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Thread: Screwdriver bit sets

  1. #21
    Boolit Master


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    I have the Brownells sets regular and thin sets. In fact two of each they are over 20 years old with a few broken and replaced and some ground to fit and then the bit replaced.

    Best purchase ever to work on old guns IMHO. Bits are cheap compared to getting original screws or making them.

  2. #22
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    Next question, should I get the cheaper starter set of brownells bits to start, or the master set starter kit. Both have their draw when I'm looking at the book.

    Dumb question, let's say you have a screw and need a bit not in your kit, how do you figure out which bit to buy?

  3. #23
    Boolit Master
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    Way back, think 1980s vintage, the handle in the B'nells set was made by K-D Tools. The tips themselves were high quality, industrial items, used in power screwdrivers for assembly line operations. IIRC, they were shorter than the stuff you get in the normal retail stores. I also have a Snap-On screwdriver set that also uses the high grade tips. The handle is less important than the tips. If you can find a Snap-On or Mac Tools truck they should have high quality tips. B'nells used to have a stone, I believe it fit a Dremel tool which was radiused right to grind the tips, parallel sided(hollow ground?) for whatever screw slot you need to fit. McMaster-Carr or MSC Industrial Supply (www.mscdirect.com/‎) should have tips that will work, I was able to find mine at a local vendor who supplied machine shops and manufacturers. If you're in an area that has any level of support vendors for industrial shops you should be able to get good tips from them.
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  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan in Vermont View Post
    I also have a Snap-On screwdriver set that also uses the high grade tips. The handle is less important than the tips. If you can find a Snap-On or Mac Tools truck they should have high quality tips.
    I worked for MATCO Tools for a few years, and generally liked the quality of their tools (at that time, anyway). The problem with Snap-On/MATCO/MAC, etc. screwdriver bits is that their selection is pretty limited. No thin slot bits, for example. Their prices are also quite high.
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  5. #25
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    I seen where SK was the supplier for brownells bit sets in the past.

  6. #26
    Boolit Buddy




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    I would definitely just get the brownells set if you want to do things right. The gun shop I bought had about 50 nice Grace screwdrivers with it, many carefully ground by the previous owner to various sizes. I thought I was all set. I quickly found that wasn't near enough. I hemmed and hawed and bought the 2nd largest brownells set after working on a few guns. That covered 70% of everything I wished I had for the next year. Then I bit the bullet and bought every hex head driver Brownells offers on their site (you can make up sets piecemeal if you sort through their offerings carefully). That bumped me up to having the perfect fitting screwdriver at least 95% of the time. Maybe a total of $200 or so spent by that point.

    To fill in the last 5% I have a bunch of grace flat ground drivers (they are good for the tiny sizes especially) and buy medium/large flatheads cheap at garage sales to grind to fit the bigger oddball sizes.

    If I was only working on my own rifles I would still buy the $80-100 brownells flathead/allen/torx set and fill in the gaps with garage sale modifications or brownells specialty sets based on what I needed for my particular guns at the time.

    You'll have various guns the rest of your life, I think it is a great investment to start with a good set of drivers. If you sell a gun and the screws are messed up the guy seeing it will price you less right off the bat and also worry you messed up stuff inside, so this pays for itself over time in my opinion. It also helps keep you from causing expensive scratches/slips & scratching finishes, some of which make it pay for itself in one or two saves.

    When you break a brownells bit they will replace it free, just buy online and you'll always have a record of what you bought. If you don't want the hassle of asking for a replacement they are only $2-3 or so on your next order and the only time you'll probably break one is when something is really stuck or developing twist with the really thin/small bits. This way you can keep your good, organized set up and running without gaps when you lose or break one.

  7. #27
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    Bazoo: I have had the Brownell's set for many years. I just recently bought 4 more bits that are made specifically for Browning A5 Screws which have very thin slots.

    It should be noted that all of the Brownell's Driver Bits are the standard "Apex" style of bit with a 1/4" hex drive just like deck screw drivers and a zillion others you can buy at Harbor Freight or in every driver kit known to man. I have a plastic container full of various bits and drivers I use on lots of different things in my shop.

    I don't use any of them on my guns! And I don't use my gun screwdrivers on anything but guns.

    The cheap ones are for working on my Jeep or other machinery or used when I assemble things with lots of screws using drill motor that will break them off easily. I have literally hundreds of Phillips #2 bits and go thru lots of them on a big job . I recently assembled 10 Storage Cabinets which had @350+ screws holding the panels on. I broke about 10 of the Phips bits. Total cost $10.

    The thing about the Brownell's set is that the bits themselves are a cut above most of the .99 cent generic bits sold in hardware stores and big box stores. Also their driver handles are very nice and good quality tools just cost a little more.

    You could get the Brownell's Starter Set for $70 and then add bits as needed. Or just "bite the boolit" as they say,,, and spend $120 on the full set and be done with it. Keep in mind these tools will last a lifetime and can be passed down or sold here easily if you need to get out.

