How to drill holes with a manual screwdriver and screw quickly?

[TopHatFox]

Obviously you place the screw on the screw driver tip and turn clockwise on the chosen surface enforce, but in practice, drilling a screw manually seems to take forever through even wood.

Do I have to own a mechanized screwdriver if I want to drill into a hard wood--or even particle board-- desk or shelving manually with any reasonable speed? Maybe tapping the wood manually before driving the screw would make it easier?

[Ego]

Half-ass solution is to stick a few toothpicks or chopsticks in the stripped hole, fill it with wood glue then screw it in place and keep the door shut overnight with folded paper wedged into the gap above the latch. If you haven't noticed, I'm partial to half-assed solutions.

[subgard]

Electric drills can be had for cheap at pawnshops, and come in handy for all sorts of DIY things.

And even the cheapest models brand new are extremely useful for occasional projects.

[Dragline]

If you take a nail smaller than the screw and pound it in little where the screw will go, you can pull the nail and then screw the screw into the hole left.

[TopHatFox]

If you take a nail smaller than the screw and pound it in little where the screw will go, you can pull the nail and then screw the screw into the hole left.

This should be in the creativity hall of fame! Duh! Now I just need to find some nails.

[jacob]

You don't have to own an electric driver but it sure is nice to have one for most jobs around the house---especially when the screws are located in awkward places. Not really worth it from a minimalist perspective if you're only dealing with a couple of screws from time to time, though. Keep in mind that hand tools are generally MUCH MUCH slower than their powered equivalents, so maybe you're just expecting too much? Patience grasshopper.

In hardwood you generally want to predrill. Not to make it faster or easier but to ensure that the wood doesn't split. Don't use a nail here for the same reason. Material needs to be removed. Not shoved away.

A more powerful handtool that is excellent from driving screws is the chuck and brace with a bit. It's almost as fast as an electric driver and you can apply a lot more power and force than with a screwdriver whether manual or electric. This is useful for materials like hardwood. The brace is my favourite method for assembly.
E.g. http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.a ... 42337&ap=1 (get the three jaw version, the two jaw only works with auger bits(?))

Another nice tool is the impact driver. You can unstick almost any screw with this. Useful for screws that have been painted over. It has saved me more than once.
E.g. http://smart-trade-shop.co.uk/products/ ... river-set/

[ArkTinkerer]

For just wood you can use a yankee drill (sometimes called a push drill). Bits for boring holes, straight and phillips bits are available. Really works pretty well. The type of screw can matter too. For attaching thin materials to hard woods using self tapping screws works really well.