Why doesnt Dave use a power screwdriver?

[sweesiong78]

In every single teardown video he manually unscrews everything...power screwdrivers are so cheap these days and make everything so much faster and easier

[EEVblog]

I have one, but it's usually not worth reaching for. It has been in some videos. The manual method usually gives me time to add some commentary too.

[Kjelt]

You need and I use both, for instance if you do repairs and have metal screws that go in plastick than you better start manually turning counterclockwise till you feel the start of the original thread. Than turn manually clockwise a few turns and finish or then switch to the powertool instead of the quick way with the powertool and find out that after two or three times the screw will no longer lock at the end and  is overtwisted

[dr.diesel]

I personally never use a power screw driver on something I plan to reassemble, at least in delicate equipment cases.  With power you lose control and feeling.

Fine machine fastener = by hand

Drywall screw = drill

Also, with a huge amount of equipment, you'd need driver bits > 2" to take stuff apart.  Standard #2P driver is what, 5", no tool swapping.

[SeanB]

I bought a power screwdriver to undo screws on avionics, simply because there were 84 screws holding the case lids on. Took a hex key of 2.5mm and brazed the long end into a brass hex standoff ( it was a perfect fit in the driver 1/4 hex holder) and over time it got shorter by 3mm each time it wore too much. I wore out a gearbox in that driver, and had to replace the 2 NiCd cells as well, but that was when Black and Decker still made good stuff, and had spares support as well for them. Off was power, and on was a hex key for the first turn then use the power to get close to tight then finish off with hand turning the driver. Never stripped a screw except for those I had never removed that had been monkeyed in before. then I learned how to use a recoil kit, and did not have to drill or tap as the original screws were all done with inserts from manufacture.

[sweesiong78]

http://www.harborfreight.com/48-volt-cordless-screwdriver-kit-68394.html

I have a few different types, but surprisingly I find myself using this one the most for things like disassembling cases and #6 screws and up, as it has a surprising amount of torque (probably because of the nicd) and costs $10, so Im not afraid to abuse it. Of course I never use a power screwdriver for #0 bits (they dont have bits in those size anyway AFAIK)

[SeanB]

I just took the last one of those I had and turned it into a small pile of scrap metal. Batteries that died from either just being shyte or from being killed by the piss poor charger it comes with, gearboxes that strip for no reason or just bind up and burst, and a motor that wears out. They are not even worth $10.

[German_EE]

I do not use power screwdrivers anymore. A couple of years ago I was finishing off an elevator installation that used some staggeringly expensive parts including a customer panel that was made from a mirror rather than stainless steel. Fastening the panel using an electric screwdriver I had the clutch on the wrong setting, tightened the bolt too much, and cracked the panel. If I had been using a hand screwdriver I could have felt when the bolt was home.

All it takes is one slip or a screw driven in too tight and something expensive could get trashed. No thanks.

[SeanB]

Which elevator company was that?

[DavidDLC]

When there are a lot of screws to process, I use a power screwdriver, but I do not tight the screws all the way, I stop right before it starts to get tight and then use a manual screwdriver, as somebody mentioned before, sometimes you can damage the threads. This method works fine for me.

David.

[sweesiong78]

I just took the last one of those I had and turned it into a small pile of scrap metal. Batteries that died from either just being shyte or from being killed by the piss poor charger it comes with, gearboxes that strip for no reason or just bind up and burst, and a motor that wears out. They are not even worth $10.

I guess I have just been really lucky, I originally got it as a cheap spare to bring along when I go to the junkyard to salvage parts. Since then it has been used on PC cases,house appliances, car parts and even used to drive in a few small dry wall screws. Batteries are still strong after a couple of years.

The best tool is the one you use the most.

[David_AVD]

I do not use power screwdrivers anymore. A couple of years ago I was finishing off an elevator installation that used some staggeringly expensive parts including a customer panel that was made from a mirror rather than stainless steel. Fastening the panel using an electric screwdriver I had the clutch on the wrong setting, tightened the bolt too much, and cracked the panel. If I had been using a hand screwdriver I could have felt when the bolt was home.

That was just a case of using the tool for the wrong application.   

[janoc]

The cheap power screwdrivers are horrible for electronics - they don't have the adjustable friction clutch and you will simply strip the thread on the screw, twist off the head or destroy whatever plastic the screw was supposed to go into. Even for removing screws it is problematic, because you can easily strip/crack any plastic standoffs the screw was in if you don't notice when the screw became loose. Also, if your bit slips, you will reliably chew off the slots on any flat head/philips/pozidrive screw rendering it useless and really difficult to remove.

Really really bad idea.

On the other hand, if someone has a tip for a small (ideally pen-sized) power screwdriver *with the adjustable clutch* that doesn't cost hundreds, I am all ears - sometimes it could be really useful because some gear manufacturers are sadists when the amount of screws is concerned ...

[Bud]

I do not like hassling with batteries. May be if I worked at an assembly plant I could most definitely use a power screwdriver. Not in may shack.

[retiredcaps]

The manual method usually gives me time to add some commentary too.

Like the Tag watch story in the White Van Scam video at the 11:33 mark. 

[kwass]

On the other hand, if someone has a tip for a small (ideally pen-sized) power screwdriver *with the adjustable clutch* that doesn't cost hundreds, I am all ears - sometimes it could be really useful because some gear manufacturers are sadists when the amount of screws is concerned ...

Lowe's was selling these for $10 for a while:  http://www.lowes.com/pd_78618-56005-500_0__?productId=3138079&Ntt=mini+power+screwdriver&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dmini%2Bpower%2Bscrewdriver&facetInfo=

I bought 2 of them and deliberately ruined one of them to see how much torque it had.  While the torque is not adjustable the driver will stop at about 7 in-lbs.  If you then try to turn the screw using the driver in the stalled position you'll destroy the tiny gearbox in the head.  So it's pretty junky but it's also pretty safe as it just doens't have enough torque to ruin most things.  It's pretty handy when you have a lot of screws to remove/install.

[nixfu]

After opening the package using his aussie sized knife, Dave should open the device with an aussie screwdriver

[JoeO]

If Dave used a power screwdriver, he wouldn't be able to do a tear down of it.

Kinda like a reverse "chicken or egg" conundrum.

[BradC]

On the other hand, if someone has a tip for a small (ideally pen-sized) power screwdriver *with the adjustable clutch* that doesn't cost hundreds, I am all ears - sometimes it could be really useful because some gear manufacturers are sadists when the amount of screws is concerned ...

Probably not going to help you where you are, but for us Aussies there is a cheap (~$20) Ozito Li-Ion battery screwdriver that is available at the big green shed that actually has an adjustable torque limiter. Perfect for putting electronics together and not stripping those useless and overly delicate cheap Chinese threads.

[GEuser]

Aldi has one coming up soon for $20 with torque control , on the 18th this month .

I'm grabbing one and it's this threads fault !

[KD0CAC John]

I thought Dave did have a power screw driver - fast forward

[Macbeth]

Which elevator company was that?

Schindlers Lifts would be my guess. The Nazi bastards!

[SeanB]

They come to visit me every time they come to audit then, just to see the lift motor room. Luckily i got 2 small parts to fix the only 2 cosmetic faults in a lift being scrapped. 1 selector relay ( new, lying on the shelf there) and a grease pot for the governor rope pulley. They like seeing a lift motor room you can almost use for surgery.