List of screw drives • Hacker News Board

Re: List of screw drives

#41

Post by Gibbon1 » Tue, May 08, 2018, 4:30 AM UTC

analog31 wrote: post #22

hungerstrike wrote: post #15

It seems like choosing a screw drive is almost as difficult as choosing which programming library, framework or environment to use. Well, maybe not. New ones probably aren’t added quite as often.

I work for a company that makes scientific equipment. We apply a few basic criteria, which narrow things down a lot. First, a lot of those fasteners are either really specialized or just rare or obsolete. So they can be ruled out. We look for something that will be easy for our assemblers, and for our field service technicians. They have given us feedback on what they like and dislike, including what kinds of tools a…

> They hate flat head screws

My experience with flat head screws in a production environment was the driver slipping out of the screw and scratching the paint on the part being assembled. Boo!

My experience with Philips is, works great as long as people use the exact correct driver, which they won't. Which results in a striped screw and a striped driver. The latter like a bad penny will go on to strip more screws till someone holy and wise (me) tosses it in the dumpster.

So Flat, just don't. Philips is okay for light duty. Anything else use a Torx or Hex.

Re: List of screw drives

#42

Post by golem14 » Tue, May 08, 2018, 4:31 AM UTC

nlawalker wrote: post #36

kazinator wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We even have mixtures of US and metric in some products! In North America, tire sizes are given in millimeter width, but imperial mounting diameter. E.g. 175-65R14: 175mm width, 65% aspect ratio (sidewall height to width or something like that), for a 14" wheel.

I just learned about Nominal Pipe Size, in which the number that precedes the word "inches" does not refer to any actual measurement on the pipe. The specific characteristic of the gas grill pipe hookup on the back of my house that makes it a "half inch pipe" is that it has a .84 inch outer diameter; there is literally nothing about it, including the inner diameter, that could be described by the words "half inch". h…

True for pvc pipes also. Quite confusing.

Re: List of screw drives

#43

Post by anamexis » Tue, May 08, 2018, 4:39 AM UTC

nlawalker wrote: post #36

kazinator wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We even have mixtures of US and metric in some products! In North America, tire sizes are given in millimeter width, but imperial mounting diameter. E.g. 175-65R14: 175mm width, 65% aspect ratio (sidewall height to width or something like that), for a 14" wheel.

I just learned about Nominal Pipe Size, in which the number that precedes the word "inches" does not refer to any actual measurement on the pipe. The specific characteristic of the gas grill pipe hookup on the back of my house that makes it a "half inch pipe" is that it has a .84 inch outer diameter; there is literally nothing about it, including the inner diameter, that could be described by the words "half inch". h…

Then of course there's North American dimensional lumber, where the actual dimensions are either 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 inches less than the nominal dimensions. A 2x4 is 1.5 x 3.5 inches.

Re: List of screw drives

#44

Post by [deleted] » Tue, May 08, 2018, 4:47 AM UTC

anamexis wrote: post #43

nlawalker wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just learned about Nominal Pipe Size, in which the number that precedes the word "inches" does not refer to any actual measurement on the pipe. The specific characteristic of the gas grill pipe hookup on the back of my house that makes it a "half inch pipe" is that it has a .84 inch outer diameter; there is literally nothing about it, including the inner diameter, that could be described by the words "half inch". h…

Then of course there's North American dimensional lumber, where the actual dimensions are either 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 inches less than the nominal dimensions. A 2x4 is 1.5 x 3.5 inches.

[deleted]

Re: List of screw drives

#45

Post by toomanybeersies » Tue, May 08, 2018, 4:53 AM UTC

Not sure how common in the rest of the world it is, but in New Zealand it's quite common to have screws that are a combo-bit, and accept Phillips/pozi drive and also Robertson drive. The construction industry is a bit split between Pozi and Robertson, or at least it was a few years ago.

Robertson drive is an amazing drive for construction work. The screws stick nicely onto magnetised drivers, so that you can screw them into awkward locations, and they're really resistant to stripping the head. In this day and age, you can set the maximum torque on most electric screwdrivers/drills, so there's no need for a drive that intrinsically limits the torque like Phillips drives.

Re: List of screw drives

#46

Post by megaman22 » Tue, May 08, 2018, 5:04 AM UTC

SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #11

joshu wrote: post #7

Do you find yourself stripping Phillips head acres frequently? That is because you are confusing Phillips and Pozidriv heads. They look similar but have a different head and different amount of engagement. I just bought myself some Wiha drivers after years of using shitty tools. I am so much happier now.

Even using the correct drivers Phillips head screws tend to strip. I have both drivers, and the Pozidriv screws seem to strip quite a lot less frequently than the Phillips. Of course neither strips as rarely as Torx, Allen, or Robinson. Hex bolts are also great.

Torx is the way to go. I try to only buy GRK screws now if I can help it. They're more expensive, but it's so much harder to strip them with the star head geometry.

Re: List of screw drives

#47

Post by eight_ender » Tue, May 08, 2018, 5:17 AM UTC

thought_alarm wrote: post #17

In Canada there is a saying: Anyone who doesn't use a Robertson head is just being an asshole.

YES. Robbie for construction, Torx and Triple Square for cars. I've never had a problem with those three. Philips, Posi and Hex strip like crazy.

Re: List of screw drives

#48

Post by bdickason » Tue, May 08, 2018, 5:23 AM UTC

thought_alarm wrote: post #17

In Canada there is a saying: Anyone who doesn't use a Robertson head is just being an asshole.

Stupid question but I've been doing alot of construction lately and using Torx (25 I think?) for everything. What's the advantage of Robertson screws? (in particular for woodworking)

Re: List of screw drives

#49

Post by hondaguy » Tue, May 08, 2018, 5:35 AM UTC

joshu wrote: post #7

Do you find yourself stripping Phillips head acres frequently? That is because you are confusing Phillips and Pozidriv heads. They look similar but have a different head and different amount of engagement. I just bought myself some Wiha drivers after years of using shitty tools. I am so much happier now.

Reminds me of the slight difference between Phillips head and JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) drivers.

Re: List of screw drives

#50

Post by jgibson » Tue, May 08, 2018, 5:39 AM UTC

As a teenager I stripped nearly all the screws holding the crankcase of my motorcycle together before realizing that JIS was different from Phillips. Didn't help that most of the old steel screws had seized against the aluminium crankcase. After a few unsuccessful attempts with an impact driver, I ended up just welding nuts to the heads, waiting for the heat to soak, then then wrenching them off. Then threw the lot out and replaced them with something sensible - stainless internal hex head screws. I guess the original theory for JIS was that its easier to replace a screw you've mangled then it is to replace the internal thread you stripped by over torquing it.