Everyone who has to regularly wrap a large number of fasteners, screws, self-tapping screws with crosses, asterisks, hexagons, they know firsthand how important it is to use high-quality bits in work for screwdriver. Otherwise, it will take much more time to replace the tips than to install the screws itself.
The content of the article:
- What to look for when choosing a beat
-
Rating of the best screwdriver bits for 2022-2023
- The best bits price-quality
- The best impact bits for a screwdriver
- The best bits for a screwdriver with a limiter
- The best bit sets for home use
- The best professional screwdriver bit sets
- Results
What to look for when choosing a beat
The criteria for evaluating the suitability of nozzles can be formulated in several paragraphs. Most bits are sold as sets or kits. Therefore, you need to choose the right size and shape of the tip. For a home screwdriver, you can buy a kit that will include the main ones - a cross (PZ and PH), a flat slot (SLOTTED), a hexagon (HEX) - external and internal, an asterisk (TORX), a square (POB).
The second criterion for selection is the material and quality of the edges. The best screwdriver bits have sharp, dimensionally accurate tip edges. This ensures full engagement with the mounting slots on the screws and self-tapping screws. That is, the torque from the screwdriver is evenly distributed over the head of the fastener.
To achieve high accuracy and hardness of the edges, especially hard alloys are used for the manufacture of bits:
- Metal ceramics. Sintered mixture of iron powder with a high content of silicon and manganese. The edges have a very high surface hardness, but are prone to impact chipping. For unscrewing with a blow, it is better not to use a screwdriver.
- Chrome vanadium or chrome molybdenum steels. Most of the bits that come with screwdrivers are made of alloyed tool steel.
- Titanium tips are expensive. They are used in tandem with screwdrivers mainly for cross-shaped tips.
- Titanium plated carbon steel bits.
The last bit option is not a fake. Titanium coating is necessary in order to ensure good adhesion of the working edges of the nozzle and the groove in the fastener. If you apply chrome, then the screwdriver will have to be pressed against the self-tapping screw with great effort, otherwise the splines will slip out of engagement with the head.
Tips made of high carbon steel are often coated with a special coating (blackening), which differs in color from titanium gray. Due to the forged structure and high hardness, such a tool is able to withstand shock loads. Therefore, almost every owner of a screwdriver, in addition to traditional carbide bits, has a few more pieces of black nozzles for impact tightening of fasteners.
Ceramic-metal tips are used on screwdrivers if you have to tighten large volumes of soft self-tapping screws (galvanized). Good screwdriver bits last several times longer than steel ones. But it is not suitable for impact (with stretch) fasteners, even if the screwdriver is equipped with a cut-off clutch.
Useful: The best cordless screwdrivers ranking 2023.
Rating of the best screwdriver bits for 2022-2023
Each manufacturing company traditionally issues recommendations for the use of its products. Additionally, the name of the material from which they are made can be given on the packaging. The rest of the nuances of use most often have to be established by trial running on a screwdriver.
The best bits price-quality
Below is a top of the most popular models that are most often used in tandem with screwdrivers of any design, with mains and battery power. Bits are purchased individually, it is more convenient than buying a set.
Inforce
For everyday use, but not for shock or alternating loads, inexpensive bits from the Inforce brand are best. Good quality single sided type tool, 25-100mm long, made of S2 alloy steel. ¼” shank (type E), color coded.
They are distinguished by survivability, even if the screwdriver is old and with a large runout on the shaft. Not subject to cracking and fatigue spalling. Can be used on any screwdriver. Developed in Russia, manufactured in Taiwan.
The price for 5 pieces is 500 rubles.
Metabo
If you need classic-shaped bits to work with a screwdriver, then Metabo brand tips can be used. Single ended PH2 PZ edge models are made from S2 steel with a ¼” C shank.
There are no magnetic holders or color marking in the design of the tip; they are also not used for shock modes. They are highly resistant to wear. Price for 2 pcs. — 235 rubles.
AEG
To tighten fasteners at a great "depth", where it is impossible to reach with a standard 25 mm tool, use elongated models 110-150 mm. AEG PH2 single-sided bits are rated by craftsmen as hardy, durable and at the same time inexpensive. Shank - ¼", type E.
Although the bits are not impact bits, the sharp edges do not break, even if the work with a screwdriver is obtained with a small impact at the end of the twist.
Price - 497 rubles.
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The best impact bits for a screwdriver
To tighten self-tapping screws with additional draft, a special mode of operation of the screwdriver is used. In addition, impact bits with a reinforced shank will be required. They are made from tool steel subjected to additional hardening and saturation with carbon.
DeWALT
For standard fasteners with a star head, DT7384E impact bits with a TX30 profile can be recommended. The small length of the tool - 25 mm - limits the use for deep holes, however, such a bit does not have a torsion effect.
According to user reviews, if you set the screwdriver correctly, it is almost impossible to break the tip.
Price - 460 rubles.
For standard self-tapping cross screws, you can use impact bits DeWALT IMPACT Torsion DT7999T. Length - 57 mm, cruciform profile reinforced type RN3. The shank, like the previous model, is ¼ inch.
This model can be used as a universal one, but keep in mind that this model of the PH3 bit does not work on small fasteners. The angle of inclination of the faces is too large.
Price - 750 rubles.
