When I am working with screws, I like to have a bit holder that will pick up several screws at a time, if I stick it in the bag of screws.
Means it holds onto the one screw, the best, when trying to hold a piece of material with one hand, and use the impact driver with the other.
What is the -consistantly- strongest driver bit holder that you have found ?
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Replies
Luka
I have a better question.
Why do I always lose the one I like best and I can't seem to get rid of the ones don't work well?
Where do they all go?
I like the Makita 3", but I am having a hard time finding them.
On Amazon they are always grouped with longer extentions and misc bits I really don't want.
Seems that bit extentions are getting more and more expensive. $7-$8 range.
Rich
Exactly why I want to find the best ones I can find. I have the krappy ones all over the place. I lose the good ones.I am hoping for really good, but still fairly cheap. I think the best one I ever had was a cheapo.
....
You move me to Florida and I'll be glad to give you the finger... might be a flanger from there...http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
When I find a co-worker using an Apex holder, I grill ‘em on where they got it. If they “can’t remember,†or say Builder’s Squaw, or something, I take it back. It’s hard enough to find a distributor around here, and Apex is too expensive ($10-$20), to just end up with one by chance. That’s how I end up losing the good ones. It’s not necessarily outright, conscious theft -- some guys couldn’t honestly tell you what brand they use, so if they pick one up off the bench, and like it, it stays in their gun.One thing I've done to personalize my holders is to drill a hole through a chunk of 2x to fit it, chuck up the holder, stick it through the 2x, and touch a Sawzall bade to it, leaving a nice, neat groove on it that no one else has on theirs.As I said, they're expensive, but buy one to try it out. The extra $ won't kill you. But then you'll be hooked.Aitchkay
Kay
I have never heard of Apex.
I work with my 2 sons. All theft is in house. LOL
We try to mark tools Red, yellow and orange so that they somewhat go back to the right truck.
The company( mostly me) owns all the tools, but I try to keep all of the vehicles stocked somewhat evenly so that when I send someone to a jobsite, the tools to do the job are in the vehicle.
It's a constant chinese firedrill with tools because I often send them out with my van to start a job, because it is stocked the best, while I look at work.
Or one of us leaves early and tools are left behind.
But I know where all the bit holders are. On my son's dresser. LOL Or buried in one of my tool pouches under a bunch of nails. LOL
Rich
Yep, on the dresser! That's where I find mine. And before, when I used to swap out the 1" bits all of the time, they'd end up in my watch pocket, and, of course, from there right into the wash. What a familiar sound -- 1" hex bits in the dryer!AitchKay
Kay
What a familiar sound -- 1" hex bits in the dryer!
My wife knows it well.
I put clothes in the washer 1st thing in the morning and then throw them in the dryer before I head out the door.
Then she comes downstairs to remove the bits. LOL
Rich
Kay
What a familiar sound -- 1" hex bits in the dryer!
My wife knows it well.
I put clothes in the washer 1st thing in the morning and then throw them in the dryer before I head out the door.
Then she comes downstairs to remove the bits. LOL
Rich<<<
Rich & Kay
Now thats a thread unto itself fer sure!! When I hear my bits and loose screws clanging around the dryer I'm like.....SHIIIIDDDDDDD....myyyyyyyyyyy material listssssss.....and DW KNOWS my pockets are my file cabinets and never to throw my clothes in the wash B/4 checking em'...'specially my pants until all my pockets are emptied.
The minute I hear that rattling of the dryer I know my material lists and all my chicken scratches I've been saving on varies pcs of paper from pcs of cardboard boxes to the backs of warranty cards to...have been eaten up by the washer...grrrrr.
I'm trying to get better at emptying my pockets when I get home but c'mon....ya know?
I try and put things in my phone under "my lists" but thats about as hard as using Excel instead of using my yellow legal pads...lol.....I am trying though....watch me!!
LOOK OUT!...lol
http://www.cliffordrenovations.com
http://www.ramdass.org
One reason I do my own laundry! But I still miss those 1" bits!AitchKay
andy
did you give up on excel?
Rich
Give up on Excel? No..not in the least. I even got 2 books out of the library to keep puter side along with your tutorial.
Didn't ya check my last entry back in the other thread?
I've done pretty well so far in a short time.
Have my formulas figured out and a buncha other stuff. At least enough to actually use it without my calculator...lol.
http://www.cliffordrenovations.com
http://www.ramdass.org
Apex rules!My friends dad worked for them for years. They are here in town, but they are hard to buy from. Flea market sellers have bins of stuff sometimes, but Apex makes some truly wacky specialty stuff, and that seems to be what the flea market has. The bits are real quality.
I see that Apex is now a part of CooperTools.It kinda appears that Ace hardware sells apex.
Edited 3/15/2009 9:07 pm by kenhill3
Several industrial supply houses sell them here. They are worth the money, but you're paying real americans to make them, so the price doesn't compare to foreign tools. Of course Apex tools have a very long life, so that evens it up. They are mostly used in industrial factories.
