to be 5-in-1’s all the way up to dozens-in-ones… what size is everybody toting?
Justin Fink – FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Remodelerator
Replies
We have 3 "levels" of tools; the kitchen drawer, my portable toolbox, and the tool chest in the garage. The kitchen drawer has a 6-in-one screwdriver that I use all the time. Each of the kids got one when they moved out, along with a pair of pliers and a 16oz claw small hammer.
Snap On makes a really nice one.
Of course for the price how could it not be?
I want 2 of them.
Snap On makes a really nice one.
Of course for the price how could it not be?"
Rob,
for the price of the Snap On, you could buy a whole set of Crapsmendrivers.
.....At least they are easier to return.
WSJ
Ditto the Snap On. Bought one of the 1st back in '89(?) and now have 2. they were pricey then and even moreso now but hard to beat the feel.
I have the Snap On screwdrivers and I love them. I have the old style multibit in the box in the garage, regular and the stubby. In the truck I have the new style in standard handle and stubby with interchangeable blades. I also have the pistol grip screwdriver.
I would recomend them to anybody willing to pay for them. Tomorrow I will post pics if I have time.
Headstrong, I'll take on anyone!
I have two of the Klein 10in1 that are both 8in1s now. Lost the same bit out of both of'em.
I also have the Irwin 8?in1 It doesn't have the torx bits like the Klein but I like it better.
Here is my latest score. My Electrician had one on the job and I asked him to get me one. I love it!! If you do any wire nuts this one rocks!
7-in-1 Twist-a-Nutâ„¢ Screwdriver/Nutdriver
http://www.idealindustries.com/ht/Screwdrivers.nsf
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I have plenty of others ranging from the $2-3 variety up to some pretty high$ ones. Lowes had a nice one that I believe was Lufkin, it was blue and came in a promo set with a tape. It was a little bigger than most. This is not the one but it was similar. I would steer clear of the aluminum ones as I have buggered the nutdriver function more than once.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=239374-16878-60223&lpage=none
I hate the ones with the little magazine in the handle but hate the ones with the little rubber ring that slips over the shaft holding about 6 bits even more. They are fine for contingency use but not constant working.
Bob
Edited 6/11/2007 4:16 pm ET by rasconc
Edited 6/11/2007 4:20 pm ET by rasconc
I have the Lufkin that came with the tape measure. It's not bad, but a little large. I also have a stubby model that stores bits under the handle cap. it is supposed to ratchet but I disabled that function. It is too small for serios work, but works great in a tool pouch where you just need it occassionally. "Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
The large blue one I was thinking about was Crescent, not Lufkin. It is considerably larger and has good grip and a little more reach than most. A little big for some bags possibly though.
Justin,
Here is the one I use. Megapro 15 in 1. Comes in very handy with Phillips, torx, flat, square, and it works as a 1/4" nut driver. When remodeling, I'll bet I use it several times a day.
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vintage,
Bet that is the Dottie brand."Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
dovetail,
Actually when I saw this thread I couldn't remember the name of mine so I just Googled 15 in 1 screwdrivers. That pic was on the first website I went to (Cully Megapro)
I bought mine at the local tool store about 4 years ago and have never paid attention to the mfg., but that sure looks like the one I have.
JFINK,
I have 3, (home, shop, truck) gave my kids one each. I think it is the only tool that they both still have from their original tool gifts.
Brand name is DOTTIE , 15 in 1 screw driver. hold Straight, Phillips Torx drivers. Great tool .
Available thru electrical wholesale houses, replacement bits available.
Klien....
6 in 1...
bullet proof...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Someone mentions both of these things, but I'll re-state.
My "4 in one" is a "6 in one" if you figure out that the reversible bits have different hex sizes and, if left out, give you a 1/4 and 5/16 nut driver.
If you use winged wirenuts, you can pass it off as a "7 in one".
I have the snap-on ratcheting screwdriver with the bit storage in the handle. That's a nice one, but pricey.
I don't like or use the " x-in-one" screwdrivers. You are stuck replcing the bits with their bits IF you can later locate them......
My driver is an old one (no idea of the brand)that uses easily replaceable tips same as a screwgun/drill. I go thru Phillips #2 bits by the box.
