6 Screwdrivers and Hex Keys

Screws have different shaped slots and different depth/size of recess. Select the appropriate screwdriver to fit snugly in the slot of the screw, compress firmly, and turn clockwise or counterclockwise. You’ll use various types of screwdrivers, such as those in the table below. Avoid altering the shape of the slots in the screw by selecting the appropriate tool and compressing firmly.

Standard screwdriver is used when the head of the screw has a straight slot.
Jeweler’s screwdriver has a thin and narrow tip for small screws. Some come with a head that swivels so that you can turn the blade while compressing down on top of the screwdriver to keep the blade in the head of the screw.
Phillips screwdrivers have a cross.

A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench or Inbus) is a simple driver for bolts or screws that have heads with internal hexagonal recesses (sockets).^[1]  While often used in generic terms for “hex key”, the “Allen” name is a registered trademark (circa 1910) of the Allen Manufacturing Company (now Apex Tool Group) of Hartford, Connecticut; regardless, “Allen key” and “Allen wrench” are often seen as generic trademarks.^[1]

We use metric and standard hex keys in P&O. Typically, you’ll use the 4mm and 5mm hex keys in LLP and a variety of standard and metric in LLO and ULP.

Folding hex key
T-hand hex key
L-shaped hex key Formed from a single piece of hard hexagonal steel rod, having blunt ends that fit snugly into similarly shaped screw sockets. The rods are bent to 90º, forming two arms of unequal length resembling an “L”. The tool is usually held and twisted by its long arm, creating a relatively large torque at the tip of the short arm; it can also be held by its short arm to access screws in difficult-to-reach locations and to turn screws faster at the expense of torque. The image shown to the right has ball-end hexs on the long end, which are useful to reach screws that you can’t reach at a right angle.
3-way hex key also called bicycle tool