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Screw Drivers

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FishDFly

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I have two sets of gunsmith screw drivers, one I bought and one I was given. They are the type with wooden handles and what I call fixed tips. Unfortunately, they do not fit a lot of screws on rifles and pistols

I bought an inexpensive set of of gunsmith screwdrivers with interchangeable tips and that is what I got, an inexpensive set with a lot of broken tips.

Any recommendations for a good set of gunsmith screw drivers with interchangeable tips or are interchangeable tipped screw drivers a waste of time and money?

Thanks

fdf
 
I still have my Brownells set with interchangeable tips purchased 40 years ago. If a tip is too thick, I use a drum in my Dremel to grind it thin enough to fit. The drum maintains the hollow ground shape of a tip and is less apt to slip and bugger up a screw.
 
I have two sets of gunsmith screw drivers, one I bought and one I was given. They are the type with wooden handles and what I call fixed tips. Unfortunately, they do not fit a lot of screws on rifles and pistols

I bought an inexpensive set of of gunsmith screwdrivers with interchangeable tips and that is what I got, an inexpensive set with a lot of broken tips.

Any recommendations for a good set of gunsmith screw drivers with interchangeable tips or are interchangeable tipped screw drivers a waste of time and money?

Thanks

fdf

I have a smallish (maybe 20 tips) set from Brownells made by Chapman. I have used this set for at least 40 years and have yet to break a tip. Recently I bought a larger set from Brownells. Nothing like buggered up screws to hint at lack of care for a gun (or any other bit of fine machenery). I keep a period forged turnscrew, ground to fit the cock screw, in the shooting bag for each flintlock. Re interchangable tips, they keep the set down to a reasonable size and they fit my torque screwdriver.
 
I have a smallish (maybe 20 tips) set from Brownells made by Chapman. I have used this set for at least 40 years and have yet to break a tip. Recently I bought a larger set from Brownells. Nothing like buggered up screws to hint at lack of care for a gun (or any other bit of fine machenery). I keep a period forged turnscrew, ground to fit the cock screw, in the shooting bag for each flintlock. Re interchangable tips, they keep the set down to a reasonable size and they fit my torque screwdriver.
I also have the Brownell's set and added their thin bit assortment to the mix. I've never broken one but have put significant twists in several of the thin bits. Great products.
 
Ditto on the Brownell's or Midway products. But, do not overlook used screwdrivers from flea markets, yard sales, etc. They can be ground to fit your particular needs. The older they are, usually the better the steel also.
 
I have two sets of gunsmith screw drivers, one I bought and one I was given. They are the type with wooden handles and what I call fixed tips. Unfortunately, they do not fit a lot of screws on rifles and pistols

I bought an inexpensive set of of gunsmith screwdrivers with interchangeable tips and that is what I got, an inexpensive set with a lot of broken tips.

Any recommendations for a good set of gunsmith screw drivers with interchangeable tips or are interchangeable tipped screw drivers a waste of time and money?

Thanks

fdf

I really like close fitting , individual screwdrivers w/ wooden handles if possible, although my first set of quality screwdrivers started being used when I started my tool and diemaker apprenticeship in 1954. These are like new and are rarely used when building MLers.....narrow screw slots demand narrow tips and for these I buy cheaper wooden handled screwdrivers and hollow grind the tips to fit the narrow slots. Seeing some screw slots have angled sides, some of these cheap screwdrivers are ground to fit these as well.

These cheap screwdrivers were bought when browsing hardware stores and depts. and surprisingly have only encountered a couple that had "soft" tips and were discarded

All told, have about 50 screwdrivers that fit most slots but just in case there's a slight difference, the screw heads are Kasinited to ensure undamaged slots.

This is a alternate way to prevent "buggered up" slots in lieu of buying screwdriver tip sets......Fred
 
I have two sets of gunsmith screw drivers, one I bought and one I was given. They are the type with wooden handles and what I call fixed tips. Unfortunately, they do not fit a lot of screws on rifles and pistols

Could those screwdrivers perchance be "Grace Gunsmith Screw Drivers?" If so, I was issued a brand new set in 1974 and like you, found they fit almost no ordinary Gun Screw Slot. However, they have good steel in them so can be reshaped and hardened/annealed to fit particular gun screw slots. However, I would never recommend buying them to most folks since the interchangeable bit sets came out.

Like Fred and other machinists and gunsmiths, before the time of the quick change bit screwdrivers, I shaped the bits on wood handle turnscrews to fit the common screws on guns I worked on.

Later on I was gifted a set of Brownells Magna Tip Bits and that set has grown to the Master Super Set along with the "Thin Bits" Set. The latter Thin Bits Set allowed me to instantly work on an original CA. 1810 Saw Handled Flintlock Pistol by Nicolas-Noël Boutet, at the World Championships back in 1998.

Funny thing even with this wide of an assortment of Bits, there are occasional times I still have to file/grind some tips to match the slots in some gun screws.

Gus
 

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