A nutdriver or nut driver is a
hand tool
A hand tool is any tool that is powered manual labour, by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutter (disambiguation), cutters, File (tool), files, hammer, striking tools, chisel, struck or hammered tools, ...
for tightening or loosening
nuts
Nut often refers to:
* Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed
* Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts
* Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt
Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to:
A ...
and
bolts. It essentially consists of a
socket
Socket may refer to:
Mechanics
* Socket wrench, a type of wrench that uses separate, removable sockets to fit different sizes of nuts and bolts
* Socket head screw, a screw (or bolt) with a cylindrical head containing a socket into which the hexag ...
attached to a shaft and cylindrical handle and is similar in appearance and use to a
screwdriver
A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws.
Description
A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver ...
.
They generally have a hollow shaft to accommodate a
shank onto which a nut is threaded. They are typically used for lower
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...
applications than
wrench
A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning.
In the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand ...
es or
ratchets and are frequently used in the appliance repair
and
electronics
Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
industries.
Variations include T-shaped handles for providing the operator with a better grip,
ratcheting handles, sockets with recessed magnets for holding
fastener
A fastener (US English) or fastening (UK English) is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or disman ...
s, and flex shafts for bending around obstructions.
Indexable bits with the same purpose, to be held either in indexable handles or in power tool chucks, are called nutsetters.
A spinner handle is a shaft and handle with a drive fitting—most commonly square axle at the end for attaching interchangeable sockets. This allows one to use a single handle with a number of sizes instead of having a separate nut driver for each size. However, a spinner lacks the benefit of a hollow shaft; thus, a common alternative system is a single handle with interchangeable ''shafts'' in each size.
See also
*
Socket wrench
A socket wrench (or socket spanner) is a type of spanner (or wrench in North American English) that uses a closed ''socket'' format, rather than a typical open wrench/spanner to turn a fastener, typically in the form of a nut or bolt.
The most ...
*
Can wrench
References
External links
*
{{tool-stub
Mechanical hand tools