Screwdriver Set Recommendation Needed

Do a search for a micro screwdriver set.  Those typically have long thin shanks.  I would think that Sears (good luck), Home Depot, Lowes or Harbor Freight would carry similar items.  Check out the attached image.  

I got this WIHA Set after fooling around with cheap screwdrivers.  The hardened steel tips grab the screws without slipping.  Very satisfied.

Bob

I have the Wiha screwdrivers as well.  The ones above are perfect for a lot of uses, the small handles limit the torque you can put on them.  That minimizes the occurrences of broken mounting posts in plastic shells for one thing.

Not to mention spinning handle caps are easier on the finger's grip, providing a bracing point at the palm when spinning a long screw out quickly.

 I am a tool junkie. I have a few different sets. The above mentioned Whia is my go to set. The only knock is they don't have a lot of torque to remove engine shells and many brackets. Some of these are really on tight. For these I use a set of mini Snap On's. The handles have a good grip and the bits seems to fit well. They aren't cheap but will last a lifetime.

I did buy a set of JIS screwdrivers. 4 different sizes. Can't remember the manufacture but they were a quality set made in the US. I just don't seem to see a difference between these and a standard phillips.

 On my Lionel milk cars. I adapt Kadee's to them. You need to remove 4 screws on that secure the tanks. You need a skinny bit and the cross in the screw seems very shallow. Plus they are really snugged down. I've drilled and butchered a few to get them out. None of my screwdrivers seemed to fit well.  That's when I decided to buy the JIS set figuring I must be missing out on something. They didn't work much better. I have a small ratcheting Mac set that I bought more for the hex and Allen bits. It was the only driver left to try on these. A Phillips bit  in that set gets these screws out just abut every time. You look at all these tools and the shape of the bits seem to be the same eyeballing them up. Some just seem to fit some screws better than others.

 As far as making them magnetic. I just purchased one of those things that magnetizes and demagnetizes and leave it on the bench.

Dave_C posted:

 I am a tool junkie. I have a few different sets. The above mentioned Whia is my go to set. The only knock is they don't have a lot of torque to remove engine shells and many brackets. Some of these are really on tight. For these I use a set of mini Snap On's. The handles have a good grip and the bits seems to fit well. They aren't cheap but will last a lifetime.

I did buy a set of JIS screwdrivers. 4 different sizes. Can't remember the manufacture but they were a quality set made in the US. I just don't seem to see a difference between these and a standard phillips.

 On my Lionel milk cars. I adapt Kadee's to them. You need to remove 4 screws on that secure the tanks. You need a skinny bit and the cross in the screw seems very shallow. Plus they are really snugged down. I've drilled and butchered a few to get them out. None of my screwdrivers seemed to fit well.  That's when I decided to buy the JIS set figuring I must be missing out on something. They didn't work much better. I have a small ratcheting Mac set that I bought more for the hex and Allen bits. It was the only driver left to try on these. A Phillips bit  in that set gets these screws out just abut every time. You look at all these tools and the shape of the bits seem to be the same eyeballing them up. Some just seem to fit some screws better than others.

 As far as making them magnetic. I just purchased one of those things that magnetizes and demagnetizes and leave it on the bench.

I'll second the snap-on set, I use snap on tools all day, I picked up a set for the train room, and I never put them down. As Dave said, they aint cheap but worth the price to me anyways...

RRDOC posted:

I got this WIHA Set after fooling around with cheap screwdrivers.  The hardened steel tips grab the screws without slipping.  Very satisfied.

Bob

I have those.....VERY good set. I have a magnetizer I use as needed. 

RRDOC posted:

I got this WIHA Set after fooling around with cheap screwdrivers.  The hardened steel tips grab the screws without slipping.  Very satisfied.

Bob

I've had a similar Sears Craftsman set in my modeling toolbox for many  years.  They've come in handy numerous times. 

WIHA.  That is all.

If you want jis screw drivers, the best & only are from Moody Tools, which you can purchase thru Granger. They are NOT cheap, but they are the best. To my knowledge WIHA do NOT offer jis tip screw drivers.

I have Whia and Moody in "jewelers" sizes. My #1, 2, and 3 sizes are from McMaster Carr. If they don't have it, you don't need it.

