I was pleased recently when a good friend passed a Yankee screwdriver on to me, as I did not have one. It's a Millers Falls 610A which I believe is a pretty common model:
It came with a single flat bit. Now, although I like old slotted screws, for ordinary DIY work I use cross-headed screws just like everyone else. If I am going to use this screwdriver, it will usually be with modern screws. Now, I know that you can get proper pozi bits on eBay, but I've not done that yet. Having partially dismantled this screwdriver and lubricated its works, I tried putting various pozi drive tips in it.
I was pleased to find that they work - and do get gripped sufficiently well to tighten screws with.
It's not a perfect solution. Inside the barrel there is a little metal key which rests in a slot. With a proper bit it engages in a notch, and the torque is delivered by a flat end to the bit which fits into a socket. What I was doing was just jamming the flat side of the hex bit against the key, held in place inside a spring. The consequence is that the front barrel does not spin nicely, so you can't really use it to control the positioning. But with sharp screws that does not matter.
So, if you have one of these but didn't use it as it only came with a flat bit, or find one at a boot sale, give it a try - you might be pleasantly surprised.
It came with a single flat bit. Now, although I like old slotted screws, for ordinary DIY work I use cross-headed screws just like everyone else. If I am going to use this screwdriver, it will usually be with modern screws. Now, I know that you can get proper pozi bits on eBay, but I've not done that yet. Having partially dismantled this screwdriver and lubricated its works, I tried putting various pozi drive tips in it.
I was pleased to find that they work - and do get gripped sufficiently well to tighten screws with.
It's not a perfect solution. Inside the barrel there is a little metal key which rests in a slot. With a proper bit it engages in a notch, and the torque is delivered by a flat end to the bit which fits into a socket. What I was doing was just jamming the flat side of the hex bit against the key, held in place inside a spring. The consequence is that the front barrel does not spin nicely, so you can't really use it to control the positioning. But with sharp screws that does not matter.
So, if you have one of these but didn't use it as it only came with a flat bit, or find one at a boot sale, give it a try - you might be pleasantly surprised.
