For a while now I've been on the lookout for a very specific style of screwdriver. Basically what I want is an offset flat-blade screwdriver set, where the two ends are at 90 degrees to each other. With this sort of tool, you can reach into tight spaces and screw in, or unscrew, a slotted screw 90 degrees at a time.
Now it's not hard to find offset flat-blade screwdrivers, but if you look closely at most of them, they're only flat blade on one side and the other side is almost always a philips head, which is not a very useful tip for driving a slotted screw.
However, one company does manufacture the right style.
Unfortunately, it's Snap-On (AKA Blue-Point).
Now there's nothing wrong with this from a quality or design perspective, but the trouble is that these tools come with a Snap-On price tag. This set of 5 screwdrivers would normally cost about $75 retail, but luckily I was able to find a completely nonsuspicious listing on eBay for about $33 all-in.
So with that out of the way, it's worth discussing why I need a flat blade screwdriver to fit into tight places in the first place? The answer is simple.
Sewing machine needle plates are almost universally held in by slotted screws, and they always have the entire rest of the sewing machine right above them that really gets in the way of accessing them with a regular screwdriver. Even getting them with a stubby screwdriver tends to be quite difficult due to the proximity of the needle bar and presser foot shank.
But an offset screwdriver is the perfect tool for the job.
Unless, of course, the screwdriver's blade is just a fraction too thick to fit into the head of the screw.
Well, lucky for me I have more than one sewing machine.
See? It works perfectly.
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