Pete

I got a good four piece Set of JIS screwdrivers from Amazon.

Mikey

I have been using a craftsman set for years.  Has enough sizes to do every job.

I have a rack  for my Wiha screwdrivers (and also a rack for their nut drivers). All good.  But I actually like the Ace Hardware precision screwdrivers better. Better grip and spin. Check those out.....cheaper as well. And lifetime warranty. You don't need to send it someplace if you bend or break it. Bring it back to the store.

You don't need "magnetic" screwdrivers. You can buy a magnetizer/demagnetizer block for a couple of bucks and they work great. One advantage is that there are times that you won't want the tip to be picking up other metal objects up and you can temporarily demagnetize the  drivers.

Roger

Another vote for WIHA. I get mine at KC Tool.

If you really must have JIS drivers, I think that Vessel makes pretty good tools. Look for the 9900 series on Ebay.

Are the Wiha ones even JIS? I got the $20 Hozan JIS set off eBay and they work quite nicely. Can’t believe I had gone so long without a proper JIS set.

Norm Charbonneau posted:

Are the Wiha ones even JIS?

Not any of the Wiha screw drives I have, nor any of the other Wiha sets I've seen, are jis.

I got the $20 Hozan JIS set off eBay and they work quite nicely. Can’t believe I had gone so long without a proper JIS set.

I believe Wiha has only Pozidrive screw drivers which I think are a bit different than the JIS drivers. But I am with the others hooked on the Wiha products. They have great stuff. 

I have some Hozan JIS drivers which are ok, but don't have quite the Wiha feel to them. They seem to be holding up ok, no fouled tips or anything. It is a set of 4 which has the #00, #0, #1, #2 but lacks #000 driver. 

Another Wiha fan.

To be clear, I personally think that all the Wiha tools are truly excellent. That said, since they do NOT offer any jis tip screw drivers, I elected to purchase the Moody Tools set of 4, from Granger.

Since virtually ALL trains, locomotives and rolling stock, are manufactured in China or Korea, they are ALL assembled with jis screws! Thus, if you are not using the proper jis tip screw driver, you are potentially doing damage to the screws.

Wiha are the best, huge fan here. Miketg

Miketg posted:

Wiha are the best, huge fan here. Miketg

OK, fine. So you are working on jis screws with non-jis screw drivers????

I mentioned these screwdrivers in a post above, but here's a link.....

https://www.acehardware.com/de...screwdrivers/2167401

I have a whole rack of Wihas and they are nice, but I like these Ace ones better. Nicer grip and pivot end.  The link shows a set, but they are available in a huge variety of individual sizes and shapes.  If you have an Ace nearby, go into the store and handle them. Very nice!

Roger

There are a lot of good tools out there but if they don't say JIS they are not JIS, more likely common Phillips. Also unlikely they are Posidrive. Posidrive has 8 blades instead of four. 4 that appear to be about Phillips size and 4 smaller in between those. I have never encountered a Posidrive screw on a model train.

Pete

ROGER1 posted:

I mentioned these screwdrivers in a post above, but here's a link.....

https://www.acehardware.com/de...screwdrivers/2167401

I have a whole rack of Wihas and they are nice, but I like these Ace ones better. Nicer grip and pivot end.  The link shows a set, but they are available in a huge variety of individual sizes and shapes.  If you have an Ace nearby, go into the store and handle them. Very nice!

Roger

While not JIS, those are very nice screwdrivers. I used those at work for several years. We used only a couple sizes for work and you could buy them separately back then, before they started putting out these sets. Now, being retired I use my Wiha's almost exclusively, but I do also have the above linked set around here somewhere. Sort of a retirement gift to myself...  

Thanks for all of the input guys! I'm never thrilled about working on my trains and anything to help me from causing more problems is always a plus.

Wiha is a good product, but I think I'll go with the JIS recommended by Hotwater and Norm.

A lower risk of stripping the head out of a tiny screw I can barely reach, sounds like a good idea.

I can grab the Hozan set off of Amazon for a good price.

I use Craftsman Professional precision screw drivers. They range from #000 up to #1 and come with long and short shanks. You can buy sets fairly cheap.

Mike D posted:

I use Craftsman Professional precision screw drivers. They range from #000 up to #1 and come with long and short shanks. You can buy sets fairly cheap.

