Fantastic tools!
The original ones were made by North Bros. and were superb tools. Millers Falls made nice ones too. Most would be considered collectors items now, though I still use my Millers Falls!
Stanley were probably the most prolific manufacturer. I believe they either bought out North Bros, or bought the rights to the design. They were made in both the U.S. and the U.K. Quality was good originally, but gradually got poorer over the years.
I don't know when Stanley finally discontinued these, but it wasn't long ago. You can still see the odd one in U.K. shops, but eBay is full of them, and you will often get a better tool buying a decent older used one, than by buying the last that Stanley made!
Aside from the model shown above, they have also been offerred by Facom, and these are my favourites of the modern tools. Facom were the first to offer one for use with 1/4 inch bits, and I used to use mine a lot working in mechanical assembly!
Bear in mind that if you use them for woodworking, you need to do a little more (some would say 'correct') preparation than you would with a cordless tool. You need to drill a generous size pilot hole, a clearance hole, and a countersink if necessary. Subject to that, and a supply of decent screws, you will get a result that is hard to better!
You can, of course, still get screwdriver bits to use with a carpenters Brace, or just get a Speed Brace / Speeder from whoever you favourite manufacturer is, and add some screwdriver bits!
