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A retired tech in Dayton laughed at how I held my screwdriver, now my wrists don't ache at 9pm
About 4 months ago I was working on a stuck lens mount screw and an old repair guy visiting the shop watched me for a minute and asked why I was choking up on the handle like a pencil. He said to hold it further back and let the palm do the turning, not the fingertips. I tried it on the next 6 jobs and I stopped getting that dull ache in my wrist by the end of the day. The funny part is I had been gripping tight for 12 years because someone once barked at me about slipping and stripping heads. Now I only choke up for tiny JIS screws where I need the fine control. Curious what grip other folks use for a stubborn screw that just won't break loose, do you switch hands or grab a bigger driver?
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oliver2428h ago
The "let the palm do the turning" thing is what my dad called the meat of your hand doing the work. I took it one step further after fighting a rusted deck screw last summer: I stopped death-gripping the whole time and only squeeze hard for the first quarter turn. Once it cracks loose you can loosen your hand a lot, because the screw is already beat. That one change saved my forearms more than any tool I bought. Wrist pain usually comes from squeezing a stuck screw for 30 seconds straight when the screw only needed real force for one of those seconds.
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