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Favorite Screwdriver Bit Set?

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Fedwrench

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Greetings All,

Llooking to see what 1/4 inch hex power bit sets you peeps prefer. Looking for a set geared mostly to automotive applications. Don't really use Posidrive or Square. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. :beer:
 
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Andres26tnt

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Fedwrench said:
Greetings All,

Llooking to see what 1/4 inch hex power bit sets you peeps prefer. Looking for a set geared mostly to automotive applications. Don't really use Posidrive or Square. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. :beer:
Click to expand...

Options are endless, do you want with case/holder, or individual, a kit or?
 
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Fedwrench

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Andres26tnt said:
Options are endless, do you want with case/holder, or individual, a kit or?
Click to expand...
Looking for a kit or two for my guys. never thought about PB Swiss. That Hazet kit is pretty sweet. I'm leaning towards Vessell at the moment maybe Wiha. I like the Wera bit checks but, 6 or so of the bits will be posidrive. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
 
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GeoBruin

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CGarage said:
I also like Vessel for this application, too.

They have not disappointed me.
Click to expand...

Do you have a set you like? I feel like most of the vessel sets I've seen have are really the shorter impact rated bits like the ones at the link below. I would love to find a comprehensive set of longer bits meant for use with a bit driver.

IMPACT BALL Torsion Bit 30+1 PC. Set in SLIDE CASE No.IB31P02U | Bits and accessories | PRODUCTS | VESSEL TOOLS U.S.A., INC https://share.google/WEe4eZEE3ezy8atfP

Edit: I assembled this set of Vessel "Gosai" bits but it was at least 3 or four different purchases.
 

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Steel_Rain

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Callelle said:
I don't really understand spending big money on bits, I consider them consumables. Milwaukee bits on sale have always been good enough for me.
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Agreed for impact bits, but I'm not using these for 24/7 screw driving during construction, or for impact use in automotive.

I use the PBS stuff daily for interiors or light duty disassembly / assembly work where fit/engagement is important to me to save time and frustration.
 
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Phang

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Steel_Rain said:
Agreed for impact bits, but I'm not using these for 24/7 screw driving during construction, or for impact use in automotive.

I use the PBS stuff daily for interiors or light duty disassembly / assembly work where fit/engagement is important to me to save time and frustration.
Click to expand...

mine didn't get used very often too, as you mentioned, mostly light duty works of an amateur DIYer

btw, beautiful desmosedici rr engine (y)
 
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nh_yota

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Callelle said:
I don't really understand spending big money on bits, I consider them consumables. Milwaukee bits on sale have always been good enough for me.
Click to expand...
For regular bits I just get whatever brand name 3" bit the hardware store currently has in stock when I need a new one.

For specialized bits I have a clear Plano tackle box full of all sorts of hex bits that I consolidated from the various sets I received as gifts over the years.
 
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Andres26tnt

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Callelle said:
I don't really understand spending big money on bits, I consider them consumables. Milwaukee bits on sale have always been good enough for me.
Click to expand...

It's a quality/fitment thing. I prefer JIS drivers, so naturally I want JIS fitment with my bits. I've had other bits, and broken a tone of snap-on. Being a consumable isn't an excuse for bad quality.

Haven't tried Milwaukee, only their drill bits. They were good, but not the best.
 
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Andres26tnt

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Fedwrench said:
Looking for a kit or two for my guys. never thought about PB Swiss. That Hazet kit is pretty sweet. I'm leaning towards Vessell at the moment maybe Wiha. I like the Wera bit checks but, 6 or so of the bits will be posidrive. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
Click to expand...

I would recommend vessel as it's generally more available and top quality. The only real drawback is they come in small holders. I usually take them out and either 3d print or purchase a holder/case. Currently my favorite case is the DeWalt toughcase. Fyi vessel is constantly more affordable for the quality.
 

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richfinn

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Fedwrench said:
Looking for a kit or two for my guys. never thought about PB Swiss. That Hazet kit is pretty sweet. I'm leaning towards Vessell at the moment maybe Wiha. I like the Wera bit checks but, 6 or so of the bits will be posidrive. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
Click to expand...

