Choosing quality equipment for the screwdriver

The screwdriver is widely used by both home craftsmen and professionals at the construction site and in other areas of activity. With it, tighten the screws, screws, screws, bolts, and also drill holes in different materials. For each type of fastener, a suitable bit for a screwdriver is needed. Working tools for power tools can be purchased in sets or individually: it all depends on the variety of types of fasteners with which to work.

If you only need to occasionally connect parts, then it is enough to purchase some of the most common bits. It is more convenient for professionals under different fasteners to buy attachments with one set. Without any problems, the classification of products by size and type, as well as recommendations for manufacturers, will help to navigate the extensive range.

Kinds of bits

The tooling for the screwdriver consists of the following accessories:

• magnetic or conventional bits and holders for them (extension cords);
• drills

A bit is a rod with six edges, on one side of which a working profile is located, and the other end of it is intended to be fixed in the cartridge of an electric tool or in a holder. This special attachment should be the size of the fastener (screw, screw, screw, bolt, etc.).

Drill bits for screwdriver represent a separate category of equipment. They are taken from conventional (unstressed) drills. In this case, the maximum diameter of the drill is limited by the largest cross section of the tail section, which the tool holder is able to clamp.

Existing types of bits differ the shape of your working part. On this basis, such groups of this equipment are distinguished:

• the main (standard), which consists of straight, cross-shaped, hexagonal tips, as well as in the form of an asterisk and under the bolts;
• special, for example, bits, equipped with spring clamps, restrictive stops (designed for screwing sheets of drywall), triangular;
• combined, in which the nozzles are equipped with two working parts of various shapes or sizes.

Extension for bits are divided into two types:

• magnetic holding the inserted nozzle due to the strength of the magnetic field;
• spring, in which the tail part is fixed rigidly.

Standard equipment

Standard nozzles are part of any set, they are used in the work most often. The very first of all the variety of equipment appeared straight (slotted) bits. This classic version is designed to work with screws or screws that have a straight cut. Marked slotted equipment with the letter S (from the word slot), next to which is put a figure. The number indicates the width of the slot, which is in the range of 3-9 mm. The thickness of the tip is not specified, but its standard value lies in the range from 0.5 to 1.6 mm. Marking, located on the shank, also contains an indication of the material from which the equipment is made.

There are slotted bits with gold plated titanium nitride. Then the marking contains the designation TIN. At the same time, the width of the tips with a titanium coating can be from 4.5 to 6% mm, and the thickness - 0.6-1.2 mm.

Are dating elongated nozzles spline type. They are 5-10 cm long.

Cruciform (cross) bits divided into two groups:

• Ph (from Philips) is a universal type with a length of 2.5 to 15 cm (there are also 30 cm flexible holders), with a working part of four diagonal ribs;

• PZ (Pozidrive) is a snap-in of different lengths, equipped in addition to 4 main edges, four more additional ones.

Philips tooling It has four sizes: from Ph-0 to Ph-3. The figure corresponds to the outer diameter of the fastener.

The most popular of all is the size of Ph-2, which has become widespread during household work.

Pozidrive nozzles come in the following sizes:

• PZ0 are used to work with screws up to 2.5 mm in diameter;
• PZ1 - with their help twist fasteners from 2.5 to 3.5 mm;
• PZ2 are designed for 3.5-4 mm screws;
• PZ3 and PZ4 allow you to work with large screws and anchor bolts.

Cross equipment is most common compared to other species. It may also have a titanium coating.

Marking bits hexagon shape - the letter H (from the phrase Hex socket). Such nozzles can be:

• classical type, size 1.5-10 mm;

• hexagonal shape, but with an internal hole (their dimensions are in the range of 1.5-6 mm);

• elongated, with the dimensions of the working part from 3 to 8 mm and a length of 5-10 cm.

Hexagons are widely used in furniture production, during installation / dismantling of water supply or heating systems.

Asterisks marked with a letter T with a number. They are used in the assembly / disassembly of household appliances, as well as cars. They are of such varieties:

• Torx (classic), sizes T8-T40;

• Torx Plus (the rays are less sharp), in sizes from T10 to T40;

• with titanium coating (TIN), sizes T10-T40;

• with an internal opening (T10-T40 standard size);

• elongated: in size from T10 to T40, 5-10 cm long.

Nozzles designed for tightening or unwinding hex-head fasteners (bolts, nuts) are 6-13 mm in size. The most common of these are the eight millimeter bits.

There are magnetized and non-magnetic modifications, with the price of the first approximately 1.5 times higher.

