From Newsgroup: uk.d-i-y

On Sun, 15 Feb 2026 19:55:26 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

On 15/02/2026 14:40, AnthonyL wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 15:09:33 +0000, Joe <joe@jretrading.com> wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 13:18:07 -0000 (UTC)
Brian <noinv@lid.org> wrote:

AnthonyL <nospam@please.invalid> wrote:

I have some air vents that are under a ledge such that I have barely >>>>> 2" to squeeze into to get at the screws and they are such that a
normal screwdriver will not engage.
=20
I've tried just the Philips bits from a screwdriver set and I have a >>>>> very small ring spanner that fits but it is quite a slow procedure.
=20
The Philips bits are either just too big or just too small to fit in >>>>> my ratchet ring. What would be a good way to "jam" the bit into the >>>>> ratchet ring spanner? =20
=20
=20

=20
You can get a ratchet handle designed to hold the standard 6mm hex
bits, the handle is at 90 degrees to the bit.
=20
They had them in Lidl last week for a few pounds, with a set of bits.=20 >>>> =20
That should fit with space to spare.
=20
I=E2=80=99m still kicking myself for not getting a set but I got distract= >>> ed
and put them down to look at something Senior Management asked me
about=E2=80=A6=20
=20

This sort of thing?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Screwdriver-Phillips-Reversible-Ratcheting-Machine=
ry/dp/B0G6DTL4TS

Having gone a lifetime with needing one I was hoping to adapt a
solution, instead I have ended up with yet another one-time tool
cluttering my toolbox, though I doubt that I could have gone cheaper
at +U3.95:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ratchet-Wrench-Screwdriver-Magnetic-Reversible/dp/B0DKFGLWT2/260-8228291-2666000

(they are only little wood screws)

I used this sort of thing a lot in one job.
The problem I always had was trying to keep the driver bit exactly
vertical to the screw head. It was very easy to cam out.

I had just enough room to be able to hold a finger over the head, and
I'm thankful for this suggestion but it was still a pain, exacerbated
by the fact that I also had to remove a section of PVC guttering. A
10min job turned into a 100min job.
--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?
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From Newsgroup: uk.d-i-y

On 21/02/2026 17:10, AnthonyL wrote:

On Sun, 15 Feb 2026 19:55:26 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

On 15/02/2026 14:40, AnthonyL wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 15:09:33 +0000, Joe <joe@jretrading.com> wrote:

On Fri, 13 Feb 2026 13:18:07 -0000 (UTC)
Brian <noinv@lid.org> wrote:

AnthonyL <nospam@please.invalid> wrote:

I have some air vents that are under a ledge such that I have barely >>>>>> 2" to squeeze into to get at the screws and they are such that a
normal screwdriver will not engage.
=20
I've tried just the Philips bits from a screwdriver set and I have a >>>>>> very small ring spanner that fits but it is quite a slow procedure. >>>>>> =20
The Philips bits are either just too big or just too small to fit in >>>>>> my ratchet ring. What would be a good way to "jam" the bit into the >>>>>> ratchet ring spanner? =20
=20
=20

=20
You can get a ratchet handle designed to hold the standard 6mm hex
bits, the handle is at 90 degrees to the bit.
=20
They had them in Lidl last week for a few pounds, with a set of bits.=20 >>>>> =20
That should fit with space to spare.
=20
I=E2=80=99m still kicking myself for not getting a set but I got distract=

ed

and put them down to look at something Senior Management asked me
about=E2=80=A6=20
=20

This sort of thing?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Screwdriver-Phillips-Reversible-Ratcheting-Machine=
ry/dp/B0G6DTL4TS

Having gone a lifetime with needing one I was hoping to adapt a
solution, instead I have ended up with yet another one-time tool
cluttering my toolbox, though I doubt that I could have gone cheaper
at +U3.95:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ratchet-Wrench-Screwdriver-Magnetic-Reversible/dp/B0DKFGLWT2/260-8228291-2666000

(they are only little wood screws)

I used this sort of thing a lot in one job.
The problem I always had was trying to keep the driver bit exactly
vertical to the screw head. It was very easy to cam out.

I had just enough room to be able to hold a finger over the head, and
I'm thankful for this suggestion but it was still a pain, exacerbated
by the fact that I also had to remove a section of PVC guttering. A
10min job turned into a 100min job.

Nature abhores a 10 minute job.
They're a theoretical ideal which doesn't exist in the wild.
--
Sam Plusnet
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.d-i-y

On 21/02/2026 18:52, Sam Plusnet wrote:

Nature abhores a 10 minute job.
They're a theoretical ideal which doesn't exist in the wild.

When the turbo hose on my Freelander TD4 split (again) I took a
screwdriver and drove to the local dealership, complete with fawning
salesmen, plush carpets, a coffee machine and a parts department.

I bought the hose and fitted it an about 5 minutes. Then I walked back
n, hand covered in black oil, and said 'do you have a washroom?'
expecting a mechanics hand cleaning room with Swarfega etc.

Instead the chief poof pointed at the customer toilets area and said
'use that'...

so with blackend hands & filthy jeans, I did.
--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2