My old man had something similar years ago. Didn't know they were still about.
The answer to a maidens prayer for a lot of jobs.
So much stuff has screws hidden away or difficult to get at, cooker hoods, water heaters, light fittings and I've tried magnetic bits, insulating tape etc. This thing simply works!
Not cheap, but well worth the money.
One of the useful sizes in my collection of rare earth magnets is about
10 x 25 x 3 mm (eBay). I find if you pop one of these half way down the shank of a screwdriver it will support a steel pozidrive screw just about as effectively.
On that page are things called ratchet screwdrivers. I thought ratchet screwdrivers had long shafts (or whatever the word may be) that had helical groves in them, so that when you pressed down on the handle, the shaft turned. Have I misunderstood what a ratchet screwdriver is (or was, I'm thinking about things I saw forty years ago).
You are remembering 'yankee' screwdrivers.
These were/are "pump action" screwdrivers - a specific type of ratchet screwdriver.
A ratchet screwdriver allows you to turn the handle in the reverse direction without rotating the blade. This lets you insert the screw all the way without releasing your grip on the handle or removing the tip of the blade from the screw. A small slider or collar on the handle is used to select which direction you want the screw to turn. There seems to be much less need for them with Pozidrive and Torx screws than with slotted ones.
I think I still have an old one somewhere. Very similar but without interchangeable bits - haven't used it for years though.
It was an ingenious idea but the grippers made the end of the screwdriver very bulky - often too bulky to get into the inaccessible locations where it might have been most useful.
The limitation is that it only works with steel screws. I usually get by with a blob of bluetack on the end, to stick screws in place, works with all types of metal and plastic screws.
Ah, yes! I recall that word now. Do you know why they were called that? Wikipedia mentions 'Persian screwdrivers' in connection with them, that's another name that has me wondering where is came from.
I did try that, but when trying to get a screw into a metal light fitting.....
So am I . In this case a Yankee Handyman, which has a plastic handle with half-a-dozen bits in it.Not standard hex though.
F*** me, ebay has it as a vintage tool. It's not even an heirloom, unlike some of mine!
Andy
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