USA Made Fastener Bit Sets?

[Dzmax77]

I currently have Montana (USA), Wera, Vessel and Milwaukee tool driver bit sets and Im trying to look for another American made set that isn’t made by Montana or Snap On Zephyr. Aside from some NOS Craftsman, Vermont/Bosch I see on EBay, I don’t believe there are any.

Question: Are there any US made sets that come in a box?

Aside from Montana and Zephyr, are there any other manufacturers?

 

[Renegade1LI]

Look at snappy, they have some nice bits and packaged sets, all usa made, i think they’re good.https://www.snappytools.com/

 

[nbpt100]

Maybe not exactly what you want but USA made.

#1000 Mity Master Set | Chapman MFG

Our largest Chapman set includes everything #5575 Master set has plus SAE & MM Ball Allen, Robertson square head, and JIS bits! Equaling 68 screwdriver bits, 2 extensions, 2 spinners, handle, dipped ratchet, and customizable set case! Made, hand assembled & inspected in Durham, CT with USA...

chapmanmfg.com

 

[KnurledNut]

Apex Industrial:


Qualtool:

https://www.pscia.com/ASSETS/DOCUMENTS/ITEMS/EN/qualtool_catalogue.pdf

 

[Tools4Me]

Maybe not exactly what you want but USA made.

#1000 Mity Master Set | Chapman MFG

Our largest Chapman set includes everything #5575 Master set has plus SAE & MM Ball Allen, Robertson square head, and JIS bits! Equaling 68 screwdriver bits, 2 extensions, 2 spinners, handle, dipped ratchet, and customizable set case! Made, hand assembled & inspected in Durham, CT with USA...

chapmanmfg.com

Along this same line (bits primarily marketed to gunsmiths), Brownell's sells Magna bits which are USA made. They might be rebranded Zephyr, because I don't think the actual Magna bit brand exists anymore, but they do sell sizes that I'm pretty sure are exclusive only to Brownell's. I'm thinking mainly of their thinner slotted bits. They have a bunch of different bit set combinations that come with or without cases, and individuals and expansion sets can be purchased as well as your needs change. I've had good luck with them.

Keyword Search | Brownells

Keyword Search | Brownells

www.brownells.com

 

[KnurledNut]

Brownell's sells Magna bits

Zephyr

 

[Bubba Fett]

I currently have Montana (USA), Wera, Vessel and Milwaukee tool driver bit sets and Im trying to look for another American made set that isn’t made by Montana or Snap On Zephyr. Aside from some NOS Craftsman, Vermont/Bosch I see on EBay, I don’t believe there are any.

Question: Are there any US made sets that come in a box?

Aside from Montana and Zephyr, are there any other manufacturers?

Apex is pretty much the only other one, but not all their bits are made in the US. Ideal also sells USA-made bits in rubber blocks, but they are not the easiest to find, and I suspect those are probably made by Apex as well.

Chapman makes bits, but theirs are specialized for their drivers, and not interchangeable with standard bits. Otherwise, the next best bet would be Germain made bits, and then bits that are made in Taiwan. I have found that Taiwan-made bits are generally quite good, but Chinese bits (especially Warrior and other cheap/no-name brands) are disposable (as in single use), and most of some of the security bits, etc are poorly made, and may not even fit the fastener correctly. I'd even say they are dangerous to uses, since they break easily.

The ones offered by DeWalt, Irwin, Milwaukee, etc are pretty good, as they are made to higher specs, but they are disposable. I guess all bits are disposable by nature, but I like to use the good ones in magnetic screwdrivers, etc, and use the power-tool-branded bits for power tools, since they are cheap and easily replaced.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

You can buy zypher, badged as such, without the snap on logo. They're my go to bit brand choice.

Any reason you dont want snap on or zypher themselves?

 

[Dzmax77]

You can buy zypher, badged as such, without the snap on logo. They're my go to bit brand choice.

Any reason you dont want snap on or zypher themselves?

