PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
THIS
Oh... and 10mm
Do you often use a 1/4" nut driver screwdriver?
- Thread starter Jacobson
- Start date
Oh... and 10mm
HenryAZ
MEMBER EMERITUS
I also use a tool like that often. I prefer the Stahlwille 400QR model, with a quick release locking button.I've used something like this one to drive 1/4 sockets quite a bit.
RAS61
Well-known member
I like a nut driver for hex machine screws, a normal cordless drill is too bulky and hard to fit into tight situations (although my Milwaukee M12 is pretty compact), but mostly has too much torque for these screws; if you're not careful you can easily strip out the hole. A ratchet is OK, but again mostly overkill for a low torque application; if you want speed a thumbwheel ratchet is a good choice. A nut driver is pretty much the perfect tool for me unless there's a bunch to deal with
I've used something like this one to drive 1/4 sockets quite a bit.
What is this called?
This makes more sense than nut driver since you can recycle all your sockets
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
It's called a Spinner Handle. It's a 1/4" socket driver, and can take any 1/4" drive socket. I keep one and a small set of sockets in my tool bag. Mine is a Craftsman with a female 1/4" connector on the **** end (lol) so that it can also be used as a 1/4" extension. That makes for an extremely versatile setup.
However, the benefit of a good nut driver (Klein, Vaco) is the hollow shaft, so you can thread nuts into longer bolts with it. Klein has heavy duty ones that are hollow all the way through, though I've never needed one. They also have magnetic nut drivers, which are fantastic for sheet metal screws, since they hold the screw in place. They are the bee's knees when working on appliances.
A Klein or Milwaukee 11-in-1 will also have 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" nut drivers, but I tend to not use the nut drives on those as much for some reason. Dedicated nut drivers feel more solid, but are lighter.
dlwilson
Well-known member
I've never owned nut drivers until a couple months ago, when I picked up four Mac nut drivers at a garage sale for $10, and just put them in the box. I was working on a friend's boat, and part of the job included some hard to reach hose clamps. He suggested a nut driver, and I grabbed the 5/16, and it worked great. It fit where a cordless driver wouldn't, it was easy to hold on to where a 1/4 ratchet would have been hard to handle, and it didn't slip on the hose clamp like a flat head screwdriver would have.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
bwringer
Well-known member
The only nut drivers I have left are a 1/4", a 5/16"/8mm, and a 10mm.
Everything else is pretty much useless.
Everything else is pretty much useless.
jbltwin1
Well-known member
I use mine ALL the time. I have at least three sets of different brands. The hollow shaft are the best to me. I have a set ON my main work bench, on the back wall are the 2nd set and a set in the downstairs toolbox. One set is craftsman (older), one is a mess of all kinds and one is a VERY old set with no name on them. They all get used. I'm not about to dig out the drill or impact and get the right sized driver for ONE screw. I do a lot of electronics **** and 1/4" and 5/16" are the most common used.
For that fastener, a dedicated nut driver is the superior tool IMHO.What is it about the nut driver do you prefer over the ratchet?
Space limitations?
Somehow a ratchet on a screw just does not feel right.
All my tools are for auto DIY.
I was taking apart an appliance today.
1/4" screws
The ratchet was a minor hassle.
Use bit driver on drill?
Or get 1/4" nut driver with screwdriver handle
Hollow shaft?
Hollow Shaft SAE Nut Driver Set, 7 Piece
Amazing deals on this 7Pc Sae Nut Driver Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.www.harborfreight.com
SAE Nut Driver Set, 7 Piece
Amazing deals on this 7Pc Sae Nut Driver Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
It's easy to strip the sheet metal you're fastening so a nut driver gives you a better feel for torque. Never use a drill/driver except for removal.
I don't like the 11 in 1's, etc because you're always fumbling around with bits to get to the socket. I don't like ratchets/sockets because sockets are often too fat and the ratchet handle doesn't fit into confined spaces.
Dedicated nut drivers also have a hollow shaft which makes them superior when you have long studs.
Madjik Man
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2015
- Messages
- 1,517
Hose clamps
And if the project has just a very few fasteners. Easier to grab a nut driver than get the 1/4 drill with socket adapter.
And if the project has just a very few fasteners. Easier to grab a nut driver than get the 1/4 drill with socket adapter.
Those 11-in-1's are so big and heavy, it's like turning a screw with a baseball bat. I can't believe they are popular. They remind me of a Home Shopping Club gimmick driver. "But wait- call in the next 20 minutes and get TWO 11-in-1 drivers, the book light, and the Dale Earnhardt commemorative plates, absolutely freeeee! Just pay separate shipping and handling charges"
Meursault74
Well-known member
Larryjones
Well-known member
If it has a hex head I use a nut driver every time. Just too old to look for the slot anymore.
crewchief888
Well-known member
I use 1/4 ,5/16, 7mm on hose clamps, 8mm, 10mm on occasion. 7/16 is handy for starting grease zerks in recessed holes. 11/32, 3/8 for mechanical gages and buck up alarms/ horns
MJK
Well-known member
Also functions as an extension.
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
Is there a different name for the "nut drivers" that are hollow to accept the shaft of the bolt?
All that I see here are not strictly nut drivers....
...but I'm with everyone else here. Same sizes, too. Hose clamps, sheet metal screws, etc. I love using spinner handles.
