I think the plastic case you got with that is probably good for a lifetime, as well.
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Get this version, and spend the other $120 on a nice meal out together.
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I used to file down rods to make specialty screwdrivers, but it takes forever unless you use a soft metal that won’t stand up to repeated use.
I got the 54-piece iFixit kit for a Solstice present last winter. It has five-pointed-stars and tri-wings, which are generally the hardest to find.
Something to know about these drivers is that they are not 1/4" standard drives, they are something much smaller, so you’ll need an adapter to use them with other handles. The iFixit handles are made for much smaller hands than mine but are well enough designed that I don’t (much) mind using them. The bits themselves are plated with chrome or something similar so they hold up well, are easily cleaned, and are easily found with a flashlight after they’ve rolled under the sofa.
I don’t mind paying a little extra for quality tools if it will support a site like iFixit. I have used their photo guides on occasion and I’d like their site to stay online.
@Nagurski, your HF set has only the most easily found bits, there’s no pentas or triwings. Not comparable to the iFixit set which has both.
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It better! I see they raised the price of it a dollar…and the last two times I’ve lost this kit and had to rebuy it because it is either in my garage or my basement or my studio or maybe loaned to friends and never asked for it back…that case BETTER last because I don’t think I want to spend $9.99 on it when the last time was $8.99.
I often buy tools at HF solely for one off projects and STILL get a better value if I give them away afterwards to someone else than buying some cloying little case that is $120 too expensive because they hate DRM and Cory thinks this is so very precious enough to just donate money to because I like their politics. It is a decent business model…there are failed authors out there that sell books solely because people want to believe in their ethical model too, so there is that.
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A couple of weeks ago my electric kettle stopped working. The base plate is held on by three screws, two Phillips and one of those stupid triangular-recess tamper-proof abominations. Since tampering is one of my favourite things, I looked around the shop and found a surplus Allen key that looked about the right size (probably 3/32" or 2.5mm). I filed away every second corner at the long end to make a triangular tip that fit surprisingly well.
(The kettle is working again. Just a contact that wasn’t contacting. I beat the system!)
Probably 4mm, a standard size for small bits.
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Sometimes when there’s enough space around you can grip the screw head with pointy tips of wire cutters, and turn it out. The wire cutters don’t like it as the joint is not built for this kind of load, but can withstand it occasionally. Works also for chewed Philips heads, sometimes.
Yup, 4mm is the smaller size standard for these little bits.
I am not philosophically opposed, but from the logistical perspective having a method for in-house on-demand production of exotic bits is superior to relying on a third-party vendor. If only because you can afford to lose/loan/give even the weirdest, most difficult to find bits, and because any newcomer on the market is just a photograph-and-some-measurements away from having a matching tool.
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Very true, but I’ve already got so much space devoted to tooling it’s ridiculous! I have at least ten saws. No, make that fifteen, no, OK, wait, I don’t have more than 20 powered saws. That actually work. Piles of chainsaw parts that might be reassembled some day don’t count.
iFixit’s site confirms 4mm bits. They are a better size than 1/4" for taking apart things like TVs where you might have to stick the tool down a long plastic tunnel, but of course a dedicated screwdriver is even better for that.
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Now imagine you could just stock a length of 4mm hex steel, plain grade. When needing an exotic bit, cut the length you need, optionally weld a bead of hardmetal (stellite or something else) to the business end, then EDM the shape you need into it. All on an existing 3d printer (or maybe a dedicated, more accurate but smaller workspace device.)
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$130 seems insane for this kit. But I do like iFixit’s iPhone battery replacement kits. They’re cheap, and include all the tools you need to replace the battery for like $5 more than what they sell the battery for on its own.
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