Finger trouble

I have just been told the osteoarthritis in my dominant hand has reached the stage where I must avoid, where possible, all twisting and gripping movements to save what is left of the joints.

Any and all suggestions and advice in ‘handling’ this situation would be most appreciated, especially to start with, a source of ¼” ‘nut spinners’ suitable for an electric screwdriver as most I can find on the web appear to be junk.

Jim

Ouch! Sorry to hear of your predicament.

I assume you mean sockets with 1/4" square drive? Both my local tool suppliers stock Teng Tools sockets and drivers. I find them excellent. Screwfix have a selection for starters.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm currently in a similar situation as an accident left my dominant hand out of action for a while and it won't be recovered for some time, if ever.

Last time I was in the US I picked up these:

https://www.harborfreight.com/metric-quick-release-magnetic-nutsetter-set-9-pc-60384.html

They seem pretty good quality and are identical to various sets available on ebay etc.

Or, if you're feeling flush, Kennedy stuff from Cromwell/Zoro is good

https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/hand-tools/screwdriver-insert-bits-hexagon/6pc-hexagon-magnetic-nut-setter-1-4inch-dr-set/p/ZT1012983X

Many thanks for the thoughtful comments. Much appreciated. Apologies for any confusion. My interest is in old British bikes – Sunbeam, Enfield, BSA, etc, all with imperial threads sizes for which I have a good selection of sockets. I am looking for a bar/drive with hex head to suit the s/d chuck and a ¼” sq end to accept a socket.

Once I have the nut/bolt in place I can go against instructions and finish with a spanner.

Jim

Many thanks for the thoughtful comments. Much appreciated. Apologies for any confusion. My interest is in old British bikes – Sunbeam, Enfield, BSA, etc, all with imperial threads sizes for which I have a good selection of sockets. I am looking for a bar/drive with hex head to suit the s/d chuck and a ¼” sq end to accept a socket.

Once I have the nut/bolt in place I can go against instructions and finish with a spanner.

Jim

PS Apologies for double post. Tried to delete one but failed. As with most things in life!

Edited By JimmieS on 19/10/2018 18:54:18

There is one in most cheap multi-screwdriver sets, but it is a bit short and better suited to electric screwdrivers. Something like this item on eBay might be more convenient if you are using a drill Power drill to Socket Adaptor 1/4" Hex Shank to square drive sockets Adaptor Set

No idea about the seller, just the first I saw, I'm sure there are plenty of others, possibly at better prices.

Brian

I've got wrist and thumb issues from an old rock climbing incident 20 years ago and have invested in light and heavy duty cordless drills and torque guns from Lidl and Aldi

I always scan for stuff when I'm in for the cheese and milk to see if anything is about

They did a great heavy duty hex kit about a year ago for about 20 quid and the lighter fiver jobs show up pretty often

Lots of stuff on ebay, I tend to just suck it and see, at the end of the day it depends how heavy your useage is

I now have a torque drill toolkit with a bunch of adapters, it took a year or two to put together

This is the sort of heavy duty one I use but sometimes there isn't room for the chunky bits and you have to go skinny to get in

There have been a few instances where this set has the only bit that fits a build-it-yourself kit

For imperial nuts these new xi-on sets might be handy

I got a 1/2 inch set to replace my knackered halfords set and it fitted all the imperial nuts on my shaper so I bought a 1/4 set as well in the hope it will work on smaller imperial nuts

Hi Jim, Screwfix do the standard set of socket drivers, but also do **LINK** which are a little shorter in length and are made by Erbauer which are a good make, the same set can be had at B&Q but are a little dearer.

Regards Nick.

Having had a couple of cheap ones shear off when using a DeWalt 1/4 hex battery driver I bought a Wera one part no 870/1

http://products.wera.de/en/bits_holders_adaptors_holders_adaptors_connectors_adaptors_870_1.html

You can also get a set https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/040212181/

Robert G8RPI.

Would it be possible to modify 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2 inch drive short extensions to a 1/4" hexagon drive to fit into the pistol drill, whilst retaining the male drive? That way all your sockets are available for use, and any extensions that you may want to use with them.

Howard

They have adaptors for pretty much anything out there

Edited By Ady1 on 21/10/2018 10:01:49

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a 1/4" hex to 3/8" square adapter/extension from the Thursday market at Chesterfield. ... about 5_7/8" overall length ... Cost £2 if I recall correctly.

He also had 1/4" square and 1/2" square versions available.

MichaelG.

.

Sorry Jim, I don't get over there very often.

Hi folk

Many thanks for all the suggestions and links which are greatly appreciated. As my late mother would have said 'folk can be very kind.' Now that I have got my head around the issue I realise it is trivial compared to many and feel much better. Our 5 year old grandson had a brilliant idea when he suggested I use my left hand just like granny! And why not.

Jim