-Ryan
All that I see here are not strictly nut drivers....
...but I'm with everyone else here. Same sizes, too. Hose clamps, sheet metal screws, etc. I love using spinner handles.
-Ryan
speed bump
Well-known member
Pretty much every dedicated nut driver I have ever seen is either hollow shaft or magnetic shaft (less common).
As far as uses, I use the **** out of 1/4 and 5/16 on stuff like clamps and electrical/HVAC stuff. All of the other ones mostly sit as a set and maybe come out if I'm doing a bunch of stuff where it's one side of low torque fastener and an impact doesn't make sense for some reason.
I don't think I even own a single nut driver.
As a mechanic for 40 years I’ve found the magnetic sockets in the photo below to be invaluable.
6, 7, and 10mm in the back row
1/4, 5/16 (8mm), 3/8 and 7/16” in the front row.
Works well with screws and the various size nuts (although you will have to switch to a regular socket in most cases to finish tightening the nut)
Even so, dropping a nut, bolt, or screw almost never happens.
Sockets are impact and have held up for years.
Any 1/4” drive spinner handle I use regularly is going to accept a 1/4” drive ratchet in the handle end.
YMMV
As a mechanic for 40 years I’ve found the magnetic sockets in the photo below to be invaluable.
6, 7, and 10mm in the back row
1/4, 5/16 (8mm), 3/8 and 7/16” in the front row.
Works well with screws and the various size nuts (although you will have to switch to a regular socket in most cases to finish tightening the nut)
Even so, dropping a nut, bolt, or screw almost never happens.
Sockets are impact and have held up for years.
Any 1/4” drive spinner handle I use regularly is going to accept a 1/4” drive ratchet in the handle end.
YMMV
kngelv
Well-known member
I use them every day at work but I'm an industrial electrician at an auto plant. For home use I don't know that they would get used enough. I have Snap-On metric and Klein SAE. I like the Snap-On better. I don't like the 10 in 1 type.
James
James
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Alternatively, you can use a 1/4" Hex magnetic nut setter with a manual bit driver, like a Malco Connext. I have one of those, which can take any power bit (which has the notch near the base). I can use longer power bits can give me more reach, which is great for deeply recessed screws. I also use a magnetic insert bit holder for standard 1" bits, so it will work with an unlimited selection of bits.
That's a good solution for a travel tool kit. Again, nut setters are not hollow, but they do hold the screws, which can be a life saver.
That's a good solution for a travel tool kit. Again, nut setters are not hollow, but they do hold the screws, which can be a life saver.
Is this a valid substitute for a nut driver?
Spinner handle and 1/4" socket?
It's the shaft thing that's an issue for nuts
but works fine for bolt head screws?
I'm going to try these next time also
www.harborfreight.com
Thumbwheel Ratchet Set, 3 Piece
Amazing deals on this 3Pc Thumbwheel Ratchet Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
oldmachinenut
Well-known member
It is impossible for the socket to fall off a nut driver. Not the case with a ratchet/extension.
buy a better ratchet.
Beauregard
Well-known member
Love the Easy Driver. I've had mine since the mid-'70s!
I use a long shaft 5/16 for hose clamps. On a creeper, under a car getting to the lower radiator hose clamp on the pump side, nothing works better for me. When tightening the worm drive hose clamps I can feel just the right torque in my hands. Not so much for me with a ratchet and extension or slot screwdriver.
When I was an HVAC tech the only tools I carried when I did a PM of an AC system was my Klien 11 in 1 and a ladder. It seems like the AC system manufacturers and Klien have an engineering relationship or something. There really isn't much on an AC system that an 11 in 1 can't handle.
mrjaw14
Well-known member
I recently saw a tool list for a RV tech academy and they wanted sets of nut drivers in SAE and Metric. I immediately thought sockets and spinner handle. That got me thinking though, are people running into hex head screws that a shallow socket will work, or studs with a nut where a shallow socket would bottom out.
I bought a new stove once and went to install the power cord and the screws were TIGHT from the factory. like impact tight. My Klein 11 in 1 actually would not take it off. Even the Hex spun on it, so I stopped because I didn't want to ruin my 11 in 1. I had to get a tight fitting socket to remove the hex screw.
I bought a new stove once and went to install the power cord and the screws were TIGHT from the factory. like impact tight. My Klein 11 in 1 actually would not take it off. Even the Hex spun on it, so I stopped because I didn't want to ruin my 11 in 1. I had to get a tight fitting socket to remove the hex screw.
Yes. Outside of some very specific fields (like HVAC servicing and electrical installation) where techs will regularly use a small handful of nut sizes, I regard nut drivers as a gimmick because a spinner handle lets me use my existing sockets. 1/4” spinner handles are extremely useful and <$10.
For something like taking a washing machine apart, I’d be using a spinner handle with a socket and/or a 1/4” adapter in a hex impact driver, depends how many screws it has.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Some nutsetters can be found with a hollow shaft, although much less common.
Klein makes some that are chrome, hollow shaft and magnetic.
They also just recently came out with this set:
https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/...lor-coded-ratcheting-power-nut-driver-7-piece
Last edited:
Dakotadadv8
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 30, 2021
- Messages
- 1,482
Yes Craftsman at Lowes
Yeah, if you need more than an 11-in-1 then the customer needs a new system!
I have kind of an addiction to the EASYDRIVER.
