Recommend to me a quality brand of hollow ground driver set?

[Wagon Box Willy]

Howdy Pards,

 

I'm looking for a decent set of hollow ground screwdrivers. I bought the Winchester set and while it works fine once screws are loosened, the tips twist like butter on factory set screws. I could use a new set or just a couple of the most common sizes.

 

Thanks

Willy

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

Brownell's Magna-Tip sets:

 

Magna-Tip sets

[Ranger Sgt. Jake McCandless #3368]

Brownell's Magna-Tip sets:

 

Magna-Tip sets

+1 buy them once and be done with it,they are also lifetime guaranteed. Adios Sgt. Jake

[Doc Coles SASS 1188]

+10, Brownell's Magna-Tips are the best. I bought the basic set (because it was cheaper) then added to it as I need anything different, which was rare. I also bought a short handle driver later. If you have the bucks, buy the full set. Also, if you loose a bit, they are all available individually so you can replace them. I have broken a bit (applying way to much torque to a very badly stuck screw), but I have never bent one.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

X100 on what the other folks say!

Cry one time(get the master set), buy the best made and they are made in USA

Cheers,

LG

[Three Foot Johnson]

Wheeler Engineering has a decent set, with a few extra specialty bits that come in very handy on scope rings, bushings, and S&W revolvers. About a hundred bucks, depending on where you find it.

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=439523

[John Boy]

Brownells Magna-Tip Hollow Grounds are overpriced IMO ... and Wheeler Engineering's 89 bit set is every bit as good as the Magna-Tips. How do I know? I've been using the Wheeler's for about 5 years after I sent the Lyman's back 3 times for replacement

 

http://www.opticsplanet.net/wheeler-89-piece-deluxe-gunsmithing-screwdriver-kit.html

 

PS: Both Magna's and Wheeler's are

 

Edit: I have two 24 gun safes, without the shelves, full. There is no bit in the Wheeler set that doesn't fit for the varied firearms screws, originals & replicas

[Major E A Sterner #12916]

Do NOT buy the Wheeler set, It's junk. My wife got me a set for a gift from wheeler and I broke 4 of the bits the first time I used them. I called Midway to see if they would warranty them and was told No, You'll have to buy replacements. I ordered a set from Brownells the next day, at least if you break one of their bits they'll replace them for free. Well worth the little bit extra money.Oh, and I have yet to break any of the bits from the Brownells set.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

I have seen the Wheelers break more than once. When one broke under load it sure tore up the screw that I then removed with my Brownell's set. Wheelers are NOT USA made, the last I saw

Have NEVER had any issue with the Brownell's set. Brownell's are life time free replacement.

It's the OP's choice.

I like to buy my stuff one time only

Cheers,

LG

[Slowhand Bob, 24229]

Through the years I have actually bent three Magna-Tips in the various toggle link Winchester clones. This equals a tie three bent bits and three broken screw heads during direct competition between the two steels. I can not find fault when the competition runs that fierce and so consider my three various sets of Magna-Tips to be excellent quality. All of my rifles are getting a bit long in the tooth now so I do not know if Uberti still has that gorilla working the assembly line with his impact wrench! Brownells used to offer a jig, possibly made by Lyman(?), that allowed one to custom grind bits or even make them from hex stock that Brownells carried, but alas, they discontinued that.

[John Boy]

Grits, doing some digging - I can't verify that Wheeler bits are not made in the US. On the flip side, not really sure that Magna-Tips are made in the US either ...

The last listed trademark owner of Magna-Tip is Robert Bosch Tool Corporation in Mt. Prospect, IL who renewed the trademark on September 19, 2001.

Might want to read up on Robert Bosch GmbH, headquartered in Gerlingen, Germany with 320 subsidiaries world wide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bosch_GmbH

 

Here's what Wheeler Bits are made of:

They're made from S2 tool steel and hardened to 56-58 Rockwell "C."

S-2 Steel ... http://www.bondhus.com/metallurgy/body-1.htm

56-58 Rockwell "C." ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_scale

 

I can't find the Magna-Tip steel grade and Rockwell Hardness, so ...

How do we know that Magna-Tip or Wheeler are the better made hollow ground bits?

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

John Boy, ANY part number in RED in the Brownell's book is USA made

ALL magna-tips and handles are in RED

Cheers,

LG

[John Boy]

I called Midway to see if they would warranty them and was told No, You'll have to buy replacements.

Major, you got fed a line a crap from Midway ...

Every Wheeler™ product is warrantied to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of original purchase.Wheeler™ will, at its option, repair or replace without charge, except for transportation costs, parts that fail under normal use and service when operated and maintained in accordance ith our Instructions.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Magna-tips(Brownells)have a lifetime warranty

Cheers,

LG

[John Boy]

.

[Griff]

Brownell's Magna-Tip sets:

Magna-Tip sets

+ whatever number we're up to now. Two sets, one for the house, one for the workbench in the shop. Nary an issue. Have I bent one? Yep. Had it replaced free-of-charge? Yep! 'Nuff said.

