Filing a flat bladed screwdriver bit to make a nipple driver

[Jim77]

Hi all,

Has anyone had experience filing a flat bladed screwdriver bit into a nipple driver?

I don’t have a grinder or dremel etc and wondered if it is feasible to use just a file or would it take days to do!

Thanks in advance.

[Barrowman]

Did one many years ago with a file , don't recall it taking too long. Need a vice to hold it whilst filing though.

[Jim77]

Ok thanks - gives me confidence.

[peetee]

You could speed the process up by using a hacksaw, if the screwdriver is not hardened.

[Jim77]

Thanks for the tip.

[531colin]

Just buy a Park Tool nipple driver. To rapidly wind nipples, counting turns.

Are you going to be building wheels? If not, I don’t think you need a nipple driver, just a spoke key….buy a Spokey.

Unior make a nipple driver bit for a few quid, to fit a battery drill or a screwdriver handle

[bikes4two]

Has anyone had experience filing a flat bladed screwdriver bit into a nipple driver?

Yes - I made my nipple driver out of an old cheap screwdriver that didn't have a hardened tip (at least, not too hardened )- with it held in a vice, it was straight forward and maybe 5 minutes to file down.

This is the tip profile gleaned from a book I have: -

nip-drv.jpg (8.96 KiB) Viewed 482 times

[Jim77]

Thanks!

[Brucey]

....I don’t have a grinder or dremel etc

well now seems a good time to rectify that; they are v. handy things to have.

Needless to say, but not every flat blade screwdriver is created equal; good ones should be close to file hard. It would be grinding every time for me.

Note also that you can make very good nipple drivers using old spokes; if you have a wheel's worth, they can be preloaded with nipples, significantly speeding the build process.

[peetee]

....I don’t have a grinder or dremel etc

well now seems a good time to rectify that; they are v. handy things to have.

Needless to say, but not every flat blade screwdriver is created equal; good ones should be close to file hard. It would be grinding every time for me.

Note also that you can make very good nipple drivers using old spokes; if you have a wheel's worth, they can be preloaded with nipples, significantly speeding the build process.

Particularly useful for deep rims where a spoke nipple can disappear, never to be seen - but, alas, often to be heard. (ask me how I know )

[531colin]

When I built lots of wheels, I made my own nipple inserter/driver/picker-upper. Just Googled “nipple driver” and found a number of nipple drivers which hold the nipple on a (replaceable) spring, for inserting into deep rims. Never tried one of these, but looks interesting

[rjb]

Colin's looks good. Search on the forum and there's a few ideas.

viewtopic.php?t=142692#p1556689 mm

Or a protruding spoke with a glued nipple.

viewtopic.php?t=150510#p1685490

[Jim77]

Just for the archive: this is what I have made which I am pretty pleased with and seems to work fine!