Of course I used that title to get your attention.
How many of you fellows buggered the slot in a case screw and cussed yourself out? Raise your hands: mine's up!
Part of the problem, if not all of it is we do not treat the flat headed screwdriver as a precision instrument which is certainly is.
You want a screwdriver to fit the screw exactly. Just nearly as wide as the slot... almost the same width as the screw, a dead flat bottom with sharp non-rounded
edges where the slot is addressed.
A hollow ground screwdriver is best because there is no taper and the sides of the hollow-ground screwdriver address the complete side of the screw.giving maximum traction.
As a good set of Swiss or German hollow ground precision screw-drivers can easily run $800 or more.... I believe I'll pass and do it myself.
You need good steel.... and hardware stuff just doesn't cut it. But oddly enough an antique wooden handled one on eBay for ten bucks does....... they didn't believe in cheap steel
back in those days. And you are going to be shaping and sharpening the tip rather like dealing with a dull knife.
So, just for fun, build yourself a case-screw and noting but case screw screwdriver.
Getting the width right is easy with a really sharp file. And then you thin the sides parallel with a stone inspecting the tip of the blade carefully to check if you are keeping the big flats
parallel There are inexpensive tools with wheels that hold the screwdriver at the right angle as you remove metal from the flats.
The last step is to flatten the bottom which doesn't take much.
Do not be tempted to use an electric grinder as the generated heat would ruin the temper of the blade!
How many of you fellows buggered the slot in a case screw and cussed yourself out? Raise your hands: mine's up!
Part of the problem, if not all of it is we do not treat the flat headed screwdriver as a precision instrument which is certainly is.
You want a screwdriver to fit the screw exactly. Just nearly as wide as the slot... almost the same width as the screw, a dead flat bottom with sharp non-rounded
edges where the slot is addressed.
A hollow ground screwdriver is best because there is no taper and the sides of the hollow-ground screwdriver address the complete side of the screw.giving maximum traction.
As a good set of Swiss or German hollow ground precision screw-drivers can easily run $800 or more.... I believe I'll pass and do it myself.
You need good steel.... and hardware stuff just doesn't cut it. But oddly enough an antique wooden handled one on eBay for ten bucks does....... they didn't believe in cheap steel
back in those days. And you are going to be shaping and sharpening the tip rather like dealing with a dull knife.
So, just for fun, build yourself a case-screw and noting but case screw screwdriver.
Getting the width right is easy with a really sharp file. And then you thin the sides parallel with a stone inspecting the tip of the blade carefully to check if you are keeping the big flats
parallel There are inexpensive tools with wheels that hold the screwdriver at the right angle as you remove metal from the flats.
The last step is to flatten the bottom which doesn't take much.
Do not be tempted to use an electric grinder as the generated heat would ruin the temper of the blade!