BOCSH IMPACT PH2
One of the models of impact bits with a cross PH2 from the best manufacturer of screwdrivers. Manufactured from forged carbon steel with additional surface nitriding. Length - 50 mm, quarter-inch shank type E. There is no marking on the surface, except for PH2 and the name of the manufacturer.
According to user reviews, bits last a long time, but only if the torque on the screwdriver is not higher than necessary. In addition, the nozzles should be used for their intended purpose - for loosening and screwing screws with a cross-shaped head.
Attempts to tighten screws with a PH3 head in impact mode, as a rule, lead to a rapid blunting of sharp edges. Even additional pressing force does not give the desired result. But this problem is common to all drum beats, not just the BOCSH IMPACT PH2.
The price per piece is 970 rubles.
The best bits for a screwdriver with a limiter
When screwing fasteners into drywall or plywood with a screwdriver, it is very important not to fall into the depth when the head of the self-tapping screw turns out to be recessed and it will have to be hidden - puttied or glued with a repair mass. As a limiter, a nozzle is used, which is worn on the front of the bit. Thanks to it, when the required depth is reached, the edges disengage from the slots of the self-tapping screw.
Quadro Torsion
Inexpensive Chinese nozzles made of tool steel subjected to additional magnetization and hardening. Size - 50 mm, slot - PH2. Quarter inch shank type E. The magnetized material makes it easier to pick up and hold the screw with a screwdriver before tightening.
According to the Quadro Torsion manufacturer, it can be used as impact bits on small power screwdrivers. But, according to reviews, the edge of the tool is licked even after several shock wraps.
Price - 120 rubles.
VIRA PZ2
A successful bit model with a cross tip, but with a sharper angle than PH2. Designed in Russia, manufactured in China. The tool is made of S2 steel without any additional processing. The surface is phosphated and blackened.
As conceived by the developers, this should protect the metal from corrosion and at the same time be one of the ways to protect against forgery. But in practice, it wears out quite quickly, especially on the edges of the cross, so you need to store the nozzles in a dry place.
Characteristics:
- length - 50 mm;
- shank - 1/4", type E hex;
- There is a magnetic holder.
The bat holds the limiter well, there are no comments on the work. It cannot be used in shock mode, there is a risk of cracking in the shank.
Price - 279 rubles.
GROSS 11455
The tool is designed in Germany, manufactured in Taiwan. This is a short bit with a limiter, used on small power screwdrivers for installing drywall cladding. Length - 25 mm, C-shank, quarter inch.
As practice shows, the work of GWP and GVL with 50-75 mm bits is not very convenient, but the 25 mm tip fits perfectly. Material - S2 steel, with additional magnetization and titanium coating. As a shock, this model is not used.
Price - 171 rubles. This is the only type of nozzles for which a manufacturer's warranty is established - 3 months from the date of purchase. But, most likely, it will last more than one year.
The best bit sets for home use
For the home, they usually buy "full-length" sets, which include all possible attachments. Most likely, most of them will not be used in the work of a screwdriver. Professional sets, on the contrary, are smaller, they include only the most popular nozzles for a specific type of screwdriver.
Bosch - 43-piece set
The peculiarity of the set is the thoughtful design of the box and the location of the bits in such a way that you can always quickly find the right nozzle. In addition to the nozzles, the set includes an adapter and several heads. This is one of the few representatives of the ranking of the best, truly universal tool kits for working with a screwdriver for all occasions.
Material - alloy steel with a protective coating.
Price - 2935 rubles.
STAYER SuperUniversal 26084-H61
Includes 61 items, 60 bits and one adapter adapter. Bits are suitable for use with any screwdriver, shank - ¼ inch, type C. Made from chrome vanadium steel, which is also used to make drills. Differ in exact geometry of faces. There is a magnetic holder.
The only drawback is the lack of color marking. For an amateur, it can be difficult to immediately figure out which nozzle to choose from a set.
Price - 528 rubles.
The best professional screwdriver bit sets
For everyday work, it is better to use not a single tool, but a set of bits. Firstly, the kit comes with several types of nozzles, it is possible to select bits more accurately and change them as they wear out. Secondly, the sets have high quality metal, so the service life of the set is quite long.
Kraftool - 32-piece set
The kit includes almost all possible options for nozzles for a screwdriver. All with ¼” shank, type E. Includes adapter and holder. The nozzles are installed in labeled cells inside a plastic box-case.
The tool material is chrome-molybdenum steel. The kind used to make wrenches for car repairs, so the service life is more than 10 years.
Price - 860 rubles.
DeWALT DT7969-QZ
The set includes the main types of nozzles that can be useful to a professional when performing typical work. Only 30 bits, all with magnetic holder, marked with colored marks. The nozzle is easy to find, even if it fell out of the clamp on the screwdriver.
The set is made in such a way that it is easy to remember where and which nozzles are located. Material - steel S2.
Price - 2700 rubles.
Results
A good set of screwdriver bits is usually bought at the same time as a screwdriver. It is clear that preliminary information needs to be obtained in some kind of review. There is an opportunity to immediately check them in the work, to understand how successful the choice was.
Tell us about your experience in selecting nozzles, what is the best way to buy nozzles: individually or in a set? And what beats did you choose for yourself? Share the article on social networks and bookmark it.