I’d love to have a Snappy/Zephyr bit set but I’m just a weekend warrior so to speak and can’t justify spending $200+ on a bit set. Actually, even if I was in the trades, I still don’t think I’d pay that much when there’s good solid brands like Wera and Vessel that make bits that are way better than what the box stores sell for just a little more $.

I do have a Montana set, and it’s good, but they don’t offer many or if any hex, Torq, pozidrive in their sets. Given quality of North American steel, and the ease of bit production, you’d think Montana would expand or Apex and Zephyr would offer domestic options packaged the same way most bit sets are.

With regard to Ideal, I know they did offer US made bits in some of the drivers they sold (I have the Master Force version) and they are nice, but very hard to find. Also, with PR gone and SK no longer a subsidiary, I’m not sure they are making them anymore (assuming they weren’t contracted out).

10 years ago, there were several US made options - Vermont, Bosch, Craftsman (not sure of OEM), Best Way that made and sold bit sets. Now, we’re down to just Luis Vuitton type production. I don’t get it.

 

[Dzmax77]

Apex is pretty much the only other one, but not all their bits are made in the US. Ideal also sells USA-made bits in rubber blocks, but they are not the easiest to find, and I suspect those are probably made by Apex as well.

Chapman makes bits, but theirs are specialized for their drivers, and not interchangeable with standard bits. Otherwise, the next best bet would be Germain made bits, and then bits that are made in Taiwan. I have found that Taiwan-made bits are generally quite good, but Chinese bits (especially Warrior and other cheap/no-name brands) are disposable (as in single use), and most of some of the security bits, etc are poorly made, and may not even fit the fastener correctly. I'd even say they are dangerous to uses, since they break easily.

The ones offered by DeWalt, Irwin, Milwaukee, etc are pretty good, as they are made to higher specs, but they are disposable. I guess all bits are disposable by nature, but I like to use the good ones in magnetic screwdrivers, etc, and use the power-tool-branded bits for power tools, since they are cheap and easily replaced.

Im not in the trades but I grew up around Tool & Die makers and carpenters and know a thing or two about machining, wood working, so this isn’t coming from someone who doesn’t know the basics, but every time I buy a Milw or DeWalt bit set, the bit sets strip considerably faster than the old craftsman bits I have from 10 years ago. I save these and try not to use them often but only in special fasteners I can’t afford to strip.

Although since buying Wera and Vessel sets, I’m not as worried because these bits are very strong and well made.

 

[nbpt100]

Im not in the trades but I grew up around Tool & Die makers and carpenters and know a thing or two about machining, wood working, so this isn’t coming from someone who doesn’t know the basics, but every time I buy a Milw or DeWalt bit set, the bit sets strip considerably faster than the old craftsman bits I have from 10 years ago. I save these and try not to use them often but only in special fasteners I can’t afford to strip.

Although since buying Wera and Vessel sets, I’m not as worried because these bits are very strong and well made.

What type of bit are you stripping. i.e. philips #2, T25, Pozi etc? I find Philips strip the fastener or the bit if you do on hold it as square as possible. I never have issues with Torx or Square regardless of the make. Even the Walmart torx bits I have hold up.

 

[Dzmax77]

What type of bit are you stripping. i.e. philips #2, T25, Pozi etc? I find Philips strip the fastener or the bit if you do on hold it as square as possible. I never have issues with Torx or Square regardless of the make. Even the Walmart torx bits I have hold up.

I think it’s the fit of the bits themselves. The various HD Lowes Mendards sets that are all probably all made within the same 2-3 factories, just don’t have that snug fit.

Im impressed with Vessel ball impact bits. Strictly have become my go to. I put together 6 different IKEA furniture items, and various other tables that use #2 pozidrive, and if you look at the pic, the #2 pozi looks like it’s never been used.

 

[four.cycle]

RE: Vessel ball impact bits
do those fit into any conventional 1/4" hex driver tool?

 

[driftpin]

Klein-if you're willing to wet your feet to go to MX as a country of origin. It is N. America! $21 from Amazon Prime. They offer both standard and security bit sets, and are magnetic. Certified buyerhappy customer. Note the have a couple of clutch tip bits, hard to find, and useful if you're working on 60+ year old domestic automobiles.