    These tools will minimize the gooning of screws on guns which will pay for the tools in short order.

    https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...--prod417.aspx

    Hope this helps you make up your mind.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    I've requested the brownells set for Christmas, we'll see. The cheap gunsmith sets I have work well enough for my occasional use but I want something with a better assortment and quality. I've not had any problems with twisting or breaking or rounding screw slot out but I dont work on guns for a living. I recognize what I have will not last nor hold up to heavier usage.

    Thanks for all the replies.


    I asked the gunsmith about it today and he prefers the chapman bits. He said they hold up better than brownells. We didn't get further into it though.
    Last edited by Bazoo; 09-30-2019 at 04:30 PM.

  9. #29
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bazoo View Post
    I've requested the brownells set for Christmas, we'll see. The cheap gunsmith sets I have work well enough for my occasional use but I want something with a better assortment and quality. I've not had any problems with twisting or breaking or rounding screw slot out but I song work on guns for a living. I recognize what I have will not last nor hold up to heavier usage.

    Thanks for all the replies.


    I asked the gunsmith about it today and he prefers the chapman bits. He said they hold up better than brownells. We didn't get further into it though.
    My experience with Chapman bits is just the opposite... I've broken more of them than of the Brownell bits I've used. Also, the selection of Chapman bit sizes and thicknesses is much more limited. I regard mine as fine for carrying into the field or to the range, but not as my "final answer" to gunsmith screwdrivers.

    Froggie
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  10. #30
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    Thanks Froggie. I was surprised at his answer but I certainly think I'll be better served with the brownells bits. If I can get a chapman set in addition, I won't complain.

  11. #31
    Boolit Master

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    I bought a Chapman set in a yellow box and keep it in my range bag. I will probably never lean on it since, at the range, I don't have anything to restrain whatever I am working on. That keeps me from breaking any bits in that set. You learn in a hurry that it smarts if a driver slips while you are trying to hold an object in your hand.
    John
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  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheGunsmith View Post
    I have a wheeler set. Definitely not the best or the worst but decent.


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    I too have this set and they suffice. I know for a fact they are not as hard as Brownells "Magna Tip" bits.
    You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.

  13. #33
    Boolit Mold
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    Midway's set of Wheeler is on sale now.
    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1007363134?pid=439523
    I haven't encountered anything these don't fit.

  14. #34
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by alamogunr View Post
    I bought a Chapman set in a yellow box and keep it in my range bag. I will probably never lean on it since, at the range, I don't have anything to restrain whatever I am working on. That keeps me from breaking any bits in that set. You learn in a hurry that it smarts if a driver slips while you are trying to hold an object in your hand.
    My most used Chapman sets are in the old red leatherette boxes. I’ve been laying off to buy one of the new Master Set boxes Chapman sells now as I also have lots of their odd specialty bits.

    I also have the biggest set Wheeler makes... they sent it to me for testing and review purposes. As I said in my evaluation, I tried using it exclusively for a couple of busy weeks (matches, event prep, repairs, etc, etc) and in all that time I only had one task they wouldn’t cover, a deeply recessed Allen screw on which I had to use a regular L-shaped wrench. The bits are a little stronger than those in the. Chapman sets, but are not quite as strong as those from Brownell.

    This is my personal experience, so of course, YMMV!

    Froggie
    "It aint easy being green!"

  15. #35
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    The bits in the red chapman box is what the gunsmith showed me that he likes.

  16. #36
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Bazoo, the old red box Chapman set sort of was the go-to standard for packing to the range. Unfortunately, they did have limited sizes and they were just a little brittle at times, but as a good utility set on the go, they were and are quite useful. I can't see any difference in quality in the parts coming in the current yellow box, it's just that I'm old school so gravitate toward the older, discontinued stuff. It's probably a character flaw of some sort.

    As I mentioned previously, Chapman has now come out with a "Master Set" that has every bit they make in one box. It really doesn't have that many more flat blade bit sizes, but it covers all the weird new screw heads that the mad scientists are coming up with these days. I'm trying to justify buying one.

    Froggie
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  17. #37
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    I have a bit set that I use every week, been using it for 20 years. Its a red box WFMC or Wadsworth mini super delux 52 bit set.
    Its my goto set before I look for a special fit. Very good quality. I see they are in amazon.

    Paul in WNY
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  18. #38
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    I bought that Winchester set. Paid more than that as I remember. I was expecting better. It seems to me they just took a regular set and put their name on it. I would prefer some thin but wider bits for some of my needs.

  19. #39
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    The Winchester set I bought at Walmart was, predictably, made in China. Just like the “Winchester” knives they sell.

    I guess they’re ok, but I can’t believe Winchester cheapens their brand name by licensing the Chinese to label their junk with it. Anything for a buck, I guess.

  20. #40
    Boolit Buddy

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    Grace Metal and Chapman in the little red box...since 1962..

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
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