My yankee screwdriver

[pandos]

They were the dogs do das when I was an apprentice carpenterter joiner. They cost a weeks wages at the time...

Brilliant for hanging doors solo, and also for opening big slot headed screws due to the grip you would get in the slot by bracing oneself against the opposite door jamb.

In new pretty work pozi scews were easier...and less prone to damage from slippage..

One thing about those yankees was the tendancy to extend in a tool bag and become jammed/bent if the bag was not handled carefully...

There are bits that drill pilot holes countersinks and then accept a pozi head which make life easier than a second drill....

 

[Boathook]

I still have all 3 sizes of yankee driver. I never had the very short one with the bits in the handle, weren't these Record branded?
Not used much for a while now but when I was working they were to go to tool for fitting ceiling roses and wiring accessories.
Lighter to carry than a cordless drill and they never go flat half way through a job.

Mine says yankee handyman no. 233H, made by stanley works at Sheffield. Not you see made in UK except for old tools, etc.

 

[Davy_S]

Another useful piece of kit was a brace and bit, i still have a very old one, it will just take a half inch drive for sockets, but over the years has served me well for its use as a screwdriver, more powerful than a yankee, it will certainly drive a large dia screw in better, i suppose the cordless drill has made the old ways obsolete, but they still have their place.

 

[BobnLesley]

I have one of the largest size & 2 of the middle size ...There was a smaller size which I found pointless...

Was that because you couldn't find any bits to fit the small one? ?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Another useful piece of kit was a brace and bit, i still have a very old one, it will just take a half inch drive for sockets, but over the years has served me well for its use as a screwdriver, more powerful than a yankee, it will certainly drive a large dia screw in better, i suppose the cordless drill has made the old ways obsolete, but they still have their place.

I remember both from the days of my youth. I'd quite like a brace and bit these days - it would come in handy from time to tiime, but my experience of Yankee-type screwdrivers is that they were pretty much useless because you inevitably lost control of the bit. Of course, in those days most screws were slot-headed, so the chances of the bit slipping were greatly increased, but I can't imagine a situation where I'd prefer one over a nice, controllable electric drill of electric screwdriver.

 

[dancrane]

I'm determined to be delighted with my purchase.

At least till I've tried it!

 

[penberth3]

You can get adaptors to use 1/4 hex bits with a Yankee Screwdrivers, so you can use with any screw head known to man. I used the middle size of the wooden handled Yankees a lot. Also the "Handyman", usually with a Pozi bit but very useful with the countersink - if I was doing a lot of screwing it saved swapping bits all the time.

 

[dancrane]

It's worth noting also, that while my Stanley Yankee is in pristine condition, it was barely a sixth the price of any of the Bosch 18v drivers I was planning to pick up.

And (even with the rotary drive switched off) it will be handy for long-reach jobs, for which I have no suitable equivalent.

EDIT...I just noticed the main, knurled section of the chuck, if that's what it can be called, rotates freely...and with that grippy finish, it was surely designed to be held very securely over the screw with one hand, while the other hand drives the top down...

...if one takes care to grip the business end immovably, lodging the bit in whatever form of screwhead is used, why should it slide away uncontrollably and destructively in use?

Is it possible that an element of sloppy use may have contributed to the negative views?

 

[northwind]

It's worth noting also, that while my Stanley Yankee is in pristine condition, it was barely a sixth the price of any of the Bosch 18v drivers I was planning to pick up.

Probably brought, used once, sworn at and never used again, as others have said they are a liability., fine for use on rough work, but not near anything you don't mind damaging.

 

[Boater Sam]

Probably brought, used once, sworn at and never used again, as others have said they are a liability., fine for use on rough work, but not near anything you don't mind damaging.

Baloney! Skilled workers used them for years, not only on rough work either.

Have you ever actually used one? Do you know the correct way to use slotted screws?

 

[LittleSister]

Baloney! Skilled workers used them for years, not only on rough work either.

Decades ago I worked manufacturing and installing state of the art telecoms and other electronic equipment, including to military and other higher specs., and regularly used yankee screwdrivers. These were standard tools at the time, supplied (or use approved) by some very fussy employers.

Of course, we were required to use skill and considerable care in operating our tools!

 

[Poignard]

Another useful piece of kit was a brace and bit, i still have a very old one, it will just take a half inch drive for sockets, but over the years has served me well for its use as a screwdriver, more powerful than a yankee, it will certainly drive a large dia screw in better, i suppose the cordless drill has made the old ways obsolete, but they still have their place.

