Regrinding cross head screwdriver tips?

There is a huge difference in the useful life between a properly hardened tip and a cheap one. Colin

Walking around B & Q today and seeing packs of driver bits at low prices I would not even bother to try and recover the damaged ones.

At 10 for about £3.50 is it worth it?

Clive

Now that woodscrews all seem to be hardend the attrition on screwdrivers or bits seems to be severe, building my workshop using a drill driver showed how short the life could be of even decent quality bits. Fortunately reasonable quality bits are not outrageously expensive and should be replaced when wear becomes an issue.

Mike

Some boxes of screws even come with a new bit

I bought a pack of 10 or more Dewalt tips for 3 or 4 quid years ago thinking they'll last me a while - They came in a nice little case and I've only used a couple, I am careful with alignment and apply ample pressure but its safe to say they're pretty good!

I haven't tried rehabilitating cross head screwdriver tips but on occasion have had to grind a little off the tip of Phillips drivers, mainly of less than #1 size, when I have found that they will not seat securely in the screw head.

I'm not sure whether the problem lies with the manufacture of the screw or the driver, or possibly both, but unless the driver is sitting firmly at the top of the screw head a stripped screw head is almost inevitable.

As for slotted head screws, if you are trying to get a decent finish on the work, it now seems almost inevitable that you will have to grind a driver to fit the screws you are using. There seems to be no standardisation of any form here, the most annoying being large wood screws with very narrow slots which will destroy even a well fitted driver in no time at all.

End of today's grumble.

Pero

(post to remind people that I'm talking about regrinding a screwdriver, not a hex-tip)

BugBear

Again, B & Q have loads of cross head screwdrivers on offer, why bother with working on a tip if a new one would work better.

Clive

.

Because it's a hobby, from which BugBear presumably gains some satisfaction.

... Why bother with much of what we do ?

MichaelG.

I am reminded of an article from a model engineering magazine, from the pre WW2 era, on making a photographic tripod head.

It stated as self-evident the notion that no model engineer would consider buying one.

BugBear

There's more than one thing I've made that would have been cheaper to buy, but where's the fun in that?

Plus DIY lets you build, and pay, in instalments (not applicable to scerwdriver grinding!)

Bugbear - you may be able to grind your srewdriver if you clamp a dremel or similar high speed spindle to the head of a milling machine and use the miniature grinding stone or even cut-off disks. Line the screwdriver up with the X-axis in a way that lets you rotate it before clamping. Match the stone disc into the contour of the tip then take a short longitudinal 'cut'. Repeat for as many permutations as are required to move the end shape onto good metal.

Neil