Wayne must have seen my post about screwdriver bit holder sockets, because he wrote in with a great question about screwdriver bit drivers.
I’m thinking a good locking driver handle for Power Bits would be a great way to reduce the weight of handles in a portable kit. I have plenty of 6″ screwdriver/Torx Power Bits. Haven’t found any 6″ nutdriver Power Bits yet but haven’t really looked.
Do you know of such a driver handle?
The Wera 816 R immediately came to mind as something that could fit the bill. It sells for about $21 at Amazon and other retailers, and works with insert screwdriver bits and power bits.
I own one and just checked – the 816 R works well with 1″ insert bits, and I also tried 2″ and 4″ power bits. So, it should also work with longer bits, although the ergonomics and balance might be less than ideal. I feel that this screwdriver bit holder handle is better suited for shorter screwdriver bits, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with 6″ power bits or nutdrivers. As I can’t find or think of any better solutions, I’d say it’s worth a try.
Buy Now(816 R handle via Amazon)
Buy Now(816 R ESD-safe handle via Amazon)
April 2019 Update: Wera has since come out with bit sets featuring the 816 R handle and 3-1/2″ power-style screwdriver bits. I still haven’t seen any similar kits with 6″ screwdriver or nutdriver bits, but sets like this one reinforce my optimism that the locking bit handle might work well for such applications.
Buy Now(17pc set via Amazon)
There’s also a Wera screwdriver with extendable bit holder, the Kraftform Kompakt, but it’s also a multi-bit driver with built-in bit storage. That internal bit storage compartment makes the Kraftform Kompakt a little thicker than a bit holder like the 816 R, and so it takes up a little more space in a portable tool kit. As a bonus, its Rapidaptor bit holder can also be completely removed for use in a cordless drill or driver.
See More: The Best EDC Screwdriver with Bit Storage
The Kompakt comes with a pouch and is intended to be its own multi-bit screwdriver tool kit, but takes up more space compared to the 816 R, especially if you plan to carry it with other bit styles or sizes of your choosing.
Buy Now(Kraftform Kompakt via Amazon)
These are the only locking bit holder screwdrivers that come to mind. There’s also the mini 813 R EDC screwdriver handles, but those might be too small to use comfortably with 6-inch bits. I can’t really think of any other brands with locking bit holder handles, but the floor’s open for comments and recommendations.
As for the other question, yes, 6-inch nut driver power bits do exist. For example, here is a 1/4″ hex 6-inch 7/16″ nut driver at McMaster. There are longer versions of smaller sizes as well. I’m sure there are other places that carry long nut driver bits, but I haven’t looked past McMaster.
This post was originally published on 11/26/2014, and updated and republished on 4/6/2019.
