Handling your Tools with Care

Treat Your Tools Right - When you are using a screwdriver for a purpose that it was not meant for, you are risking causing damage to the tool as well as to yourself. You should try not to use the screwdriver as if it were a pry bar, a scraper, a hole punch, a chisel or a stirrer for paint. If you have to use a screwdriver for one of the aforementioned tasks, then make sure that you are using an older one that is already in disuse.

Protect Your Screwdrivers - In order to protect your screwdrivers as well as to make it much easier for you to find whichever size you are looking for, make sure that you store the handles facing up. If your screwdrivers have not been color coded, then identification can be made even simpler by marking each of the handles on the top with an addition sign for Phillips type screwdrivers and a subtraction sign for slot style screwdrivers. You can use indelible ink to write the signs or you can write on a piece of tape, attaching the tape to the handle afterward. You can also use a soldering gun or soldering iron to burn the sign right into the top of the handle if you so choose.

Avoiding Slips - Here are some tips for avoiding slipping when using a screwdriver.

1. When you are driving a screw, you should always make sure that the screwdriver blade is being held in the screw slot. If you are holding the work when you drive the screw, then the blade can possibly slip out of the slot, causing injury to your hand as a result.

2. When you are selecting the right screwdriver for the job, make sure that the tip is fitting perfectly into the screw slot. If the tip is too large or too small, the blade is going to slip out of the slot, causing injury to you or the work piece.

3. A screwdriver that has damaged edges or a damaged tip can easily slip, injuring you or causing damage to your work. The same is true for a screwdriver that has a handle that has cracked or otherwise become broken.

4. You should always keep your screwdriver handles clean because a greasy screwdriver handle can easily slip right out of your hands.

5. Never use a screwdriver when working near wires that are live, or for any purpose related to electrical testing or you may end up severely injured.

6. Avoid using pliers for the purpose of increasing the torque or the turning power for a screwdriver. Instead, you should be using a wrench for this purpose, and only ever when dealing with a square shank screwdriver. If you use pliers for such a purpose you may end up hurting yourself unnecessarily.

Photo Credits: grendelkhan

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Categories:

Handy Man, Safety, Tools

Tags:

addition sign, chisel, hole punch, indelible ink, job, paint, phillips, scraper, screw slot, screwdriver blade, screwdrivers, signs, slips, soldering gun, soldering iron, stirrer, subtraction sign