I like the P B Swiss C6.3 (regular short 1/4" hex bits), they are apparently rated for power tools use, color coded and they don't rust!!! (Pricey though)

I also have the little Facom/USAG/ICON ratchet and bit kit (I don't know if these bits are power tool rated) but the ratchet/extension is super handy, The Facom bits are doing well so far, can't vouch for ICON (possibly the same)!!!
 
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Andres26tnt

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Etchase

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I have a couple sets for those use once needs, but the majority are never used. The Philips, Torx, hex, standards…I buy by the bag. Apex, dewalt, Chapman, various SBD brands work well. They have their manufacturing processes down. Much better than the fasteners.
 
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Andres26tnt

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CGarage said:
Pricey for the quality ???? Milwaukee bits are highly regarded.

Can you please explain to me how you came up with this point of view?
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Just looking at reviews they aren't as highly regarded as you think. Also the price is high 80 to 140$ depending on sales. The third thing is that's a lot of duplicate bits. Judging from most of my Milwaukee tools, they don't justify the high prices.

For a gift I would prioritize needs vs quantity, Just my opinion. I bought the DeWalt equivalent, it has the same issues. Lots of the same bits, had to add what I wanted later.
 
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Etchase

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The duplicates in sets are an acknowledgement of the consumable nature of bits. What are you going to do with one PH2 or T25? They sell bags of 100 for a reason.
 
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Andres26tnt

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Etchase said:
The duplicates in sets are an acknowledgement of the consumable nature of bits. What are you going to do with one PH2 or T25? They sell bags of 100 for a reason.
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Low quality bits if you are going through them like candy. I have about 2 in each kit, vessel JIS. Never broke then, my oldest is about 5y old and has some rust. At work they used the lowest quality bits because they are cheap, drives me nuts as they eff up fasteners. We did a small change and now we have less broken bits and fasteners. For Automotive work, you won't need 100 PH2 😅. Just a nice quality set with some duplicates.
 
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KnurledNut

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Fedwrench said:
Looking for a kit or two for my guys. never thought about PB Swiss. That Hazet kit is pretty sweet. I'm leaning towards Vessell at the moment maybe Wiha. I like the Wera bit checks but, 6 or so of the bits will be posidrive. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
Click to expand...
What length bits are you considering?
I'd be tickled pink if you bought me the MAC SD60KL set.
Just run the company card and don't look at the price. :lol:
Hey, on the bright side they have lifetime warranty, so you'll only have to fool with them once!
https://www.mactools.com/products/sd60kl
SD60KL.jpg
 
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four.cycle

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@Fedwrench -

Take a look at the offerings from Fanttik

This fancy set in this "roundie" holder is very similar to the one the store manager at my local O'Reilly's showed me recently. Said he's using it to work on his fancy Nikon camera and his pistol and he seemed thrilled with it.
He ALSO owns one of those little "ICON" bit kits (the one in the small box).
He and I have discussed "bits" and "bit drivers" several times.

You DID know that TEKTON recently introduced one of these kits, right? I just recently gifted one of Tekton's DBA93100 kits to my buddy, but unfortunately the bits are "shorties", and he needed to get at the head of a T7 torx screw that was recessed down in a hole on a security camera, so that is an issue to consider.

There was a bit of discussion about these in one of the other "bit" threads, if I'm not mistaken.

Notwithstanding it being manufactured in mainland China (PRC), the "Fanttik" stuff certainly does look interesting, and it appears they've addressed some issues other manufacturers have overlooked.
 
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Ohio Andy

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The set I grab depends on what I will be doing; for example, see belo. I mostly use items 1-6 but have all but Wera listed below.