I carry a carpenter's brace on board and a large size screwdriver bit for it.
Rarely used but if I get rid of it I'll be sure to need it soon after.

 

[Daydream believer]

Probably brought, used once, sworn at and never used again, as others have said they are a liability., fine for use on rough work, but not near anything you don't mind damaging.

You only damage anything if you do not have the skill to use one. I do not recall damaging anything in all the years that I have had mine.
If one watches many DIY types placing a screw, you will see their hand waving all over the place. They could not put a screw in properly with a standard screwdriver, let alone a pump one.

 

[russ]

I still have mine from when I started my apprenticeship some 40 years ago. Makita battery drills just started coming on the market but way out of my price range. Always remember rehanging a door and the Yankee falling over from leaning on the frame and leaving a long criss cross oil pattern on the carpet. Panic set in and tried giving the carpet a hair cut to remove stain.
Now my best tool is an impact driver. It drills, screws and tightens bolts up.

 

[Snoopy463]

My abiding memory of the Yankee was Barry Bucknell using one while building a Mirror Dinghy.

 

[penberth3]

Baloney! Skilled workers used them for years, not only on rough work either.

Have you ever actually used one? Do you know the correct way to use slotted screws?

Now we're in the 21st century, the correct thing to do is NOT use slotted screws.

 

[DJE]

...remembering how frustrating it had been, swapping between large and small drill-bits for pilot holes and main holes, then again for countersink, flathead and crosshead screw-bits. I was thinking it would be smart to get another drill...

You can get tapered drill bits with countersinks attached that do the job in one pass.
Axcaliber 6 Piece Tapered Drill & Countersink Bit Set

 

[Refueler]

I was in the garage looking at how far I'd got making the outboard bracket, and remembering how frustrating it had been, swapping between large and small drill-bits for pilot holes and main holes, then again for countersink, flathead and crosshead screw-bits. I was thinking it would be smart to get another drill...

...when for some reason I remembered James May on his show 'The Reassembler', where he proudly displayed the pre-electric solution to rapidly driving in screws.

I had a look at whether anyone still makes the clever, spring-loaded 'Yankee' screwdriver which uses a telescopic shaft to convert downward pressure into rotation at the business end. I found that Silverline make a replica, but the reviews are not uniformly favourable. Then I found an original, very clean Stanley for sale; and now it's mine.

It is magnificent! It's also enormous...42cm long retracted, 62cm maximum. (Let's keep responses non-carnal, please?) I couldn't find a record of a model in that size, so I can't tell which it is. Does anybody know how old it might be?

In the first five minutes after opening the box, I had made two loony mistakes...

...firstly, I hadn't guessed that when I twisted the knurled end, the chuck would come bombing out with enormous speed and force, eight inches from the end, like something abattoir-staff use to dispatch cattle...SWMBO screamed and I nearly needed dentistry. Then, out of curiosity, I began unscrewing the back end, thinking the handle might contain a void in which to house the big crosshead and flathead bits that the vendor kindly included...

...it's beautifully made and the big screw took a good few turns to remove...then there was a musical twang, and something like the Alien foetus sprang out and bounded round the sitting room for a while. With more hope than skill, I used a narrow aluminium rod, narrower than the spring, to guide the spring back into the handle...and I'm relieved to say it all now works again as it should.

I'll probably get another Bosch cordless anyway, for pilot-holes and countersinking. But I think the Yankee screwdriver is the best tool I've ever had.

Is there a particular grease or oil to use (or to avoid) for the working section?

Any other fans out there?

Thanks for reading.

I had one many years ago .. Stanley as well. Good bit of kit ...

 

[Refueler]

Another useful piece of kit was a brace and bit, i still have a very old one, it will just take a half inch drive for sockets, but over the years has served me well for its use as a screwdriver, more powerful than a yankee, it will certainly drive a large dia screw in better, i suppose the cordless drill has made the old ways obsolete, but they still have their place.

And don't forget the simple hand drill ... you know the one that when tightening the chuck - you catch a bit of skin at base of thumb !
But worth every penny.

 

[penberth3]

I had one many years ago .. Stanley as well. Good bit of kit ...

That reminds me - "Spiralux" did a copy of the original Yankee, very good quality.