If you're looking for USA distributed but Taiwan made impact bits, I've bought multiples of these, and found them to be longer-lasting than Lisle impact bits. I've used 'em with a 1/2" hand impact driver with good durable results.

 

[tarbellb]

Vega

 

[KnurledNut]

Vega

Unfortunately not USA made as requested.

 

[Dzmax77]

RE: Vessel ball impact bits
do those fit into any conventional 1/4" hex driver tool?

yes.

 

[Feralghoul88]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00626KII0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

VEGA, you wont be disappointed. I bought a vega set like 10yrs ago and I have had so much luck out of it that when i found this set i went ahead and bought two sets.

 

[Indexmill]

Now, we’re down to just Luis Vuitton type production. I don’t get it.

It's very simple; we are a very, very expensive place to manufacture. All of that has to get paid for.

 

[four.cycle]

I went ahead and ordered the Vessel 31-piece set and finagled a deal with the seller:

* VESSEL deal of the month *

Free 2-pack of VESSEL #2 phillips bits with ANY Vessel purchase while supplies last through April 2022. Must add a note or comment to the order during checkout. Order from BowersTool.com or BowersTool on eBay.

Vessel (JAPAN) 31-piece Impact Torsion Bit Set in case
$39.99 incl. shipping

Pardon Our Interruption...

Currently Bowers has 59 different Vessel items listed on Ebay which range from $8 to $110 - lots to choose from.

Thanks Nelson!

 

[Dzmax77]

It's very simple; we are a very, very expensive place to manufacture. All of that has to get paid for.

Yes, but there’s not a whole lot of labor involved.

 

[Dzmax77]

Proto sells a few sets that appear to resemble the Apex set noted in one of the posts above.

https://www.protoindustrial.com/en/industrial-tools/Proto/Screwdrivers-%26-Hex-Keys/Insert-Bit-Screwdrivers/J61906_Proto®-38-Piece-Insert%7CPower-Bit-Set/

 

[Spdfreak91]

Our hardware store has bits made in USA that are made by a florida company, that escapes my mind

 

[Dzmax77]

Our hardware store has bits made in USA that are made by a florida company, that escapes my mind

I think you’re referring to Best Way which I believe was bought out by Mayhew and Im not entirely sure if the bits continue to be made in the US. They had a YouTube page that got taken down and on it they had videos of how their screwdrivers were made.

Please report back if you do find out who that is.

 

[Jmonnty]

I think you’re referring to Best Way which I believe was bought out by Mayhew and Im not entirely sure if the bits continue to be made in the US. They had a YouTube page that got taken down and on it they had videos of how their screwdrivers were made.

Please report back if you do find out who that is.

https://qualtool.com/

McMaster-Carr carries them, decent quality, made in usa.

 

[Dzmax77]

https://qualtool.com/

McMaster-Carr carries them, decent quality, made in usa.

Interesting.

I just ordered their 25pc 3.5” Phillips #2 on Amazon. I wish they sold an assortment set.

 

[Swincjas000]

It's very simple; we are a very, very expensive place to manufacture. All of that has to get paid for.

I hate to bring politics into a tool sub (my only repreve from the internets constant partisan knuckle dragging) but its not just thats its "expensive to manufacture here" slave labour produced imports have been made easier to import while taxes and regulations on domestic production has been increased significantly. Leads one to think this was done intentionally for higher profit margins at the expense of our countries manufacturing base... not to mention dignity. It's disgusting. When the tooling was still up and running the profit margin increases were marginal, and companies were already making plenty of money, now that it's all been shut down and sold off the cost to restart is going to be... significant. Now we're overly dependant on an adversarial nation with interests and values counter to ours. I'm no communist but greed is a thing, at some point people have to choose to make slightly less massive piles of cash in the interest of our nation's manucturing capabilities.

