PSA: Don't trust those cheap JIS screwdrivers from Amazon for Leica repairs

I used a no-name set to remove the top plate screws on an M6 last week and stripped two heads clean off, had to drill them out. Turns out the tolerance on the tips was way off, they wobbled even when seated. Anyone else had a tool brand that actually matches the JIS standard right out of the box?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_hayes17d ago

Try spending a bit more and you'll be fine. I've been using a random cheap set from Harbor Freight for years and never stripped a screw. People blame the tools when they're probably just torquing too hard without checking the fit first.

shane24416d ago

My father-in-law gave me a set of those stamped steel craftsman screwdrivers back in 1989, the ones with the yellow and black handles. I still have them in my basement toolbox, though I've replaced the #2 Phillips twice because I wore the tip down flat after about a decade of use. Funny thing is, I bought a cheap set of metric hex keys from a gas station in Indiana around the same time, and those things still hold up better than anything I've bought from a hardware store lately. That Harbor Freight stuff can be hit or miss, but sometimes you get lucky with the random Chinese batch that happened to be made on a good Tuesday.