Use them??!! How long have they been legal and why didn't someone tell me sooner?? - lol
Until a few years ago, I kept a wide selection of screwdrivers in the tool box and used them regularly. One day, I forgot my #1 Phillips so I picked up one of the multi-bit screwdrivers out of the $1.00 bin at the hardware store. I figured that it was a cheap gimmick but the price was right for something I would only use once. Boy, was I wrong!! Now I have 5-6 of them and keep them in my tool boxes, tool buckets, pickup, and on the workbench. I still have most of the old screwdrivers, but they just lay in the bottom drawer of my tool box collecting dust.
A few weeks ago, I needed a Torx bit and didn't have one. The homeowner said she thought that her soon-to-be-ex hubby had left one in the garage and brought out one from Orchard Supply & Hardware. It had the usual straight & phillips bits as well as torx and square drive bits in the handle. I tried to talk her out of it, but she said that although her soon-to-be-ex hubby was a useless SOB, he had left a pretty decent tool collection behind and she was planning on keeping them.
I also saw something interesting advertised on TV last night - a set of double ended screw extractors. One end drills a cone shape into the broken screw, then the other end works like an EZ-Out.
Crafstman 6 in 1
I carry a Klien mostly, but found a new ( To me) Lennox at Fastenal a few months back. It seems OK so far. I had a Stanly that really, really, stunk. It holds inserts in the handle, in a captured groove, and you need a screwdriver to pry out the bits...LOL How stupid is that?
"you are dead a lot longer than you are alive"
Noah Aaron MacKenzie, 1990.
I doubt that there's a tool that gets more constant use from me than the Craftsman 5 in 1 I have.
Don't know how old it is, I inherited it from my dad. But I'd guess it's been around 15+ years.
4 bits and a nut driver, plus it has a ratchet in both directions. Standard sized bits; the deck mate bits I have also fit this. The only time I reach for another screwdriver now is if I can't find this one.
Auto Loader hands down.
Got one here a few years back on the Santa list. Good tips, works great.
Lost it for a bit and had to track down a new one. Found the old one, all is good now.
Look it up.
[email protected]
I use a 4 in one all the time but for those times when you have need to have a driver that fits exactly I have a set made by Chapman for gunsmiths.
Got a few - some real old ones that gradually lost the bits - round shanks with a couple of "ears" (brand name of Cluthe comes to mind) to prevent rotation in the handle. Plenty of handles around somewhere tho.
Current ones I prefer use the 1/4' hex bits although some of the tips are a solution looking for a problem - so rare I have never come across a screw to use em on.
Find they are easier to use with a bit that is longer than the standard 1 inch or so. Extra length keeps the bulk of the handle/shank/chuck assembly out of the way.
Up here in Canada we have our own "Crappy Tire" (Canadian Tire) with their Mastercrap (Mastercraft) house brand. After all, we can't let you Yankees (affectionally) flog Crapsman without a challenge.
Have seen some tips with diamond grit on them to increase (according to the advertising blurb) the friction of the tip to the screw and reduce/prevent cam out. Have not tried them as yet.
Until now have been using a driver/drill to run in fasteners and lacking that ultrafine trigger control have the bit overspeed and cam out. Does a number not only on the screw-head but also on the driver tip (mostly #2 Robertson with some #2 Philips (drywall screws in any case).
Just got one of the cordless impact drivers that is supposed to put an end to it. I'll wait & see.
Sure hope your evaluation will look at bit longevity. Who sell the bits that last?
Klein 10 in 0ne
same Klein quality as the traditional screwdrivers but I always have what I need
MEGAPRO! MEGAPRO! MEGAPRO!!!
I likes my megapro... it seemed hokey at the start but it is so handy so much of the time...
http://www.megapro.net/products/index.php
got mine from duluth I think...
I was always dubious about the quality of such things until I saw my plumber had one. He said he had used it hard and no problems.
I now have 3 of them. Stanley. Not expensive and they have done a lot of work and not even a hint of a glitch. Good tools.
As an extra precaution against some creative sort using a screw head of unusual design I also got a set of weird shapes.
( I encountered a triangle drive head once.....where the fella found it I couldnt guess cos I have never seen another one )
Not an exponent of the DILLIGAF system.
I ordered a 6 in 1 off a specialty website few years ago. Its called the Picquic. It seems indestructable as I have used it as a hammer and chisel far more than I should have. http://www.firehawktech.com/qhvac.asphttp://www.picquic.com/sixpac.html
jerseyjeff,
That is the same one that I have . Mine has the name "Dottie" on it. Must be a "Brand" name thing. Best tool for the $ I have ever bought."Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Does the Megapro rachet?
