Screwdriver: Tool Screws

SCREWDRIVER
A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for screwing (installing) and

unscrewing (removing) screws. A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft,
ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form
of the screwdriver has been replaced in many workplaces and homes with a more
modern and versatile tool, a power drill, as they are quicker, easier, and also can drill
holes. The shaft is usually made of tough steel to resist bending or twisting. The tip
may be hardened to resist wear, treated with a dark tip coating for improved visual
contrast between tip and screw—or ridged or treated for additional 'grip'. Handles are
typically wood, metal, or plastic and usually hexagonal, square, or oval in cross-
section to improve grip and prevent the tool from rolling when set down. Some
manual screwdrivers have interchangeable tips that fit into a socket on the end of the
shaft and are held in mechanically or magnetically. These often have a hollow handle
that contains various types and sizes of tips, and a reversible ratchet action that allows
multiple full turns without repositioning the tip or the user's hand.
A screwdriver is classified by its tip, which is shaped to fit the driving surfaces
—slots, grooves, recesses, etc.—on the corresponding screw head. Proper use requires
that the screwdriver's tip engage the head of a screw of the same size and type
designation as the screwdriver tip. Screwdriver tips are available in a wide variety of
types and sizes. The two most common are the simple 'blade'-type for slotted screws,
and Phillips, generically called "cross-recess", "cross-head", or "cross-point".
A wide variety of power screwdrivers ranges from a simple 'stick'-type with

batteries, a motor, and a tip holder all inline, to powerful "pistol" type VSR (variable-
speed reversible) cordless drills that also function as screwdrivers. This is particularly
useful as drilling a pilot hole before driving a screw is a common operation. Special
combination drill-driver bits and adapters let an operator rapidly alternate between the
two. Variations include impact drivers, which provide two types of 'hammering' force
for improved performance in certain situations, and "right-angle" drivers for use in
tight spaces. Many options and enhancements, such as built-in bubble levels, high/low
gear selection, magnetic screw holders, adjustable-torque clutches, keyless chucks,
'gyroscopic' control, etc., are available.
The earliest documented screwdrivers were used in the late middle Ages. They
were probably invented in the late 15th century, either in Germany or France. The
tool's original names in German and French were Schraubendreher (screw-turner)
and tournevis (turn-screw), respectively. The first documentation of the tool is in the
medieval Housebook of Wolfegg Castle, a manuscript written sometime between 1475
and 1490. These earliest screwdrivers had pear-shaped handles and were made for
slotted screws (diversification of the many types of screwdrivers did not emerge until
the Gilded Age). The screwdriver remained inconspicuous, however, as evidence of
its existence throughout the next 300 years is based primarily on the presence of
screws.
Screws were used in the 15th century to construct screw-cutting lathes, for

securing breastplates, back-plates, and helmets on medieval jousting armor—and
eventually for multiple parts of the emerging firearms, particularly the matchlock.
Screws, hence screwdrivers, were not used in full combat armor, most likely to give
the wearer freedom of movement.
The jaws that hold the pyrites inside Wheelock guns were secured with

screws, and the need to constantly replace the pyrites resulted in a considerable
refinement of the screwdriver. The tool is more documented in France, and took on
many shapes and sizes, though all for slotted screws. There were large, heavy-duty
screwdrivers for building and repairing large machines, and smaller screwdrivers for
refined cabinet work.
The screwdriver depended entirely on the screw, and it took several advances
to make the screw easy enough to produce to become popular and widespread. The
most popular door hinge at the time was the butt-hinge, but it was considered a
luxury. The butt-hinge was handmade, and its constant motion required the security of
a screw.
Screws were very hard to produce before the First Industrial Revolution,