But,,,,,,,,are they jis?

RickO posted:

 

I can grab the Hozan set off of Amazon for a good price.

Just a FWIW here, I have the Hozan set and after reading all this and doing some looking around, I also ordered the Moody set. But, I'm a sucker for precision screwdrivers, other small tools, and small electronic gadgets. It's like a train addiction only these things are SO much less expensive it doesn't hurt the wallet near as bad! (They don't take up near the amount of space as trains either!) 

Grinding the vey tip of a Phillips into a flat can help one seat better in JIS heads if it's (the screwdriver's)  grooves are squared nicely enough.

Pro Tools to fix anything today –  See video on link.

Don't get locked out of any consumer product ever again!

Link - - https://www.ifixit.com/Store/T...Driver-Kit/IF145-392

Life time replacement. As good as CRAFTSMAN, now at Lowes!

I just purchased this set last month from my local ACE Hardware Store, using my ACE Reward points. With the five dollar off, it came to $14.95. The blue item is a magnet that I use to give the drivers the power of a magnet. Just place the tip of any screw driver on a magnet and it is ready to go in about 15 seconds.

Gary

A 7-piece set of jewelers screwdrivers along with Sears Craftsman is all I have needed to remove screws from every Lionel, MTH and Atlas locomotive and rolling stock that I have owned.

Hot Water posted:

Mike D posted:

I use Craftsman Professional precision screw drivers. They range from #000 up to #1 and come with long and short shanks. You can buy sets fairly cheap.

But,,,,,,,,are they jis?

Don't need JIS for model trains. See above post.

You're getting lucky is all.

Me too most of the time.but "just sayin'". There is a definite difference between a Phillips and JIS indention and tip. Without careful use you will have issues.  On a "stuck" screw, you may not get it out.

Last night I busted down an MTH trolley and one JIS screw required I make the trip across the house for a screwdriver to fit it well enough for removal....

You're getting lucky 

I can sometimes use a hex wrench to pull a torx or visa versa.

It doesn't mean I'm using the right tool for the job

Bought the Wiha 8-piece set to work on my new Vision Line Niagara #6013.  If I like it, I will add a set to my upstairs workbench too.  Thank you for the recommendation.

I am going to attempt to feed the traction tire back on the rear Niagara drive wheel.  My experience has been that steam engines that throw traction tires usually do it again within four days of replacement.  Many steam engines worked on by Lionel Service have come back and thrown traction tires after four days or less: Allegheny #1604, NYC ESE J3 #5429 are two that come to mind. 

Diesel engines never throw tires.  The circumference of the wheel is much smaller and the tires have less stretch.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I also use the JIS screwdrivers (Moody brand) best thing for our imported trains.

JIS....... Japanese Industrial Standard. 

As I've posted above, I have both Wiha and Ace Hardware precision screwdrivers in racks by my train bench. However, the posts about JIS screwdrivers intrigued me. I've had many situations where it was difficult to remove certain  "Phillips" screws or they got stripped. So, I started researching the JIS drivers. A couple of things came up right away........most people aren't aware of their existence and.......the Vessel brand seemed to be VERY highly rated. I called Vessel with some questions and spoke to an extremely helpful rep.....Larry Knight. He made some recommendations and I ordered the following sizes:  00, 0, 1, 2. 3          They arrived yesterday and I'm extremely pleased with them. I immediately tried them out on a variety of screws in my trains and compared them to my Phillips sets. In every case, they locked into the screws better. I have one particular MTH engine that has always been a problem with slippage in removing the shell screws. Gone!  I included the #3 for my snowboard binding mounting screws and it worked great on that as well. The handles have terrific grip and have a knurled collar to aid in spinning the screws. And a magnetic tip. Nice

Larry had given me a 15% discount with my order. They generally do large volume orders and I was grateful for the treatment I got as a small customer. I told Larry that I was going to post my "reviews" of the drivers after I received them on the Forum and that was how I had initially learned about them. Turns out that Larry is a train guy too and said that he would give the same discount to any OGR member. The order code is 154OGR.   

Below are some photos of my driver racks (as well as the new one I made for the Vessels) as well as a photo of the 5 in the set.

-Roger