 

[tarbellb]

I hate to bring politics into a tool sub (my only repreve from the internets constant partisan knuckle dragging) but its not just thats its "expensive to manufacture here" slave labour produced imports have been made easier to import while taxes and regulations on domestic production has been increased significantly. Leads one to think this was done intentionally for higher profit margins at the expense of our countries manufacturing base... not to mention dignity. It's disgusting. When the tooling was still up and running the profit margin increases were marginal, and companies were already making plenty of money, now that it's all been shut down and sold off the cost to restart is going to be... significant. Now we're overly dependant on an adversarial nation with interests and values counter to ours. I'm no communist but greed is a thing, at some point people have to choose to make slightly less massive piles of cash in the interest of our nation's manucturing capabilities.

so... no input on a quality bit the OP can use?

 

[Etchase]

Chapman bits are top notch, and don’t rely on being American made to be competitive. They are just competitive in a free market.

 

[Swincjas000]

so... no input on a quality bit the OP can use?

I've been on the same hunt, that's how I ended up here lol... One company people consistently overlook is proto, I know they make torx bits and things like that, Mayhew as well. Not US made, but Wiha and Wera bits are usually damn good for the money. I've been eyeing montana brand but I see he mentioned them already. Unfortunately there's just not many companies left manufacturing here... Hopefully that's about to change.

 

[terrific]

I've seen this set posted before. Note that it contains Zephyr's "hard" bits. Zephyr says those are for driving screws into wood, while their "soft" bits are for machine screws. I don't know if it really matters.

ZBB-4 Zephyr Professional 31 Piece Bit Kit

Zephyr ZBB-4 Professional 31 Piece Bit Kit

mrotools.com

They also have a couple of sets here: https://zephyrtoolgroup.com/product/zms-30-29pc-hex-insert-bit-set (click "next" to get to the second set). The pricing isn't great, though, and you're paying for a screwdriver you probably don't need.
I think Proto rebadges some of these sets. I remember the translucent yellow driver.

 

[Steve_P]

I hate to bring politics into a tool sub (my only repreve from the internets constant partisan knuckle dragging) but its not just thats its "expensive to manufacture here" slave labour produced imports have been made easier to import while taxes and regulations on domestic production has been increased significantly. Leads one to think this was done intentionally for higher profit margins at the expense of our countries manufacturing base... not to mention dignity. It's disgusting. When the tooling was still up and running the profit margin increases were marginal, and companies were already making plenty of money, now that it's all been shut down and sold off the cost to restart is going to be... significant. Now we're overly dependant on an adversarial nation with interests and values counter to ours. I'm no communist but greed is a thing, at some point people have to choose to make slightly less massive piles of cash in the interest of our nation's manucturing capabilities.

Dude, you've only got five posts, but we've been thru this a million times here. You can make the same bits in china for 30% of the cost of USA. The same bits in Vietnam for ~20%. Which do you think 99% of Americans will buy? The cheaper ones. Stores aren't going to waste shelf space on stuff that doesn't sell; it's move overseas to compete or go out of business. It's not taxes and regulations, it's overseas labor cost and cheap Americans. Americans can buy USA made Smartwool socks. They don't because they're $12+ a pair on sale; they buy the cheap imported ones instead. Same with anything else; Americans want cheap ****.

This is OT, so I won't reply again.

 

[tarbellb]

I've been on the same hunt, that's how I ended up here lol... One company people consistently overlook is proto, I know they make torx bits and things like that, Mayhew as well. Not US made, but Wiha and Wera bits are usually damn good for the money. I've been eyeing montana brand but I see he mentioned them already. Unfortunately there's just not many companies left manufacturing here... Hopefully that's about to change.

lots of quality bits made from around the globe

check back in 4 yrs and lmk

or, also, lmk what the stats were from 2016-20, something tells me its going to be similar to Carrier and Foxconn

 

[pizza]

the thread's from 2022 and bumped by an off topic post from a new user...

