Got Screwed!
Written: Oct 11 '08 (Updated Oct 11 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reeeeeeeaaallllly cheap.
Cons: Freaking useless.
The Bottom Line: Great gift for your wannabe carpenter jerk XBF, assuming you never want to see him again.
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| hularider's Full Review: Iron Bridge Tools, Inc. Workforce 80 Pc Screwdrive... |
A few months ago, I decided to get a new set of screwdrivers, having noticed that my old Snap-On set of screwdrivers was getting a bit worn, and besides, some of the screwdrivers are missing. They have seen heavy use since 2001.
Home Depot had the Workforce 80 piece set, including handy-dandy zipper storage bag, on sale, so I figured that for $30 (more or less) I couldn't go wrong. Oops.
The set is quite cute - lots of cool looking gadgety tips: allan, star, etc., and everything from itty bitty screwdrivers and nut drivers to big honking monsters.
The set contains 27 screwdrivers, 1 ratcheting screwdriver, 50 bits, an angle driver and zipper-type storage bag which dosen't really fit any of the tools particularly well, and is a total PITA to zip. The driver tips do fit neatly into their holders.
Well, starting with the slotheads - the tips are too thick for most screws I use. If the head is wide enough to fit the screw, the tip is too thick. So, except for scraping gunk out of old engine parts, or for use as ultra-light duty prybars, the slot head screw drivers are useless. I considered grinding them down, but. . . . .
I have no reason to believe the slot heads are any stronger than the philip head screw drivers. So far, I have managed to strip the tips of all of the philip head screw drivers in this set that I have used. Each driver took about three screws to strip. I doubt that the slot heads are any better, so there is no sense in grinding them down, as it likely would be a waste of time.
Sooooo. . . . what on earth am I going to do with all these useless tools? Well, Christmas is coming. I have two grandsons. I will sort through the set and pick out a few pieces that a seven-year-old could use safely (he does not have the wrist strength to strip the tips), buy a finishing hammer and a keyhole saw, and send them off to the boys.
I'll probably send the smallest screwdrivers to my Mom as she makes dolls, and I think she can use them for setting beads in the costumes, and carving Sculpy clay.
The largest slothead will be relegated to opening paint cans.
As a result of this, I will be wary of buying any other items under the WorkForce brand.
The one good thing - The wimpy WorkForce drivers seem well-matched to the wimpy Home Depot GripRite screws. I quit buying them as about every fifth screw, the head rips off when I use one of my reliable old Snap-On screwdrivers. Unfortunately, about the only thing the WorkForce drivers and GripRite screws will reliably screw is balsa wood and my checking account.
As I did not save the receipt and packaging, I'm not able to get the refund they claim that they would give me if anything broke.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
hularider
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Member: Leilehua Yuen
Location: Hilo, Hawaii, USA
Reviews written: 70
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
HulaRider is an author, artist, and educator who specializes in Hawaiian culture and arts.
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