Anyone every make their own screwdrivers?

[Zach England]

Now that I have some nice planes I'd love to have some nice wood-handled screwdrivers ala the LN screwdrivers, but frankly I have never spent more than a few dollars for a screwdriver and never will.

I am not talking about metal working here--just thinking about finding some new or "vintage" screwdrivers and making nice handles and ferrules for them.

Anyone? It seems simple, but I am not sure how to go about finding high-quality shafts that are appropriate for re-hab. I looked for "vintage screwdrivers" on ebay and there are zillions, but no info about any of them.

Edit: just googled "making screwdrivers" and got an even better idea!

[Larry Marshall]

Now that I have some nice planes I'd love to have some nice wood-handled screwdrivers ala the LN screwdrivers, but frankly I have never spent more than a few dollars for a screwdriver and never will.


This might help:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=64983&cat=51&ap=1

[Richard Magbanua]

Larry beat me to it. Those look like a great project and I will have to get those someday.
I have made a few using the kit from Rockler for gifts. I can tell you that it is a high quality kit and have been very happy with it. I would highly recommend it. Sometimes they are on sale for 5 bucks.

[Jeff Willard]

Would be nice if they had a turn screw type shaft, or at least a cabinet tip.

[Mike Brady]

Just noticed these:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=64983&cat=51&ap=1

[George Neill]

There are two remodeled screwdrivers here (http://pegsandtails.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/two-small-screwdrivers/) that turned out ok.

[Zach England]

The Lee Valley ones are exactly what I am looking for. Thanks. I have some of their "lifetime" screwdrivers and they are pretty decent.

My only question is, don't the flanges on the shafts cause the handle to be prone to splitting as you drive them into it?

[Mike Brady]

Zack, I wondered about that. I would use a brass ferrule to avoid that problem. You could grind the splines down a bit, too.

[Pam Niedermayer]

Here's a good source for old screwdrivers and turnscrews:

Inchmartine Tool Bazaar (http://www.toolbazaar.co.uk/toolsdetails.asp?offset=40&Toolid=78).

Pam

[Pete Ducklow]

I made a set by removing the plastic handles from some cheap Stanley screwdrivers with a propane torch. I put the shaft in a metal vise and heated the handle until it became soft and rubbery. I was then able to pull the old handle off quite easily. I turned new handles out of rosewood, drilled a hole and jammed the shaft in. Even with the ferrules (from Lee Valley), I've had some trouble with splitting. I'm going to try some more and drill the hole slightly larger (to accommodate the flanges on the screwdriver shaft), and then use some epoxy. I'm still debating the best way to do this. I'm not sure if it's important how the shaft is oriented into the hole based on the flanges and the grain of the wood.

Anyway, I really like the look and feel of these.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/824674/screwdrivers.jpg

[george wilson]

Why not just get some 3/32" X 1/2" 01 steel stock and just make them from scratch? Then you could twist the blades into a screw like effect to look like some 18th.C. ones. Heat to orange,quench in vegetable oil-never dirty motor oil-,polish off some,and heat to blue.

[Zach England]

Those look nice. That is sort of what I am going for. I also thought about making the handle out of multiple pieces glued up around the shaft, then turned with the shaft mounted in the lathe chuck. I am not really a wood turner--the only thing I have ever used my lathe for is making plane knobs and some other random parts for various things. It would not have the traditional look, though.



I made a set by removing the plastic handles from some cheap Stanley screwdrivers with a propane torch. I put the shaft in a metal vise and heated the handle until it became soft and rubbery. I was then able to pull the old handle off quite easily. I turned new handles out of rosewood, drilled a hole and jammed the shaft in. Even with the ferrules (from Lee Valley), I've had some trouble with splitting. I'm going to try some more and drill the hole slightly larger (to accommodate the flanges on the screwdriver shaft), and then use some epoxy. I'm still debating the best way to do this. I'm not sure if it's important how the shaft is oriented into the hole based on the flanges and the grain of the wood.

Anyway, I really like the look and feel of these.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/824674/screwdrivers.jpg