Finders - with drill bit sets

wadge · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:51 pm Post Subject: Finders - with drill bit sets

I've bought a new box set of drill bits and driving bits. In it there are a couple of rounds plastic bits called finders? They are common with most of these type of box sets. What are they and how do I use them?

xerxes · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:41 am Post Subject:

New to me, but according to this they are devices for locating a bit in a slotted screw head.

I'm inclined to agree that this sounds like something one can do without.

wadge · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:53 am Post Subject:

Thanks. Agreed, pretty redundant although I can see where the original need for it came from.

Sometimes slotted screws can be a pain in awkward or tight corners with a cordless driver.

neds · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:47 am Post Subject:

Slotted screws should be outlawed! They just look nasty too

disinfo · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:34 pm Post Subject:

neds wrote:

Slotted screws should be outlawed! They just look nasty too

I still think they look better on furniture / door handles etc

mattylad · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:35 pm Post Subject:

They also hold the screw while you start to screw it in.
I have several but never used them.

Slotted screws are dangerous when using a Electric driver, but IMO much better when using a hand screwdriver & needing a good "thrutching" !

That said as I'm now officially lazy & use the electric driver, I only ever use cross head unless on a door.

noseall · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:59 pm Post Subject:

once painted a few times, cross head or posi are almost impossible to remove.

never have this problem with slotted.

no good for the cordless driver though.

ho hum.

xerxes · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:02 pm Post Subject:

Last year I had to remove a large number of slotted screws from a ceiling. The only sensible way to go about it was with a cordless driver, but it was a messy business. To make things worse, the heads were very hard (and brittle) so I had quite a few broken screws which had to be removed with pliers. Maybe a screwfinder would have come in handy for this job, if I'd known they existed.

I would still use slotted screws where they're going to be on display when the job's finished, installed with a screwdriver of course, and driven home so that the slots are aligned.

I also like to use slotted screws in a location where they're liable to get very dirty, or clogged with paint, and I might need to remove them later, for the reasons Noseall gives.