Electric drills, bits and mistakes

If you look on the bit a Philips bit will have a code PH2 or some other number whereas a Pozidrive will have a code PZ2 etc. Even now Philips bits are commonly supplied in many kits. A pack of Pozidrive bits is pretty cheap so hardly going to break the bank.

I've got to the point where I just try bits in screws until I find the best fit. Pozi screws have the four extra indentations, and Pozi bits have matching splines. However, sometimes I find a Philips bit works best on a Pozi screw and vice versa.

Yes, good advice. Treat pozi and Philips bits as disposables. Also there are JI screws and you absolutely have to have the right bit for them. Bill

Well it should but it doesn't

As I don't have a Posidriv then I'll take your word for it

It's not breaking the bank that is the issue, it's breaking the bits, the workpiece and my patience that are major concerns.

Ideally you need a holder for those bits. The bits also come with larger shanks more suited for fitting in a chuck Examples (assuming PZ2)

I would get a small pack. On one job I managed to break two bits however I was using a impact driver to get the screws into something rather hard.

PZ2 bits fit most diy screws. Get yoursela pack of them, they only last so long. Which? Any from screwfix, toolsatan etc. Just stay away from poundshop garbage, no matter how cheap they may be.

(a) They dont last, no. (b) I've not found a way to ID good ones. Si I buy a pack, and when they are f***ed, throw them away and don't buy that brand again

You could just go for pro screwdriver brands: Wera, Wiha, etc.

I hear some of the power tool brands (Makita specifically) are less than good for things like drill bits, so I wouldn't automatically rate their accessories. But I'd expect a Dewalt or something would be better than a random Chinesium from Amazon.

Alternatively Aldi/Lidl are generally 'ok'.

Also, if you're trying to put screws into old wood without drilling a pilot hole: a) are your screws right for the job? b) have you thought about an impact driver?

Theo

All PZ2 heads by the looks of it...

With a drill driver[1] then you should get long life from a decent set of bits. I would buy a few rather than one, since if you break it, or lose it etc mid job that would be very irritating.

I like Wiha or Wera branded bits, but have also had good service out of others. The 25 packs of DeWalt ones are ok. Get a locking magnetic holder at the same time - it stops you pulling bits out of the drill by mistake, and also holds the screw in place on the end of the drill (and lets you pull screws out of the box just by dipping the end of the drill in there!)

Yup a decent quality screw and properly matching bit are a joy to behold

(you ought to be able to put the screw on the bit and practically pick up the drill using the screw!)

I last used to do much of my own DIY, car maintenance etc some 50 years ago and still have many of the tools I bought then but they've only seen occasional use since. The old Black & Decker drill still works and my spanner sets still in good condition. So I've still been in the mind set that tools last. Seems as if saws, drill bits. driver bits etc are like everything else nowadays - use and chuck away.

The demos on YouTube seem to not bother, but I suppose they are like the vacuum ads where something easy to pick up is sprinkled and then magically sucked up.

I thought they were. Now I don't know.

I have an impact mode on the Aldi driver. I have ordered a set of torsion sprung driver bits which should be here tomorrow. Hopefully using PZ2 on the screws should yield a better result.

I too have 40 year old socket sets which I used to service my rust buckets of that vintage :)

Years ago you probably never abused your tools and never used socket sets or driver bits with electric tools that knock s**te out of them. If I was serious in servicing/repairing my own cars again (which I'm not) I would invest in an electric impact ratchet handle. I'm not sure how long my old sockets would last if used extensively with this.

These days I use a impact driver more often than using a manual screwdriver. Yes, the driver bits I treat as disposable but on medium to large job it does save a lot of time and effort.

Go back a few decades and the average DIYer wouldn't have had many of the tools available today at affordable prices. Electrical tools put a lot more stain on the "consumables" and the consumables these days may be somewhat disposable but productivity has increased greatly.

When I purchased my first property I had zero spare money and I renovated the house using tools inherited from my father. Saws that had never been sharpened, Yanke screwdriver, an electrical drills that was underpowered, electric jig saws that never cut square because the blade was inadequately supported etc. If at the time I had the tools I now own the renovation would have taken a quarter of the time.

Buy WERA pozidrive bits ... only ones I use.

Mine are nearer 55 years old

Yup. Many years back I was given an old circular saw that bolted to a B&D drill. All steel blade. Tried it once out of curiosity. It was problematically unstable, and I could hand saw as quickly. I think my most enduring memories of long gone diy was trying to drill masonry with an old B&D drill, no hammer mode. Frequent fails. Despite the obvious shortcomings those old drills are still fine for some jobs today, so I occasionally use one in situations where several drills are in use, one can be basic. Insulating gloves advisable. And I once used one for a core drilling job - it was fine, 2inch cores can be done with 200w. ISTR a space problem cornered me into trying it.

Yes, it's just a change of mindset that I have to keep up with. I still finding myself rescuing something my wife has disposed of in (often the vain) hope of rescuing it.

Thankfully Ebay is available for those little hard to get bits that were never sold individually and would have required knowing someone in the trade.

It does irk me somewhat that I failed miserably in replacing a front light of my Ford Focus a few years back, a job which the local garage did in less than 10mins!

That's a bit surprising. These days it's not unusual to have to unbolt something significant from the engine in order to change a light bulb.

I recently had a fairly old Fiesta, which required removing the front lamp cluster to replace a bulb, but it was only a matter of about three or four screws to undo.

The problem is often not having done it before you may not be able to figure out how it goes together. When I replaced headlight bulbs in my Ford focus for the first time one side took about 20+ minutes. Once I understood how it came apart and clipped back in and other side only took a few minutes. I would expect someone working on cars week in week out in a garage to be equally fast. Sometimes it helps to be able to easily get under the car - easy in a garage but perhaps not so easy when you only have a jack and some axel stands.