 

[Swincjas000]

Dude, you've only got five posts, but we've been thru this a million times here. You can make the same bits in china for 30% of the cost of USA. The same bits in Vietnam for ~20%. Which do you think 99% of Americans will buy? The cheaper ones. Stores aren't going to waste shelf space on stuff that doesn't sell; it's move overseas to compete or go out of business. It's not taxes and regulations, it's overseas labor cost and cheap Americans. Americans can buy USA made Smartwool socks. They don't because they're $12+ a pair on sale; they buy the cheap imported ones instead. Same with anything else; Americans want cheap ****.

This is OT, so I won't reply again.

Your literally in a thread full of Americans looking for bits to buy that aren't made out of chinesium, although unfortunately you are right the vast majority of Americans would rather buy cheap garbage than spend the extra $10 on something worth buying to support local economies. It's nowhere near 99% though... plenty of Americans still have their pride. Plenty of Americans would gladly pay more for better, and do, even if the options are dwindling. Sadly the unwashed masses do drag the rest of us down with them.

 

[Wamsutta]

 

[terrific]

Mayhew has a really comprehensive selection, but they're impossible to find. They come in cool little magnetic trays. https://mayhew.com/files/content/resources/catalogs/Mayhew-Bit-Catalog.pdf

It is the way of the American tool company to manufacture tools but then never sell them anywhere.

 

[Swincjas000]

Mayhew has a really comprehensive selection, but they're impossible to find. They come in cool little magnetic trays. https://mayhew.com/files/content/resources/catalogs/Mayhew-Bit-Catalog.pdf

It is the way of the American tool company to manufacture tools but then never sell them anywhere.

You can find a lot of obscure stuff like that on industrial suppliers websites, of course every one sells one brand and another one sells another places like Zoro for Proto and a few others, Suncoast Precision for Williams stuff, JB tools, grainger, etc...

 

[KnurledNut]

Mayhew has a really comprehensive selection, but they're impossible to find. They come in cool little magnetic trays. https://mayhew.com/files/content/resources/catalogs/Mayhew-Bit-Catalog.pdf

It is the way of the American tool company to manufacture tools but then never sell them anywhere.

In 2019, Mayhew acquired Bestway Tools of Florida, a screwdriver bit manufacturer. Thus the expansion into those offerings. I’ve used some of the BWT bits before they were bought out (Local ACE used to have a large display of individually packaged bits in every flavor) and was very disappointed in the quality. I hope Mayhew made some improvements.
I also recently purchased a Mayhew/BWT multibit screwdriver and unfortunately it was missing bits and Mayhew completely blew me off when I let them know of the issue, even lying to me. Again, very disappointed, quite surprised, and ended any interest I had. YMMV.

The catalog released after the acquisition:
https://mayhew.com/files/content/resources/catalogs/Bestway-Catalog.pdf

 

[terrific]

In 2019, Mayhew acquired Bestway Tools of Florida, a screwdriver bit manufacturer. Thus the expansion into those offerings. I’ve used some of the BWT bits before they were bought out (Local ACE used to have a large display of individually packaged bits in every flavor) and was very disappointed in the quality. I hope Mayhew made some improvements.
I also recently purchased a Mayhew/BWT multibit screwdriver and unfortunately it was missing bits and Mayhew completely blew me off when I let them know of the issue, even lying to me. Again, very disappointed, quite surprised, and ended any interest I had. YMMV.

The catalog released after the acquisition:
https://mayhew.com/files/content/resources/catalogs/Bestway-Catalog.pdf

I enjoyed looking through that catalog. Those magnetic bit drivers look like they're from the 70's. Also, pg.10 with the multi-bit hammer. I cracked up when I saw one of those at Walmart a while back. Figure out a way to toss a knife in there and try your luck competing with Leatherman.

I got pretty excited when I saw the 100 bit set, but on second pass that's definitely an import. Neiko has the exact same set.

Were the bits that failed you S2 steel and marked USA?
I hope they've improved things, because they've got some cool offerings that Zephyr doesn't. Triple square, though I don't really need those. Ball hex is really cool, though.
I stumbled on the new hex sets on Amazon. They have them for about $15 for 12 bits, so about half the price of Zephyr. I might give them a shot.