nut drivers

[_brian_]

My query is to get the opinion on nut drivers and their use. I have an old USA Craftsman set that came with my first tool set many years ago. They all look new. I like the idea of them, but looking at my usage, it seems I just use sockets instead. Thinking about it, this allows me to use extensions, swivels, etc whereas the nut driver is another tool I need to pull out of my box with a somewhat limited use.

How do others use these? Is there an advantage to them I might not realize? A common response I have heard is applications like hose clamps. For those, I just use a socket with the appropriate extension with a spinner on the end, so I can use a ratchet if needed then finish it quickly by hand.

 

[The Cobbler]

all tools have their places . some are used more than others. I like nut drivers for things that screw into plastic , places where screws don't need high torque, sink hold down brackets , hose clamps, tight quarters , etc

 

[4xdog]

Nut drivers work well when one needs a really deep socket, too.

 

[vjquan]

Low torque applications. I think I used 2 out of the 14 I had. Sometimes the hollow shaft is nice. You can get away with a spinner handle and effectively have the same thing. I ended up selling them because it took up a lot of space in the tool box. I'll buy individual sizes as needed if I really miss them, but so far I haven't.

 

[m6z]

I've used mine a lot on battery hold downs. Appliance repair too.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Hose clamps and machine screws are 99% what I've ever used the few I have for.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I bought a Snap-on set, never used them, then sold them.

I never replaced them and haven't needed them since, in 15+ years as a mech.

 

[Jacobs976]

I've never used mine but I've heard electricians use them more often than mechanics or anybody else. Good for low torque applications because you'll have a hard time over torquing with a screwdriver handle. Plus they don't fall apart if you accidentally catch the end on something so they're less risk working with live wires. See alot of the insulated handle ones more than standard for them too, can't short anything out if there's no metal touching other than the nut or bolt to the tool opening.

 

[CoogarXR]

I use mine frequently in electronics repair. They are thinner than a spinner + socket, and the socket head is usually shorter. I have full hollow shaft nutdrivers and magnetic ones, and I use them both, sometimes on the same nut. I'll use the magnetic to start the nut, then the hollow to sink it.

Electronics work can be very cramped, so that couple-millimeter difference between a nutdriver and a socket+spinner can make all the difference.

I rarely use them in mechanic work though, other than maybe hose clamps, and those weird hex-torx ford interior screws.

 

[dnschmidt]

Normal, what most people consider to be nutdrivers, don't excite me much. But T-handle nutdrivers are quite handy for automotive applications and TOPTUL makes some very nice ones. Here's a link: https://www.toptul.com/en/product-519790/8PCS-Hex-Nut-Driver-T-Handle-Set.html

 

[RickyPetite]

I use mine for the 10mm nuts that hold the body cladding to the bottom of the car. Easier than fussing with a 1/4 ratchet and socket.

 

[lilredex]

I use the cheapies mostly, for driving self drilling sheet metal screws in a drill. Go full speed then back off when they break through....works every time. Save my good sockets for the real work.

 

[ZRX61]

Can't see any reason at all to buy them.

 

[KnurledNut]

Magnetic hollow shaft nutdrivers can be super handy for mechanical/electrical work. I use 1/4 and 5/16 often.

 

[alien]

I am a retired commercial and industrial electrician of 40 years. We routinely used nut drivers in the electrical trade. They are being replaced with the multi screwdrivers these days. 1/4, 5/16, and 7/16 were the most used sizes With 3/8ths occasionally.

 

[sparky 1971]

I use nut drivers almost daily on the job, but never at home in the shop. I had a set at home, but I think I gave them away. I do occasionally use the 1/4" spinner handle with a socket on it though when I'm tinkering on something home related.

 

[ChevyEFI]

How do others use these? Is there an advantage to them I might not realize? A common response I have heard is applications like hose clamps.

CTA Tools 1100 flex drivers cover hose clamps pretty darn well.

My screwdriver style nut drivers are very well behaved and sit quietly for years on end.

I think there's a driver handle (maybe wiha?) that accepts power drive bits. Malco offers them. That plus a Malco flip-socket driver (several lengths) could cover 1/4 through 3/8. Dewalt has a couple flip versions to cover 1/4 through 7/16 (short only) and Klein has a 6-sizes multi-tool (long style) power bit. These combine well with a driver tool. In HVAC, you'll use your driver way more than a manual handle, for example.

 

[Fedwrench]

My nut drivers gather dust. I used to use them quite a bit back in the day but, constant tension wide band hose clamps and small cordless impact drivers have them not seeing much use these days. I mostly use nut setters on a small snap on CT751 (i think, the labeling is worn off and it's just an old scratched up hunk of black plastic now). I like it because it's the smallest impact driver I've ever found. Not the most powerful but, for air inlet tubing, trim and dash work, it's hard to beat. You can get nut setters in different lengths, and magnetic/non magnetic too

 

[82355]

I used mine quite often when I was a mechanic. Not so much anymore.

Martin

 

[bobg03]

I used 'em a lot pm'ing freezers and ice machines, hadn't touched one since 2005. My brother has them now, I liked my Kliens

 

[Snapped-off]

I feel like they're obsolete for most things these days.

I'll still keep mine around though.

 

[Kscardsfan]

I’ve found a few applications on small engines where they were pretty handy to have around. Like others said, a few times on home repair jobs with plumbing and electrical work. But I don’t know if I have ever used them on automotive repair jobs in my lifetime.

 

[dscheidt]

My first memories of fixing stuff are helping my dad fix appliances and plumbing stuff around the house. It always involved three things, a flaming hot trouble light with an incandescent bulb in it, yelling that I wasn't holding the trouble light the right way, and a set of color-coded craftsman nut drivers, in a vinyl envelope. I have those nut drivers, and use them when I have to fix the dishwasher or something. those trouble lights, on the other hand, I do not miss.

