which screwdriver set?

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labnoti

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I need some proper gun screwdrivers. I only work on my own guns and I only do basic disassembly and reassembly for cleaning and maintenance. I also do simple things like mount rings, rails and optics, change grips, and I might replace springs some day.

Guns are revolvers, Bolt action rifles, AR-15, pump shotgun, routine and nothing fancy. I have high-quality tools, but they're not gun-specific. My PB Swiss screwdrivers aren't hollow-ground. I have some good hollow-ground woodworking screwdrivers, but they're mostly too big. So I've just got bit inserts from Home Depot, Milwaukee or DeWalt.

So should I get a set of Grace or Forstner/Bonanza screwdrivers? Should I get a Wheeler bit and driver set? Should I get regular handles or the torque-wrench style? Something else?
 
Ive been using the wheeler digital torque wrench/screwdriver a lot since i got it a few months ago.
The bits tho, arnt any better than what comes in a dewalt pack, a little softer maybe. I keep thinking about buying one of those bigger, nicer bit sets, but what came with the wheeler wrench has been working fine so far.
 
labnoti said:
I need some proper gun screwdrivers. I only work on my own guns and I only do basic disassembly and reassembly for cleaning and maintenance. I also do simple things like mount rings, rails and optics, change grips, and I might replace springs some day.

Guns are revolvers, Bolt action rifles, AR-15, pump shotgun, routine and nothing fancy. I have high-quality tools, but they're not gun-specific. My PB Swiss screwdrivers aren't hollow-ground. I have some good hollow-ground woodworking screwdrivers, but they're mostly too big. So I've just got bit inserts from Home Depot, Milwaukee or DeWalt.

So should I get a set of Grace or Forstner/Bonanza screwdrivers? Should I get a Wheeler bit and driver set? Should I get regular handles or the torque-wrench style? Something else?
Click to expand...
There is a 8 pcs set in the new natchez catalog 38 bucks i think usa make wood handles looks nice
 
Making hollow ground screwdrivers is easy and fun. Here's a few tips from the Masters.


Master Gunsmith Art Iassacson:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9p1babm19cfxwe0/Art Iassacson Makes Screwdrivers Complete.mp4?dl=0


Master Gunsmith Jack Rowe fabricates "turn screws":

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5bww2zk440x5hex/Gunsmith Jack Rowe Screwdriver Fabrication Complete copy.mp4?dl=0


From the author of Double Guns and Custom Gunsmithing; first published in Shooting Sportsman Magazine:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1peinvvt3s6h6o/Gunsmith Screwdrivers Types & Grinding Hollow Tips copy.pdf?dl=0
 
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I have manufactured a screw driver head or two for specific tasks (for Lebel and MAS stock screws for instance). I also have Chapmans (an American made set), a Wheeler set, an old Pachmyr set, and even used just regular hardware store screwdrivers for some tasks--but apart from a few oddball uses--I have found the Magna tip offer the best value, the least likely to bugger up a screwhead if properly chosen for size, and hard enough to do the job right. The old Chapman's set follows in quality then the Pachmyr.

The Wheeler set is cheap but I have had some issues with softness on some of the tips. Lets face it, most of the firearms are worth far more than any screw tip and often the screws themselves cost an appreciable amount to replace if buggered up. For a hobbyist, get the Magna tips unless you like making your own tools and have to time to do so. These are designed from the get go for gunsmithing.
 
boom boom said:
Brownell's Magna Tip sets. This line also have specialty bits for things like the S&W revolvers.
Click to expand...

Bought a set of them in the 1980's, or 1970's. They are my most used gun screw screwdriver set. They are above my bench, where I clean guns. I pull them out all the time.

I did buy the 72 piece Wheeler set, https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Guns...pID=51mkGtcFyxL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch I use them at the range. I bought a metal case from Harbor Freight and filled it with tools and left it in the vehicle. Every so often, I am greatful to have torx, metric, and standard allen wrenches, a channel lock wrench, a small vise grips, and, jeweler's screwdrivers. Have been at the National Matches when the side screw to my glasses kept getting loose. Had to have a tiny screwdriver to tighten that up! One thing about the Wheeler, I have to use needle nose pliers to get the bits out of the plastic box, it is a tight fit. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on whether you have your leatherman tool on your belt. I have lost one of the bits, don't remember how or when, and I have not tried contacting Wheeler for a replacement.
 
boom boom said:
Brownell's Magna Tip sets. This line also have specialty bits for things like the S&W revolvers.
Click to expand...
These are what ive been looking at, probably buy some next time i order from brownells...keep feeling bad for buying one thing at a time and using my Edge membership for free shipping.
 
I have a Wheeler set that's pretty good, but had to supplement it with the Brownell's S&W set to have a bit that fits S&W revolver side plate screws.
 
I'll second the plugs for the Wheeler set. But understand that their smallest bits are rather soft, they'll twist on you if forced. I assume that's to avoid breakage; having a bit snap off while you're bearing down on a stuck screw will have devastating results. So they will twist, it's failsafe.
 
I have Chapman removable tip screwdrivers (about 4 decades old)
Brownells
Grace (some reground)
Some freebies (reground).
 
LoonWulf said:
These are what ive been looking at, probably buy some next time i order from brownells...keep feeling bad for buying one thing at a time and using my Edge membership for free shipping.
Click to expand...

They should feel bad for selling you an Edge membership. They offer free s/h practically every other day...

I started out with the small Magna tip box- then got a couple of tip-specific sets (336, 1894), then just took the plunge and bought the whole kit n kaboodle. What an awesome screwdriver set. But pricey. I have all of Grace's offerings too- they look and feel great, and are nicely ground, but I have broken a tip with one.
 
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