Didn't see ace, but it looks like fastenal has them, too.http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
That's good to know. Fastenal has two branches here, one about 10 minutes away, the other maybe 20. I remember when one local place quit carrying Apex the buyer commented to me that Apex wanted him to carry $10K worth of inventory to be an outlet for them. And that was around 1980!AitchKay
"When I find a co-worker using an Apex holder, I grill ‘em on where they got it. If they “can’t remember,†or say Builder’s Squaw, or something, I take it back."
Why don't you just mark your bit holders with fingernail polish?
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Well, it's not that easy -- I'm having a hard time picking out a shade that sets off my eyes just right. But I'm going to have my colors done by this woman who's really good.Aitchkay
my fingers...
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
So... Do you mail me your fingers, or do I have to bring all my work down to Florida ?;o)
....
So... Do you mail me your fingers,
You have to send him yours first. Or pay the core charge.
MikeInsert initially amusing but ultimately annoying catch phrase here.
Dude. Great minds think alike. Head on over to "Impact mag insert that works?" We're only a couple of posts ahead o you on this one.
AitchKay
Dang !I'll go have a look right after I post this.I didn't open that one because I thought it was about something like the magsaw.....
Well here's where we were 2 hours ago on the other thread:
"...I've found Apex holders and bits to be way superior to others.
Put matching bits, #3 Phillips, say, in different holders, and do the tug-of-war trick with a ball bearing -- the Apex always wins.
And their bits are sharper-edged, crisper-edged than others, and stay that way longer than any other brand I've ever used."
AitchKay
The magnetic ring is the closest thing in that thread to answering the question I am actually asking.I have more problems with bits breaking, than with them sticking in the holder. When they get stuck in the holder, it just takes a tap sideways to get them loose. And/or a pair of pliers. What's the big deal ? Takes someone an extra minute or so, to finish the job ???I just want a really strong magnet inside the bit holder.....
We have tried every bit we can buy... bosch snaps with little or no provocation... Kobalt seems to hang in there for the long haul.http://www.tvwsolar.com
I went down to the lobby
To make a small call out.
A pretty dancing girl was there,
And she began to shout,
"Go on back to see the gypsy.
He can move you from the rear,
Drive you from your fear,
Bring you through the mirror.
He did it in Las Vegas,
And he can do it here."
My experience as well.They might as well rename the bosch bits, "snap-off".
....
"I just want a really strong magnet inside the bit holder."Me, too. As I posted, I'll even glue 'em in! I don't care how hard they are to remove; I don't remove 'em until it's time to throw 'em away!But do the tug-of-war test some time with an Apex holder. I think you'll be impressed.AitchKay
My concern is not holding the bit in the holder.I want a magnet that is strong enough that I actually have to pull the screw off of the bit, once positioned. Rather than the way they just fall off the bit, with the cheapos.....
Luka-
You wanted a strong magnet? Here, I have these:
View Image
View Image
I have one of those.I'll admit, the magnet is pretty strong.Well, at least the one in the yellow slider.The other magnet wouldn't even hold itself in the bit holder, if it weren't glued there.I don't like the slider. I don't like sliders, on general principle. This one just seems to go out of it's way to be in the way.....
Proud participant in the witless protection program...
Exactly what I was talking about -- the tug-of-war test. Maybe it's over in that other thread -- this is confusing.AitchKay
I think the jackrabbit system is the best. This is the system. http://www.jackrabbittool.com/
And this the magnet you can put on any 1/4" hex bit. Scroll down for the mag ring.
http://www.jackrabbittool.com/parts.html
How about a custom one.
Drill out the old magnet & put in a neodynium one.
Or you can get this baby around the whole chuck.
View Image
Be carefull it will wipe out a tv 8' away.
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm
Wow.And, I have been thinking along the lines of a custom one, myself. Just need to find the right magnets.....
Proud participant in the witless protection program...
@ 325 bucks I don't think that magnet is what ya had in mind ;-)
But I just bought 17 of their 3/4" x 1/8" for my kids hamster powered night light science project. buck a piece.
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm
They have them in a varety of sizes & shapes.
I have a friend who couldn't keep a pair of sunglasses for a week without losing them or sitting on 'em. Then he decided to get serious, and bought a $100 pair. He became VERY careful about where he put 'em when he took 'em off, and that pair lasted years. Much better economy than $12 per week.
The same thing can apply to small tools. Spend an amount that you consider TOO MUCH, and you will always be aware of that tool. If it's in your pocket, you will remember that you put it there.
Thank you.I bookmarked the page.....
Proud participant in the witless protection program...
But before you go all "reinvent the wheel" on us, do yourself a favor and buy an Apex.AitchKay
My computer just went blank! What did you do?! ;-)
It's the one that I added twin magnets to the driver shank, in the same pole direction as the original, and went over them with electrical tape...
Just don't lay your driver down near anything else... ;>)
Bill
That's probably what I will end up doing, if I can find the right magnets.....
Proud participant in the witless protection program...