Stopped by a tiny repair shop in Portland last week and saw a guy fixing a 1960s Rolleiflex with a bent screwdriver

He was filing down the tip on a whetstone between turns, no bench gear at all. Has anyone else found old tools work better than the fancy repair kits?

2 comments

2 Comments

knight.felix1mo ago

That's actually a pretty smart approach in my experience. Those old screwdrivers have softer steel cores that can take more abuse without snapping, and the filing trick lets you custom fit the tip to whatever weird slot those vintage cameras have. I've seen guys ruin a $300 Wiha set trying to muscle through a seized screw on an old Hasselblad, while a crusty old Craftsman just bites in and turns. The key thing nobody talks about is that those modern precision kits are hardened to like 62 Rockwell, so when they chip, they chip hard and leave sharp little fragments inside your gear. A softer tool that deforms slightly instead of shattering is actually safer for delicate work, especially if you're dealing with brass or aluminum threads that strip easy. And honestly, most repair heads I know keep a set of beat up screwdrivers specifically for cameras with painted or damaged slots, because a fresh tip will slip and gouge the chrome every time.

the_jake1mo ago

Hang on though, are we really overthinking this? I've used the same $10 Amazon set for years and never had a screwdriver shatter or chip in anything I've worked on.