Special nozzles

To special equipment include the following types of bits:

• tri-blade (Tri wing), sizes TW0-TW5;

• four-blade (Torq-set, denoted Gr), 4-10 mm in size;

• classic and elongated tetrahedral (Robertson square, with square-shaped slot), denoted by the letter R;

• elongated and classic in the shape of a "fork" (denoted Gr).

There are also tips with another special form, but they are used very rarely.

Classification of bits on the material and coating

The properties of the material from which the hardware is made, as well as the coating, depend on their strength characteristics and resistance to wear. The following alloys are considered to be the best for the manufacture of screwdriver tips:

• chromium-vanadium (denoted by the symbols Cr-V);

• chromium-molybdenum (Cr-Mb);
• tungsten-molybdenum.

The most common is an alloy of chromium with vanadium.

Hardware is also made from other metals, for example, from high speed steel (from R7 to R12). But such cheaper alloys are inferior in their performance (strength, wear resistance) to the options considered.

A screwdriver attachment for screws, bolts and other types of fasteners can be covered with such materials:

• nickel;
• titanium;
• tungsten carbide;
• diamond coated.

The coating increases the stability of the working tips to corrosive processes, increases their wear resistance, as well as strength characteristics. Spray titanium emphasizes quality products. It has a yellow tint.

Recommendations for choosing bits for work

The market of tools designed to equip the screwdriver is filled with products of different quality and from different companies. For this reason, the question is relevant: which manufacturers should they buy products in a set, and which ones separately? The correctness of the choice in this case determines not only the time of use of the purchased bits, but also affects the service life of the power tool used, and also affects the quality of the work performed.

Tips for purchasing piece goods

For a one-piece purchase, experts recommend Whirl Power (WP) brand products. It is easy to distinguish it from analogues by the presence of branded stickers in green. The great popularity and credibility of the product of this company is due to its good magnetic properties, as well as considerable hardness, which increases the operating time due to slow wear.Nozzles are inserted without problems into the cartridge without falling out of it when the power tool is tilted down. Magnetic bits hold metal fasteners well - this allows you to conveniently carry out working operations in hard to reach places.

The following bit sizes from Whirl Power are popular for practical use:

• 25 mm;
• 50 mm;
• 75 mm;
• 90 mm.

Long nozzles of 150 mm size are also widely used.

To work with most varieties of fasteners used standard model WP2. If you want to perform operations with decorative modifications of screws, then use tips for a screwdriver WP1. The working parts are equipped with notches, which increase their resistance to wear.

Customer reviews of Whirl Power products are positive. The enterprises of different fields of activity get its large wholesale.

Whirl Power is almost inferior in popularity among customers products Boschwhich traditionally supplies high-quality power tools to the market. The quality of the attachments for screwdrivers from this brand is also emphasized by their high price.At the same time, products with a coating of titanium, marked with a yellow color, are very popular. The main material for their manufacture are chromium-vanadium, tungsten-molybdenum or chrome-molybdenum alloys. In addition to titanium, tungsten carbide, diamond or nickel are also used as a protective coating for packed working parts.

The presence of titanium coating significantly increases the cost of production. Because of this, hardware from Bosch at a price 2 times or more higher than counterparts from Whirl Power. In such cases, the financial issue comes to the fore when choosing accessories.

Bosch’s cheaper competitors are hardware from DeWALT company. Their distinguishing feature is a high degree of impact resistance. They can be used regularly for a long time. To use in everyday life, also suitable hardware by magna. With a neat job, they can last a long time.

If you need to buy a snap for a certain kind of fasteners, it is recommended to take with him a sample. This will allow you to choose the best variant of the tip, trying it on to the cap prior to purchase.

Popular nozzle kits

It is possible to choose bits for the screw gun in one set. The stores feature a lot of ready-made collections of hardware, packed in boxes convenient for storage and use. In such cases, each element is placed in a separate place, while indicating its size next to it.

Professional kits from Hitachi and Kraftool stand out among competitors for their excellent quality. They contain hardware of all standard sizes used in various fields of practice.

As part of the kits, there are even heads for mounting roofing screws.

If you buy a set of high-quality hardware, then such a purchase will be cheaper than a single purchase of a similar product. Purchase of a kit, saving money, is very convenient in the implementation of professional activities.

Despite the large variety of forms of working tips for the screwdriver and differences in the material from which they are made, in any case, you should choose high-quality tooling. Acquisition of products from well-known brands that have worked well over the years,is the right solution for professional activities and for large regular volumes of work performed. Such products will last a very long time, contributing to the effective implementation of labor tasks. Low-quality, cheap kits can be purchased for domestic use. But it should be borne in mind that they wear out quickly, causing a lot of inconvenience during the work process.