First, let's all take a second to enjoy that we get to read from one
of the few forums/newsgroups where there is serious and appropriate
discussion of screwdriver & turn-screw usage.

I'll throw in a slightly contrarian view. I first read it in
"Educational woodworking for home and school" (Park, Joseph C - 1908)
and have observed this to *sometimes* be the case when using longer
screwdrivers:

"A long screwdriver works much better than a short one. In theory one
should keep the screwdriver in line with the screw, but in actual
practice it wobbles, forming a circle as the screw turns, thus
increasing the leverage. Now, the longer the screwdriver the larger
the circle described, and the larger the circle the greater the
leverage."

Second whole paragraph from pg. 139:
https://archive.org/
details/educationalwood00park

Another way to phrase this: In most use you don't rotate the
screwdriver about its true axis but in a slight conical pattern which
extends the hypothetical lever to which torque is applied.

I want to clarify that I don't feel this is true for a lot of
screwdriver use, especially where the second hand grasps the shaft to
keep it straight.

Brian Rytel


On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 10:47 AM, Ed Minch  wrote:
> Most very long screwdrivers DO in fact make it easier to work a screw because
the handles i=usually have a larger diameter handle = more torque.  So any
perception has a basis in fact .
>
> Ed Minch


> On May 22, 2014, at 12:55 PM, David Nighswander 
wrote:
>> A screwdriver is used to rotate a screw by engaging the bit in the head of
the screw. Gripping the handle and turning the handle around the center axis of
the shank rotates the screwdriver and the screw. Increasing the diameter of the
handle will increase the possible torque that the user is capable of applying
with the screwdriver.
>> Using a longer shank only extends the distance the handle is away from the
head of the screw. It has no effect on the rotational force.
>> If you are using the screwdriver as a chisel or to open paint cans you
shouldn’t be in this conversation.