It did not appear to list any on that page/link.
no... I found that the ratcheting ones simply had too much play for me, kinda heavy too, and off balance...
the other tool that has permanent propac status is my skewdriver...
http://www.spectools.com/spec.htm
look for the nylon one.... but the more expensive ones look spiffy... when you need it, there is nothing like it in the world.... dynomite...
jmmmm
Enderes 5 in onehttp://www.enderes.com/catalog/index.php?SCREEN=item&department=15&item=2I've had one for a long time, the bits are really hard, and hold up very well. They have torx and many different combination of drivers. A good value IMHO.Rip
I picked up one a couple of years ago. It's made by Lutz; every one I've seen also carries the brand or name of the store that sells it. The name on the one I'm looking at is hard to read, but I think it says "15 in one." Patent #6327942.
The handle on every one I've seen is yellow and contains six double-end bits, with a 7th one in the screwdriver. It ratchets, with a slide to switch the ratchet between driving and extracting. You can also disable the ratchet. I bought one for the toolbox I take on jobs and liked it so well I bought a second one for the house. Bought one at a building supply store and the other at a True Value. Haven't seen them in the big boxes.
A couple of SnapOn's here- can't recall the model #'s at the moment. The ergonomics on the newer model are much improved over the earlier style. Been getting used alot- been doing door and bath hardware installs on a couple of condo and apt. projects; wouldn't be without 'em.
don't laugh
last year for father's day my son got me the Benchmark (Home Hardware house brand) Retract-A-Bit. it had been heavily advertised on tv.
it's a 6-in-1 (philips, robertson, flat, large and small) where the tip slides/shoots out the end, stiletto style.
at first i thought it was a joke. one of those awkward moments when you receive a present that you don't like. but it's great. use it every day. best present he ever got me.
it was $20 cdn.
but there are cheapo versions where, when you apply any pressure on the tip, it collapses.
Put me down for being a big fan of the Snap-on drivers.
Definitely one of my favorite tools.
do you have the model no.? i went on the snapon website and couldn't find the multi bit drivers.thank fred.
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=all&Group_ID=13204&store=snapon-storeLast 4 items on the page.
I wish all the mean people, if you want to be mean to each other, just buy a country together and blow each other up. Then we’d have no terrorists left. [Tara Reid]
Klein 10-in-1. Best one I have ever used--and they can take a pretty serious beating.
Elliott
Justin, I finally found one that works quite well , it's a Lenox 9-in-one that has three nutdrivers with thicker walls that hold up longer than my old Klein
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/lenox/23932/
I have two of these but I got them in town cost $9
.
.
.
, wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
I have used many of these tools, and they tend to fall into two groups:
A) Those that are simply terrible tools, useful only as balloon ballast. Examples include the Channellock and Enders versions; and,
B) Ones that are simply inconvenient to use, though the bits and the handles may not be bad.
That said, I actually have found three that are on the right track.
A Canadian tool, "Picquic," I think, stores five 2" long bits in the handle, and one in use. The bit you don't want is used to push the bit you want out of its' individual spring loaded place in the handle.
Klein, after having a mediocre "5 in 1" screwdriver for ages, came out with the "10 in 1." With bits appropriate to electrical work, and two nut driver sizes, the tool is worth keeping in your pocket.
Ideal countered with their "7 in 1", a driver that has 4 screwdriver tips, two nut drivers, and a wire nut wrench. (It's pictured above)
The Megapro that some like, I find it too large to fit in a pocket, and the handle is a bit fatter than I like. Yet, I have one for my tamper-proof bits.
A final few notes: The local box store once sold a cheap driver that had a telescoping magnet in the shank, a flashlight in the handle (that illuminated the screw head), and stored bits in a rubber piece around the shank. This tool looked promising. Yet, the flashlight switch failed, the rubber piece dropped bits, and the magnet wasn't strong enough to hold the bits in place. Nice ideas, flawed execution.
Craftsman had a similar driver, but stored the bits in the plastic case that the set came in. Those cases might look nice on a store shelf, but I'm not about to carry one around.
Edited 6/13/2007 8:43 pm ET by renosteinke
The favorite screwdriver in the box. Craftsman pull out handle. It holds about 15 bits. They are not double ended bits, standard hex size. Clickless rachet either way or locked. Magnet in end to hold the screws on the tip. But it costs about $25.00
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Hand+Tools%2C+General+Purpose&pid=00941796000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Screwdrivers&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
I use the Klein regularly (daily). I never know what I'm going to run into -- slotted, Phillips, Robertson mostly. Infrequently Torx. Nice thing about it is the bits are in the shaft. You don't have to screw the end off the handle and try to get size 12 hands around an insie-teensie bit.
But I have a new favorite for closed in places -- http://toolmonger.com/2007/01/02/reader-find-gear-wrenchs-35-pc-microdriver-set/
Who says a screw driver has to look like a screwdriver?
Since it takes standard drivers, I've added a #1 Robertson and a DeckMate and Bob's my uncle. Since the drivers are also not proprietary, if I ever loose or wear one out, it's easy to replace.
Edited 6/12/2007 7:00 pm ET by byhammerandhand
After using many it has to be the Klein 10 in 1. You can also get replacement bits for it.
where do you get the replacement bits for Klein 10/1?
most any quality Klien outlet....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
from klein or my local sparkie supply house has them too
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Sears has that
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Hand+Tools%2C+General+Purpose&pid=00947380000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Screwdrivers&BV_UseBVCookie=Yesbut my money is on the Klein 10 in 1, I have 5 of them so there is always one where ever I am working
Edited 6/13/2007 9:01 pm ET by restorationday
Crapsman?! They have p1ss3d me off so much that they don't deserve my business any more and occupy the sole spot on my PSL. I always think they've been gliding on a reputation from 40 years ago.
Dat's da bomb![email protected]
Kinda resembles one, too!
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Klien 10 in 1....
I learned of this from a poster in the Breaktime "what tool did you buy today" thread awhile back. Ordered it online at http://www.megaproscrewdrivers.com it has 6 double-headed bits that store in the handle and I've found myself using it so frequently for things around the house that I've ordered and sent these as gifts to friends, at least a half dozen of them to date, also...
Only dead fish swim with the stream.
Author Unknown
I'm a big fan of Crescents ratcheting multi bit, with the telescopic magnet.
http://www.amazon.com/Crescent-Screwdriver-Nutdriver-Telescoping-Ratchet/dp/B00086HYH8/ref=sr_1_21/104-6950598-3162302?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1182093413&sr=1-21
although I do keep a Klein 10 in 1 in my toolbox.
I usually prefer to use a single purpose screwdriver, can't beat Snap On. Sure sucks, when they grow legs.
When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
- Klein 10-in-1
- 2 Proto gearless folding ratcheting screwdrivers (similar to the Snap On)
- Cheap Husky folding ratcheting screwdriver (the only tool I had that would reach and turn the invisible third screw on a Volvo 850 distributor cap)
- Can I include my 2 or 3 old Yankee push drills? I've still got a set of straight and philips bits for them, as well as an old countersink.
Dusty&Lefty
Klein 10-n-1. Have 2-3 of those, and a Craftsman ratcheting multibit driver in my bucket.
I like these Crescent drivers. Comfortable rubberized grip, and can get them for less than $4.00 at Menards.
I also have Klein, Enders, Craftsman, Stanley, and several others - allways reaching for the Crescent
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103166555
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I have a few Crescents hanging around but don't like to carry them in my pocket. The rubberized handle pulls the pocket inside out and dumps whatever else I'm carrying at the same time.
I had a smooth handled 6 in 1 that I carried 'til I wore it out.
Still, I find I must have an assortment of regular screwdrivers because the sockets for the multi-drivers are often too large to fit through or around some items. Coupled with the stubby bits they come with you can't touch certain fasteners at the bottom of a well.
They only one I have kept is my Snap-On. Works great. Has a ratchet action handle. Handle is made of high quality material and stores the bits inside. my wife isn't allowed anywhere near that one.
Dave
Take a look at the gunsmith supply catalog from Brownells they have sets of multi-bit screwdrivers that are the best especially if you are dealing with sloted screws.
Troy
Try the Megapro. I have various X in 1 screwdrivers, but these are really fast to load and get into action.
I like them enough to have about six of them in various bags and buckets.
They come in different load-outs, so you can really customize for the work you do.
I buy from Seahawk
<http://www.seahawksupply.com/>
The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
Are you referring to those 5/16" double hex type drivers? I prefer the 1/4" single short type bits Those double ended types suck up too much magnetism A few I have have a hollow handle that'll fit 6 tips
The best one (my oldest) has a machined brass shaft and chrome plating No drain on the interior magnet. Aluminum sux. I wish someone would manufacture one with a roller ball on the handle's end.
1/4" bits are versatile as they can be used in drywall guns and other power drivers
Steinmetz.