  1. Chapman - They show the ratings on their web site, but I use these mostly when I am using hand tools and not as an impact.
  2. Vessel - I like the IMPACT BALL Torsion Bit 52PCS SET (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D53F8ZCQ?tag=atomicindus08-20) A common go to and they hold up. I also have individual packs of specific sizes.
  3. PB Swiss - I have numerous sets of these and really like them.
  4. Grip Edge - I purchased their large bit set because some of the bits have RPT Technology. Highly recommended but I usually only use them on bits that I am concerned about deforming or when the connector has started to strip. (https://www.gripedgetools.com/collections/best-sellers/products/rpt-multi-bit-driver-set-132-pieces)
  5. VIM - My primary vim bits are in their stubby bits when you do not have much clearance. I especially like this set for car interiors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MVBGAU?tag=atomicindus08-20
  6. Craftsman USA - This is an old set, but these bits held up to lots and lots of heavy use. I stayed on one bit while others working with me kept breaking their PH2 bits so I finally just gave them all some of mine. I still use these bits, but not as often because... nostalgia.
  7. Milwaukee - I have not had issues with these but I don't use them often.
  8. Snap-On / Williams - I have not had issues with these bits but I mostly use them with the related ratcheting screw drivers so not hard use.
  9. Felo - I have some, but I don't remember why and I have not stressed them much.
  10. Apex - I bought a bunch of these but have only used them lightly. They seem to work.
  11. Tekton - I own many of these bits. Nothing special but they have worked for casual use.
  12. Sunnex Tools - I have not subjected to heavy use, but they have worked well enough for casual use; for example, I own https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J7SBT7S?tag=atomicindus08-20 and this set when i want something small to carry https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4MA7MM?tag=atomicindus08-20.
  13. Dewalt - I bought a set. It was OK, mostly casual use.
  14. Wera - I have not tried them. I intended to buy a set to test but lots of complaints on the set container failing quickly and I intended to keep them as a set in the shipped container so I noped out.
Yes, I have other bit sets but I
 
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bwringer

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I love Wera's Hex-plus hex bits, and all their other bits are fantastic as well.

But their sets aren't the best-chosen; they seem to stuff in multiple useless (to me) Posidriv bits, so you have to mix and match to get what you need for your vehicles.

Can't go wrong with PB Swiss or Vessel, either.
 
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Fedwrench

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Greetings All:

I didn't realize what a bottomless pit looking for a couple of bit sets to replace my guys' worn out, incomplete sets would become.

Sensory overload would be putting it mildly looking at all of the current offerings. :wtf:

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Ended up going with the Wiha 40 piece Terminator Blue Impact set and the Vessel impact ball torsion 30 plus 1 set. I figure when they lose bits, I'll replace them with Wera to add variety. :bounce:

You guys are GREAT!!! and some of you are truly Bit Obsessed :lol: :beer:
 
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Ohio Andy

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Fedwrench said:
Greetings All:

I didn't realize what a bottomless pit looking for a couple of bit sets to replace my guys' worn out, incomplete sets would become.

Sensory overload would be putting it mildly looking at all of the current offerings. :wtf:

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Ended up going with the Wiha 40 piece Terminator Blue Impact set and the Vessel impact ball torsion 30 plus 1 set. I figure when they lose bits, I'll replace them with Wera to add variety. :bounce:

You guys are GREAT!!! and some of you are truly Bit Obsessed :lol: :beer:
Click to expand...
You should see my spreadsheet that shows how many of which bits in each set that I own so that I can find a specific bit if needed. Only matters for "rare" bits, of course. But every now and then I need a bit that most of my sets do not have and then I just go back and check to see which sets have them rather than rummage through everything.
 
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KnurledNut

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Fedwrench said:
Greetings All:

I didn't realize what a bottomless pit looking for a couple of bit sets to replace my guys' worn out, incomplete sets would become.

Sensory overload would be putting it mildly looking at all of the current offerings. :wtf:

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Ended up going with the Wiha 40 piece Terminator Blue Impact set and the Vessel impact ball torsion 30 plus 1 set. I figure when they lose bits, I'll replace them with Wera to add variety. :bounce:

You guys are GREAT!!! and some of you are truly Bit Obsessed :lol: :beer:
Click to expand...
As bad as I would like to try that Vessel set, the 30mm length puts me off for impact use. I am used to 51mm bits and would find it too short. If I have to use an adaptor for length, I’d just as soon use 25mm bits.
 
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