I'm guilty of using what I had on hand for a number of years. While being careful and patient has its benefits, it's just plain EASIER to have the right fit up front. What I am also finding is that many of the screws I'm coming across now have a VERY narrow slot! No standard 'off the shelf' drivers even fit. Nor does most of a small set of Grace drivers I purchased from Brownell's. I'll look into the Chapman's and Wheeler sets mentioned above. Any others to consider in my search?
On driver in particular I find myself needing is a very WIDE but thin bladed one. (Mainspring screw on an 1851 Navy)
Thanks and Happy New Year to all!
Though this reply might seem like an unpaid advertisement for Brownell's Gunsmithing supplies, I am in no way connected with them, other than having some good friends who worked there over the years.
In 1973 when I began my 16 month long, On the Job Training Program (Apprenticeship) to become a Marine Corps Rifle and Pistol Team Equipment Repairman (National Match Gunsmith) we were issued a standard set of Grace Gunsmithing Screwdrivers, which unfortunately fit almost none of the screw slots we worked on. That's when I first started modifying screwdriver blades to fit the screws I actually worked on.
In 1974 when I first began going to the North South Skirmish Association Spring and Fall National Championships to do trigger jobs and various gunsmithing work on Un Civil War long guns and revolvers, I began collecting 19th century wood handled screwdrivers and modified the blades to fit original and repro guns of that period.
I was extremely fortunate while teaching an NRA gunsmithing Seminar in the Mid 1980's, to have as one of my students, the man who then RAN the Brownell's Catalog. He gifted me and all the students with a variety of their products, but the most useful was the Brownell's Magna Tip Screwdriver Sets. Over the course of the next few years, I added all the "add on kits" to turn it into the "Master Set."
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...a-tip-sets/magna-tip-super-sets--prod417.aspx
Prior to going to the World Muzzleloading Committee Championships in Wedgnock, UK in 1996, I fortunately decided to buy the "Magna Tip Thin Bit Set," which allowed me to work on the SUPER Narrow European Screw Slots. That saved my bacon when working on an original Jaeger Rifle in 1996 and an original Nicolaus Boutet Flintlock target and dueling pistol in 1998.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...it-sets/magna-tip-thin-bit-set-prod44342.aspx
What I LOVE about the Brownells Magna Tip Screwdriver bits is you can find almost any size of bit you need to work on any guns AND you don't need to buy a complete set. You can buy them individually. Plus, they cost much less to buy or replace than making or modifying a screwdriver or bit for what you need. The other bit sets don't have ANYWHERE CLOSE to the range of bits that Brownells has in stock. Here is a link to the individual bits you can purchase. If you can't find the bit you need and you have the measurements of the screwdriver width and length, give them a call and they will help you select the right one.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...-3-sd-120-bt-030-sku080120330-41568-1935.aspx
Gus
