A screwdriver is the most essential tool for every vehicle, home, office, or workshop. Screwdrivers can be used to put together furniture or take apart a car’s engine. General screwdrivers can be difficult to use, and it can take a lot of effort to tighten them enough. Long screwdrivers are the solution.
What’s a long screwdriver, you ask?
All screwdrivers can be made in the same manner. A metal shaft, called a “shank”, is what they have. It’s usually made from steel but can also come in vanadium or a chrome alloy. The blade is made of two parts: a handle at one end and a point at the other. This point can be either:
Flat top: This tip is the most popular. It has a flat, single-slot tip that fits into a slotted head.
Phillips: The tip looks like a cross and can be fitted into the screw more easily than other types.
Torx tip: Often used by automotive engineers, it looks like a star with six round ends.
Hex: Has six straight sides, and the tip has the shape of a hexagon. You can use the hex tip screwdriver to tighten bolts, instead of screws like the Allen key.
Pozidriv: Two shapes that look like crosses, stacked on top each other. It is used to tighten screws when a lot force is required.
Long screwdrivers look just like regular screwdrivers but have a longer shank and sometimes a longer hand.
Long screwdrivers
What are the advantages of long screwdrivers? Does size really matter? It all depends on the purpose of your screwdrivers.
Long screwdrivers are generally larger than shorter ones, and will fit in your entire hand. This gives them more strength and allows them to be turned easier. For fasteners that are difficult to reach, or are in tight spaces like under your car’s hood, long screwdrivers can be a great choice.
Are long screwdrivers more effective?
It all depends on the material used and the size of the piece. Different steels have different strengths. Although your hand might be more capable of applying torque to a longer handle, the shaft’s length without a grip does not have any bearing on how much torque can you apply to the bit end.
Consider the following when deciding whether to buy a long or a short screwdriver:
Type of point
The point’s size
The handle size
The shank’s length
You might need to cushion the grip for prolonged use
If you need to reach screws in difficult to reach places, then long screwdrivers will be more useful. This is exactly what mechanics and builders use them for. They are not essential tools, but they can be very useful and well worth the money.
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