[John Boy]

Magna-tips(Brownells)have a lifetime warranty

Grits, Wheeler is owned by Battenfeld Technologies. Battenfeld also owns Frankford Arsenal. Here's the warranty policy

All Battenfeld products have a one-year warranty against manufacturer’s defects. Defective products may be repaired or replaced solely at the discretion of Battenfeld

Technologies, Inc.

 

Now, I have never broken a Wheeler bit even loosening the Uberti screws that their gorillas glee with pleasure to jack hammer tighten. But I did bust the end of a Frankford Kinetic Bullet Puller that was about 10 years old. Called them, told them it was broken and more than a year old. They asked for a picture. Scanned one and emailed it with my address. Within a week, new puller arrived. Free replacement and shipping

 

So, I am going to gamble ... Wheeler Tips have a lifetime warranty also!

 

And now Grits, back to NASCAR. Stewart is in 2nd place @ Sonoma! Have a Great 4th!

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

You too JB

Brownells is still better

Cheers,

LG

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Actually the best set is made by Chapman Mfg. Those other guys are #2. American made, recommended by Jay Leno, lifetime warranty;

 

http://www.chapmanmfg.com/aboutourtools.html

 

http://www.chapmanmfg.com/HardCaseKit.html#anchor_94

[Chili Ron]

Howdy Pards,

I have recommended magna tips fer years and I have found them pretty darn good.

BUT I got out the magna tips one day and loaned em to a fella who was workin on

a pards six shooter. And right in front of me with me helpin he bent the heck out

of a magna tip trying to get that screw on the bottom of the gun off.

He drove home and came back with a set of Grace screwdrivers for colts and clones

and used the one that fit and put a world of torque on it and the screw came out.

So YES gorrillaa man is alive and well.

And for most things the magna tips work fine.

I havent bought the Grace colt set cause I have only one colt six shooter and

hardly ever shoot it.

The colt set is 28.99 for three screwdrivers in my brownell book.

And no, they wouldnt sell just the one I wanted.

Best

CR

[Red River Ray SASS#33254]

I been using tha same set of Bonanza's since 1982 haven't broken one yet.

 

 

RRR

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

I ride with the Brownells Magna Tip brand. They are like the Dillons of the screwdriver world. If you break one or bend one, all you do is call up Brownells and ask for another one. Just like Dillon. No BS, no questions asked, no asking for a picture. They don't care how you broke it or bent it, they will send you another one for free. Just like Dillon. Guess what? You have to pay more for Dillon too. That's how they cover the cost of sending out free parts that users mess up.

 

The way I look at it, I want a bit that is going to bend before it breaks. Screws tend to be made from relatively soft steel. That's because they are mass produced on screw making equipment. Unless they are hardened afterwards, most screws stay relatively soft. Uberti screws are known to be extra soft. That's why they bind up so tight when Bongo overtightens them at the factory. A soft screw will actually microweld to the thread holes at the interface of the two threads when it is snugged up tight. That's what makes them so tough to remove. I dunno about Rockwell hardness, but I do know that I have bent a few of the smaller size Magna-Tip bits. I would rather have a bit that bends, rather than snaps off, possibly damaging something with a sharp, jagged edge. I had a couple of Chapman screwdriver sets. Broke a few bits. Then I went with Magna-tips. Have always been very pleased with them. When I called up for replacements, they were sent right out. Nobody asked how long I had had the bits.

 

Another nice thing about Magna-Tips is, you can buy small sets with a handle and the specific bits needed for a particular brand of gun. It's all there in the Brownells catalog. I bought a big set with a bazillion tips, but I probably only use about half of them most of the time.

 

Somewhere somebody keeps a list of the specific bits that are most useful for our guns.

[Jasper Agate]

Actually the best set is made by Chapman Mfg. Those other guys are #2. American made, recommended by Jay Leno, lifetime warranty;

 

http://www.chapmanmfg.com/aboutourtools.html

 

http://www.chapmanmfg.com/HardCaseKit.html#anchor_94

 

+1

[Wagon Box Willy]

Thanks Pards,

 

Lots of good (and contrasting) recommendations here I'm guessing one can't go wrong with either the Wheeler or Magna-Tip and it's a case of when you want to pay the extra bucks, up front or when you order the broken/bent bits.

 

As Driftwood Johnson pointed out, it would be nice to have for instance, a list of bits for the screws that Uberti uses for those of us who don;t have a safe full of different brand guns.

 

I did find the Wheeler 89pc set for $77 delivered which is hard to resist but I'm still undecided. I pretty much have all my screws loosened at this point so hopefully I won't be bending any more of the tips.