Other than that, nut drivers are great for small low torque screws, and for self-drilling and self-tapping screws, because you can easily put a lot of thrust force on the fastener while you turn it. a nutsetter on a drill or impact driver is faster, and has probably replaced most professional uses of them for that.

 

[_brian_]

I failed to mention that mine are not the hollow shaft style. This is what I have.

 

[Ingram306]

Hose clamps and jets on atv/dirt bike carbs. That’s about it.

 

[SRSemenza]

I like them for things that don't need a ratchet and also when there is a nut on one side of something and a screw head on the other. Such as machine screws. Used a nut driver with a slotted screw driver today.

I prefer them to sockets attached to a screwdriver style spinner handle, in the same way that I prefer a "one piece" screwdriver to a multi-bit driver. Just has a better feel to me.

Seth

 

[4xdog]

I failed to mention that mine are not the hollow shaft style. This is what I have...

I have a set of those Craftsman nut drivers too. They're drilled about 1" deep. Useful enough much of the time, but not for everything one runs across.

 

[vjquan]

I failed to mention that mine are not the hollow shaft style. This is what I have.

I had that same exact set and they were hollow. Not all of the way, but at least partially.

 

[Nutria]

Many years ago, I viewed nut drivers as an answer to a question that no one asked, but I've been using them more and more as time has gone by. I use them almost daily now. As others mentioned, they are perfect for low-torque applications; I have a set in the rollaway and another on the pegboard.

 

[Buster21]

I use mine a lot because I grew up using them. My dad was an old fashioned tv repair man and electronics technician. He had a set of xcelites that were probably the most used tool in his tool box, especially the red 1/4" taking off the backs of tv's. They were stored in the fold out wings of his xcelite tool case. I currently have craftsman but prefer my rubber handled Kleins.

 

[Xcursion88]

I'd say if you were working around tedious things that dare not be scratched or over torqued...they have their place.

It's really a tiny window where they'd be preferred over regular sockets and ratchets and or ratcheting wrenches etc.

 

[Davefr]

Nut drivers are a "must have" tool for me.
- The thin socket wall gets into tight areas that a socket won't fit
- The hollow shaft will remove the nut on long studs
- For torque sensitive applications, you have more feel
- The handle is more compact then a ratchet if you don't have room for swing
- The smaller ones come in increments of 1/32" and .5mm
- Magnetic ones will hold the screw
- Saves time over configuring a ratchet, socket and any needed adapter

Electronics/electrical, HVAC, appliance, OPE, automotive (life savers working under a dashboard)

This little set and it's metric equivalent have saved my **** many times when no other tool would fit.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I have a few sets from Klein, Masterforce, Husky, Companion, and a few that came with PC/electronics tool kits. They are really popular among electronics repair techs, as well as electricians and HVAC techs. It's easier to grab the driver you need than it is to find the correct socket.

There are a lot of multi-tip nut drivers, but I prefer individual ones, since they are easier to select and use with one hand, and the x-in-1 nut drivers tend to be heavy and bulky. Sometimes that one 7-in-1 nut driver is heavier than 7 individual nut drivers. I also like 10-in-1 and 11-in-1 screwdrivers, but rarely use the nut drivers unless that's all I have on me.

Good ones (Klein, Vaco) have hollow shafts, which allow you to reach nuts that threaded onto longer fasteners. You could use a nut driver to hold the nut in place while tightening the fastener with another nut driver, spinner handle/socket, ratchet, etc. Magnetic nut drivers are nice, but the socket is shallow. I prefer to think of them as nut setters, since they work great with machine screws.

 

[Luciferi]

I use 7, 8, and 10mm almost daily. I have older craftsman with the color coded rubber handles, super easy to find orange, yellow, and blue. Great for most auto interior work where you care about not stripping stuff out. It is also great for telling if some idiot has been there before and over tightened everything.

I also have a couple of black Klein in odd sizes that blend in on my tool cart and have to search for. These are hardly used, mostly thinking they are screwdrivers and forget I have them.

 

[j3rf]

One of these works well for my uses. Much smaller to keep around than a whole set of nut drivers.

 

[RTM]

I went years without one, then needed one to hang a set of blinds. Couldn't get anything in there close enough to the wall, no power screwdrivers or drills fit, my sockets were all a long way away. I bought a single nutdriver, 1/4". The only other thing it got used for was attaching the dryer duct hosing in an awkward location. And occasionally holding driver bits

Thanks to you bad influences, I now have a very thorough harlequin set, picked up cheap, but never used yet.

 

[KnurledNut]

@Davefr
I’ll add another to your list:
Ya don’t have to worry about knocking the socket off into the abyss or it getting stuck on the fastener as you do with spinner handles.

 

[lardy1]

Another one of those things that I'm sure I could get by without. But when I do use them I'm always pleased that they are there.

I use sockets on a ratcheting screwdriver way more than I ever thought I would.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

They were really handy for working on old school TVs and radios that were held together with dozens of hex head screws. I wore out a 1/4" Xcelite driver on those things. Probably wore out a Vaco, too but I didn't replace that one and it's been a long time. The advantage of nut drivers in that sort of work is that there's only a few sizes typically needed but changing between individual sockets is considerably slower. That, and the brightly colored handles make it easy to grab the right driver the first time. And, as mentioned, there's no risk that a socket will snag on something, pull off the drive, and fall into the bowels of the project.

More modern stuff is usually some sort of snap together plastic or held together with phillips type screws.

 

[Shed of tools]

I own only one a 5/16 that I bought for hose clamps I haven’t had the need for other sizes