requiring the manufacture of a conical helix. The brothers Job and William Wyatt
found a way to produce a screw on a novel machine that first cut the slotted head, and
then cut the helix. Though their business ultimately failed, their contribution to low-
cost manufacturing of the screw ultimately led to a vast increase in the screw and the
screwdriver's popularity. The increase in popularity gradually led to refinement and
eventually diversification of the screwdriver. Refinement of the precision of screws
also significantly contributed to the boom in production, mostly by increasing its
efficiency and standardizing sizes, important precursors to industrial manufacture.
Canadian P.L. Robertson, though he was not the first person to patent the idea
of socket-head screws, was the first to successfully commercialize them, starting in
1908. Socket screws rapidly grew in popularity, and are still used for their resistance
to wear and tear, compatibility with hex keys, and ability to stop a power tool when
set. Though immensely popular, Robertson had trouble marketing his invention to the
newly booming auto industry, for he was unwilling to relinquish his patents.
Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, Henry F. Phillips patented his own invention,

an improved version of a deep socket with a cruciform slot, today known as the
Phillips Screw. Phillips offered his screw to the American Screw Company, and after
a successful trial on the 1936 Cadillac, it quickly swept through the American auto
industry. With the Industrial Revival at the end of the Great Depression and the
upheaval of World War II, the Phillips screw quickly became, and remains, the most
popular screw in the world. A main attraction for the screw was that conventional
slotted screwdrivers could also be used on them, which was not possible with the
Robertson Screw.
Gunsmiths still call a screwdriver a turns-crew, under which name it is an

important part of a set of pistols. The name was common in earlier centuries, used by
cabinetmakers, shipwrights, and perhaps other trades. The cabinetmaker's screwdriver
is one of the longest-established handle forms, somewhat oval or ellipsoid in cross
section. This is variously attributed to improving grip or preventing the tool rolling off
the bench. The shape has been popular for a couple of hundred years. It is usually
associated with a plain head for slotted screws, but has been used with many head
forms. Modern plastic screwdrivers use a handle with a roughly hexagonal cross
section to achieve these same two goals, a far cry from the pear-shaped handle of the
original 15th-century screwdriver.
The handle and shaft of screwdrivers have changed considerably over time.
The design is influenced by both purpose and manufacturing requirements. The
"Perfect Pattern Handle". Screwdriver was first manufactured by HD Smith &
Company, which operated from 1850 to 1900. Many manufacturers adopted this
handle design. The "flat bladed" screwdriver was another design composed of drop-
forged steel with riveted wood handles.
The shape and material of many modern screwdriver handles are designed to
fit comfortably in the user's hand, for user comfort and to facilitate maximum control
and torque. Designs include indentations for the user's fingers, and surfaces of a soft
material such as thermoplastic elastomer to increase comfort and grip. Composite
handles of rigid plastic and rubber are also common. Many screwdriver handles are
not smooth and often not round, but have flats or other irregularities to improve grip
and to prevent the tool from rolling when on a flat surface.
Some screwdrivers have a short hexagonal section at the top of the blade,
adjacent to the handle, so that a ring spanner or open wrench can be used to increase
the applied torque. The offset screwdriver has a handle set at right angles to the small
blade, providing access to narrow spaces and giving extra torque.
Screwdrivers come in a large range of sizes to accommodate various screws—

from tiny jeweler’s screwdrivers up. A screwdriver that is not the right size and type
for the screw may damage the screw in the process of tightening it.
Some screwdriver tips are magnetic, so that the screw (unless non-magnetic)
remains attached to the screwdriver without requiring external force. This is
particularly useful in small screws, which are otherwise very difficult to attempt to
handle. Many screwdriver designs have a handle with detachable tip (the part of the
screwdriver that engages the screw), called bits as with drill bits. This provides a set
of one handle and several bits that can drive a variety of screw sizes and types.
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SCREWDRIVER

A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for screwing (installing) and

A wide variety of power screwdrivers ranges from a simple 'stick'-type with

Screws were used in the 15th century to construct screw-cutting lathes, for

The jaws that hold the pyrites inside Wheelock guns were secured with

Screws were very hard to produce before the First Industrial Revolution,

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, Henry F. Phillips patented his own invention,

Gunsmiths still call a screwdriver a turns-crew, under which name it is an

Screwdrivers come in a large range of sizes to accommodate various screws—

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