 

Thanks again for the recommendations,

 

Willy

[JD Trampas, SASS # 55781]

Here is a list of Magna tips:

 

Ruger SAA

 

150-4

180-3

180-4

210-4

 

Rossi 92

150-4

180-3

180-5

210-4

270-4

300-5

340-5

 

Colt/clone SAA

340-4

300-3

270-3

210-3

180-3

 

73 Winchester

180-4

210-3

240-3

240-4

340-4

340-6

 

Marlin 1894

180-4

210-4

270-4

270-5

 

Winchester 97

120-3

150-3

180-3

300-2

 

This is a partial list and there are quite a few bits that are duplicated, what I did is go thru and pick what I wanted, got the bit driver plus the box to put them in, didn't want to spend to get the complete set since there are so many you won't use, as John Boy pointed out with the Wheeler set, it is the same with the complete set of Brownells magna tips, just order what you need, works for me anyway

 

All for now JD Trampas ( hope this helps you out )

[Wagon Box Willy]

Thanks JD,

 

If nothing else your list will steer me away from the 24 bit Magna tip starter set,

 

Here's the list for the '73 and SAA....I have a 66 and 1875 so I bet they are close.

180-3

180-4

210-3

240-3

240-4

270-3

300-3

340-4

340-6

 

Not one of the above bits is in the Magna Tip starter set

 

Willy

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

WBW, go ahead and get the "master super set plus" set with the 2 handles.

I also have the thin bit set.

With all the $$$ we spend on SASS/CAS why go cheap on the tools?

You will never be sorry with magna-tips.

Cheers,

LG

[Major E A Sterner #12916]

Major, you got fed a line a crap from Midway ...

 

John Boy, I'm just telling Pards what was said to me. If You go to the comments section at Midway you'll see that I'm not the only one who was told the same thing. They also say right in the item description that their bits are designed to break to keep the screw from getting damaged, That's great, have the bit break and damage/scratch a prized firearm rather then have them start to bend/twist so you would know it's time to back off and try something else.Sorry but I'll stick with my Brownells kit and let others know what they have to look forward to.

[Wagon Box Willy]

Howdy Lumpy.

 

Trust me when I tell you I'm not cheep on tools. That being said I also have thousand's of dollars worth of tool "kits" of which half the contents are new and unused. I learned a long time ago to stay away from kits if you can as you end up paying for stuff you'll never use. Being that I only own 4 guns and for reasons other that financial I probably won't add much to that collection, it just seems silly to order $130 worth of bits when I'll only ever use $30 of them.

 

Right now I'm leaning towards ordering the Magna-tip bits that JD listed as I really don't see the larger kit being of much use to me.

 

Thanks

Willy

[JD Trampas, SASS # 55781]

Here are some more:

 

Marlin 336

300-4

270-3

200-3

180-3

180-4

120-3

 

Rossi 92

150-4

180-3

180-5

210-4

270-4

300-5

340-5

 

Now for the 73 magazine plug 330-3 I believe, didn't order it myself since I had something that would work to take it off

 

Wagon Box Willy, you won't be sorry for the Brownells magna tips especially if you buy just the tips you want, that is what I did plus added the screwdriver handle of your choice plus the box to put everything in, now granted it looks empty but it has every bit that I need to take down all of my guns, plus I have room to add more bits if needed

 

 

All for now JD Trampas

[Wagon Box Willy]

JD thanks.

 

I have an Uberti 1866, two Uberti Remington 1875's, a Pietta 1858 and a TTN hammer gun.

 

A quick scan of VTI shows the screws between the Uberti guns to be mostly the same.

 

I have a case from the cheapo Winchester set I bought which will hold the bits fine, and I also have numerous handles so I'm probably just going to order the bits.

 

Thanks again

Willy

[Wagon Box Willy]

Here is a list of Magna tips:

 

. . . . much deleted

 

 

This is a partial list and there are quite a few bits that are duplicated, what I did is go thru and pick what I wanted, got the bit driver plus the box to put them in, didn't want to spend to get the complete set since there are so many you won't use, as John Boy pointed out with the Wheeler set, it is the same with the complete set of Brownells magna tips, just order what you need, works for me anyway

 

All for now JD Trampas ( hope this helps you out )

JD,

 

I received the Magna-Tips you quoted for the SAA and 1873 Winchester and that range of tips fits every screw on My Uberti 1866 and Remington 1875's.

 

Thanks a bunch for the info.

 

Willy

[Clemsum]

The list of the bits on this thread are great for several of my guns but does anyone have a list for the TTN 1878 Shotgun.

 

Clemsum

[JD Trampas, SASS # 55781]

Most of the bits listed will fit the TTN, since I have one also, not sure which ones without checking it out, if you have some bits now just check to see which ones will fit, with the bits I bought they fit everything I have

 

 

 

All for now JD Trampas

[Cowboy Junky]

New Uberti rifles have cost me several Wheeler tips. I don't know what the hardness is but they are cast and brittle. I have a set (what's left anyway) and will replace them with the Magna-tips as soon as I can.