Need advice regarding gunsmith screwdrivers

[strangwn]

I have a set of gunsmith screwdrivers that I bought probably in the mid-1970's. They were a set of 8 and have red plastic handles and are labeled "Bonanza Sports" followed by a one or two digit number. One screwdriver got lost years ago, but don't know what number it was. The remaining seven are #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16. Are these numbers universal among gunsmith tool makers, or are they unique to Bonanza? I would like to find a replacement for the missing screwdriver and would like to find a replacement for the #1 because it is buggered. Don't need Bonanza brand, just hoping to have a set of eight. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[Minerat]

You are missing #14. My set is about 5 years old and are marked Forster\Bonanza. Got them from Sinclair as I recall. I have never seen the individual drivers but you might contact Forster.

Steve

[fast ronnie]

To my understanding, Forster bought out Bonanza. They may still carry them.

[Hooker53]

They do still carry them (Forester) but the last time I looked, they have been upgraded and changed. Strang, if you like that #1 you can clean it up. Go to Brownells and in the screwdriver pages you will see a small grinding wheel on mandrel. I have a few. It's common place to cleanup or outright fit a tip to a screw. That's the main diff from a Bubba and a non Bubba the Non Bubba will fit that tip to the slot every time. I have the red Bananza as well as a few interchangeable tip sets from Brownells. All the numbers on my Red Bonanza set are about wore off. Ha.

[waksupi]

They do still carry them (Forester) but the last time I looked, they have been upgraded and changed. Strang, if you like that #1 you can clean it up. Go to Brownells and in the screwdriver pages you will see a small grinding wheel on mandrel. I have a few. It's common place to cleanup or outright fit a tip to a screw. That's the main diff from a Bubba and a non Bubba the Non Bubba will fit that tip to the slot every time. I have the red Bananza as well as a few interchangeable tip sets from Brownells. All the numbers on my Red Bonanza set are about wore off. Ha.

I've reground many screwdriver bits to fit, and have made a set of screwdrivers for my most common screws I deal with.
Most good hardware stores carry a selection of bits that fit the gunsmith type screwdriver. Any good quality screwdriver will work, it doesn't need to be a designated gunsmith screwdriver. They just charge more for them.
Some bits I have to weld up, and re-harden, as it is very hard to find some that are wide enough or thick enough to cover the full range of sizes needed.
125960

[Ballistics in Scotland]

A lot of gun screws need a thinner bit than hardware stores are liable to supply. For grinding them thin, my first choice would be a cylindrical carbide burr of large diameter in my milling machine, with the screwdriver held in a vice on a rotary table to set the angle. Short of that I would prefer a sanding belt rather than a wheel. You can do a lot with an amateur-grade belt sander held upside down in a vice, and then you get to sand things with it too.

Flat screwdrivers are well worth having. If you grind round ones on an ordinary bench grinder, a useful device is a piece of square or rectangular steel, with a lengthwise hole and a crosswise setscrew. By resting that on the toolrest, you can make the blade tip of even thickness.

[KCSO]

I haven't bought a screwdriver set in years. I either re grind my old ones or make mine to fit a special job from stock. Most of the routine work is done with replacable bits, but I do like a perfect fit and a hand grind for the old or euorpean guns.