Ballend Considerations:

• Ballends provide very fast insertion into screw heads, even from an angle, or when working in the blind.
• Screw-holding technology, such as Bondhus® ProHold® tip, is a dramatic improvement in the utility of ballend tools.

• The concept by which ballends slide into a screw head is known as funnel insertion. Basically, it means that the sides of the ballend direct (funnel) it into place.
• A ballend can be used in a power driver, and even at 500 RPM, funnel insertion will radially twist the ball into position and seat it in the screw head.
• Quality ballends seat to full depth in a screw, and are no more prone to stripping than a straight blade.
• A straight hex blade may have greater torque capacity than a ballend, but a ballend is far more efficient.
• A high quality ballend is capable of generating the recommended seating torque for most screws, but care should still be exercised to not over-torque a ballend.
• Due to its many advantages, a ballend is a tremendous timesaver.
• Star ballends wear more rapidly than hex ballends, due to the star having less contact surface.
• Operators can feel when a straight blade begins to ‘yield’, but ballends break without exhibiting any telltale warning signs.
• Using ballends with a torque wrench or torque handle, reduces the chance of breakage and greatly extends the useful bit life.
• A good rule of thumb is to set the torque level to about 20% less than the capacity of the ballend.
• The maximum torque capacity, and the allowable working angle permitted by the ball are major factors to consider when evaluating a ballend. Increasing working angle decreases torque capacity, and increasing strength increases neck size, and thus decreases working angle.
• As maximum allowable angle increases, neck size decreases, and strength also decreases. By contrast, increasing the strength of a ball-end tool requires a corresponding increase in neck size and decrease in maximum allowable angle.
• Designing the perfect ball-end tool means choosing the ideal balance between strength and allowable angle.