Every home should have a screwdriver. Of course, there is no need to purchase all varieties, but it is very easy to understand which ones are needed for the home. Such a tool is necessary for replacing a socket or switch, repairing an apartment and household appliances. Of course, you can buy a screwdriver, but for minor repairs it is completely useless. You can get by with the simplest and most inexpensive alternative. In this article, we will consider the existing types of screwdrivers and their purpose, marking, as well as photo examples.

Design features

A screwdriver consists of three parts: a tip, a shaft and a handle. Tip types depend on which fastener is to be screwed. Their names depend on the shape of the tip. The fastener can be a screw, screw or self-tapping screw. Previously, slotted fixtures were in great demand, but now the use of cross fixtures has become more popular.

What are the slots? There are different types of slots. Popular types are in the form of an asterisk and a hexagonal element. It is very important that the tip is strong and firm. And for better retention, it is treated with a special coating, which has a high coefficient of friction.

Varieties of the tool allow you to choose a convenient option for working in different places. So a screwdriver can be with a long or short handle, with a square or hexagonal section. The handle can be plastic or wooden and is most often cylindrical in shape. But they are also found in the shape of the letter "T" or pistol-shaped.

Overview of varieties

So what are screwdrivers? Since new types of bolts have appeared on the construction market, the types of tools have also expanded. Today there is a large selection of products of various shapes and designs. Most of them are used only in conjunction with certain technologies.

The following types of screwdrivers are considered the most popular in consumption:

1. Flat (designated as SL). It is also called a straight line. The sting has the form of a blade and such a plane is needed to work with the simplest connections using screws. Such a device is considered the most popular in household work, such as fastening shelves or minor ones.
2. Cross (designated as RN). Such a screwdriver has a sting in the form of a cone. Its four faces fit into a cross slot. These types of products are used to connect certain equipment or cars, as well as to securely fasten the screw. Since such a screwdriver has a conical shape, the tip will come into contact with the screw twice as much.
3. Hexagonal (denoted as HEX). Such types of products have the shape of a working surface like a hexagon. The torque of such a device will be ten times the indication of a Phillips screwdriver. This type of tool is used during work related to the repair of electrical equipment.
4. Star-shaped (denoted as TORX). It has the shape of a working surface like a six-pointed star. It is used in the repair of a minor variety of equipment, for example, such as a cell phone.
5. Cruciform with notches (denoted as PZ). This type of screwdriver design has not only a cross profile, but also has minor additional edges. It is used when assembling furniture, as it fits more tightly into the fasteners.

There are also types of products that are used only in certain conditions, as they are equipped with special devices. Such products include:

Screwdriver marking

To find out what these tools are and what their purpose is, you need to know the decoding of the screwdriver markings.

This table contains all the most popular tip shapes and their markings:

For example, cruciform (PH and PZ) has a special correspondence table, which indicates the tools and sizes of fasteners to which they fit. The table below shows the dependence of the length and diameter of the rod on the screwdriver number:

There is also another dependency you should be aware of:

It should also be noted that some types of screwdrivers may contain not only letters, but also numbers in the marking. For example, PH 4 * 120, here PH - this means that it is straight; 4 is a number that indicates the diameter of the fastener; 120 - product length. In addition, the marking may contain information about the metal used in the manufacture of the working part.

In the photo below you can see the markings on the rod: