Screwdriver Bits

saversfriend

Hi All,

I am buying some more electric screwdriver bits. Up until now I have just purchased bog standard ones from Toolstation which are good but tend to crumble after a while.

I've been looking at gold / diamond tipped bits which are much more expensive.

My question is so you get your money's worth with theese -In the long run is it worth buying theese and not having to replace for ages??

Thanks for your help!

tony6403

If you make sure that you are using the correct bit for the screw (which is not always apparent) the cheap bits will last for a long time.
I use standard Dewalt bits which rarely get chewed up.
The diamond tipped sort are more likely to be used by professionals.

keystone

theragingbullock wrote: »

Up until now I have just purchased bog standard ones from Toolstation which are good but tend to crumble after a while.

Which is probably more down to the way they are being used rather than the quality of the material. Its just as easy to mash expensive ones as it is cheap ones.

When you control the tool rather than the tool controlling you you know how to use it. Practice laddie.

Cheers

prosaver

screwfit sometimes have good deals
however i go to pound shops and buy screwdrivers with accessories

mchale

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/208896/bit_set_test.html

Gloomendoom

Cheap bits are too brittle.

As said above, standard Dewalt ones are a good buy and last a long time. Screwfix quite often have them on offer. The diamond coated bits grip the slots better so they don't jump out and break and/or chew up the screw head.

Nilrem

Aye cheap ones tend to either be very brittle, or very soft*.

I tend to find the proper brand name ones, or Screwfix gold bits/diamond coated bits tend to be much better, but as has been said make sure you are using the right bit for the right screw, Pozi bits can/will fit Phillips heads but will slip, likewise the wrong size will fit but again slip and cam out, so it's worth making sure you're using the right one:)
I think for flat bits I've still got some "Black and Decker Piranha" ones in the garage that have lasted about 10+ years of odd jobs.

Personally these days I tend to buy individual bits (or multiples of for commonly used sizes), and only use the bit sets for odd ones that don't get used much (we've got hundreds of bits from cheap sets, and half of them only last one job). About the best reason for buying some of the cheap bit sets, is the fact that they sometimes come with rubber holders that take 32 bits - it's often cheaper to buy the set than the holder:p (we've got a tool drawer full of odd cheap bits because of that and where they are remnants of "100 piece tool" sets where 30+ of the tools are rubbish bits).
I've actually got to sort the bits out again some time, as we've got loads in different places.

*I think the term my dad uses is "pig metal with more pig than metal in them".

TimBuckTeeth

I use these :

Wiha HOT PZ2 bits

and

Wera Bi-Torsion Extra Hard Gold Pozi #2 25mm

and they are much tougher than normal bits (no crumbling problems at all and very little wear after repeated use) and seem to be a better fit in the screwhead. Well worth spending the extra.

TimBuckTeeth

prosaver wrote: »

screwfit sometimes have good deals
however i go to pound shops and buy screwdrivers with accessories

I have made the mistake of getting screwdriver bits from poundshops before and they really are a load of rubbish. They might be OK for picking stones out your shoe soles or banging holes in plasterboard but as a screwdriver they are useless.
The shape of the tip of the bits is poor and the metal is so soft that it deforms on first use.
If you get a good quality bit as I mentioned above the difference is vast, you will be able to put a screw in without the bit slipping out several times or leaving the screw protruding from the surface and it will last for ages.

iamcornholio

theragingbullock wrote: »

Up until now I have just purchased bog standard ones from Toolstation which are good but tend to crumble after a while.

You are not using the properly then.

There is nothing wrong with their bits, and the diamond tipped bits are for a different purpose ie to [supposedly] grip the screw better, and not for strength.

If you are breaking normal C-V bits then you will also break diamond bits too, and gold (tungsten coated) ones too as they are made from the same process