Garrett-Wade

Tool Review: Garrett Wade Gunsmithing Screwdrivers

Tool Review: Garrett Wade Gunsmithing Screwdrivers

This is a set of three finely made flat-head screwdrivers with fancy hardwood handles and nice brass ferrules. Apart from their fine finish, the hollow-ground tips are the screwdrivers’ major selling point. Supposedly, unlike a double-wedge shaped screwdriver blade, a hollow-ground blade applies more torque to the bottom of the screw’s slot, where it’s strongest, and less at its top, where it’s weakest and most likely to get scuffed or marred. Though the appearance of screw heads is rarely important to me, there are functional reasons why it’s important to avoid damaging screws as much as practical, and I get as irritated as anyone else with screws and drivers that readily slip out of engagement. Flat-head screws are, in my experience, usually the worst offenders, and though I was a bit skeptical, I have to say these hollow-ground tips really do feel more solid.

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Tool Review: BOA Versa Saw

Tool Review: BOA Versa Saw

A regular hacksaw frame is fixed to the blade at both ends. These restricted-access hacksaws, on the other hand, are fixed to the blade only at the back end, closest to your hand, and support the front end using a reciprocating, spring-loaded bar with a thin guide slot and a rubber shoe. The shoe rests up against the workpiece, during the stroke, and the blade moves back and forth through the guide slot, which keeps it from flexing away from the intended cutting path. The upshot is that, unlike a regular hacksaw frame, you can make cuts in stuff with almost zero backside clearance.

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Tool Review: Schröder 9″ Hand Drill

Tool Review: Schröder 9″ Hand Drill

I picked up a pair of these German-made drills from Garrett Wade: the 9″ Mini Hand Drill ($25.50) and the 12″ Larger Hand Drill ($46.50), which has an additional wood knob opposite the crank handle. Since the Mini reminds me more of the old eggbeater, I’m using that. It looks shiny and new, but the solid construction and tight engineering hark back to the days when tools weren’t considered disposable.

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