131–140 of 263 posts
After getting the proper bit though, I’ve started to really appreciate them. I don’t think I’ve ever stripped a single one.
As far as I'm concerned, torx is the only reasonable screw anymore. It seems like most construction screws (at least in the US) have moved to this. Just to make the point: I've stripped out more torx drivers than I have torx heads. I can say I truly don't understand how phillips ever even took hold over flatheads. Cheap phillips head screws seem designed to strip out. Somebody elsewhere in this thread made the point…
Square heads are also acceptable. Kreg uses them for pocket hole screws and I like how easy it is to get the bit in when you're in a tight spot. They resist cam out pretty well also, I've not yet had a screw of either type I couldn't easily remove. A good flat head screw is better than a crappy Phillips but a bad one is worse. The bad ones seem to strip by design.
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> 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…
In some ways that's more useful. If you're designing a gas pipe for a house you probably care more about "how much gas can I get through this pipe" and "what is the failure rate" than "will I be able to fit it through a 0.83 inch hole".
It's annoying that "half inch" etc were the terms co-opted here instead of, say, "a level 4 pipe". But there is some reason for it.
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Phillips screws are design to have the driver leave the socket if it is over-torqued. Frequently people keep going after this has occurred which results in stripped heads, but if you listen to what the tool is trying to tell you then it shouldn't happen.
I’ve mainly had the problem when getting them out. Especially when the application requires thread locking compound and has been out in the field for a few months or years - even when they had been properly torqued with a torque wrench. We abandoned Phillips and Pozidriv completely and went to Torx for the screws (we were already using hex for bolts). Haven’t really had any issues stripping out screws since.
Yeah, that's your problem right there. Removing an old Phillips screw will take more (usually much more) torque than it took to install it, so it'll cam out. The problem is that you're trying to get them out. Don't do that. Phillips screws were never designed for removal that way. They were meant to be used for installation only, and to limit torque on installation. If it's been installed with thread-locker, that should be a sign to you that it's never supposed to be removed. If you want a screw that's meant to be removed after years of service, pick something else; Phillips is not designed for this.
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Square heads are also acceptable. Kreg uses them for pocket hole screws and I like how easy it is to get the bit in when you're in a tight spot. They resist cam out pretty well also, I've not yet had a screw of either type I couldn't easily remove. A good flat head screw is better than a crappy Phillips but a bad one is worse. The bad ones seem to strip by design.
No, they don't just seem to: Phillips was specifically designed to cam out. It was invented for this very purpose. When you're cursing with a Phillips screw that's stripped-out, you need to know that the fastener is doing exactly what it was designed to. The problem is people expecting these screws to be easily removable; that was never the intention. And the other problem is people using them for applications where…
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I find this to be really weird... Anyone who has worked on vehicles knows the importance of getting the exact right tool to unfasten a fastener (and the... consequences of using something that "almost works" - usually meaning you have to spend hours trying to get the fastener out) I mean, sure, you need tools to open things up... but the right bit is about a thousand times more important than an expensive bit, and fo…
> Anyone who has worked on vehicles knows the importance of getting the exact right tool to unfasten a fastener If you're a pro auto shop, you can probably get your hands on all of the exactly right tools. If you're an individual, it's another story... It's a matter of lag in the supply/demand loop. The moment Apple introduced pentalobe screws, or in general, the moment a different company introduces an unusual screw…
If you're an individual, you go to Harbor Freight and get yourself a tool set for $10 or $20. Tools are dirt cheap these days, and there's no excuse to not have the right one if you want to work on something.
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I never held back much when fixing my own stuff either. But it's a different game when I'm fixing things for someone else (e.g. a friend or family member) - then I really don't want to break or even scratch anything.
True. Recently I found a lcd tv outside, turns out one chip was partially failing, now it seems stable. Then my neighbor told me it was hers, which was a bit fun and awkward; but to be honest, had they ask me to fix it I would never have touched it. It's easier when it's considered trash and nothing to lose.
That is when you thank her for putting it out nicely instead of banging it up some more, implying that she did mean for someone else to come along and adopt it.
As far as I'm concerned, torx is the only reasonable screw anymore. It seems like most construction screws (at least in the US) have moved to this. Just to make the point: I've stripped out more torx drivers than I have torx heads. I can say I truly don't understand how phillips ever even took hold over flatheads. Cheap phillips head screws seem designed to strip out. Somebody elsewhere in this thread made the point…
>I can say I truly don't understand how phillips ever even took hold over flatheads. Cheap phillips head screws seem designed to strip out. It's not cheap ones; Phillips heads were designed to strip out. It's the very reason they're used. The whole idea was to use them in factory assembly, so that workers wouldn't overtorque them. You put them in and tighten, and when they cam out, you're done. If you want a fastener…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I can say I truly don't understand how phillips ever even took hold over flatheads. Cheap phillips head screws seem designed to strip out. It's not cheap ones; Phillips heads were designed to strip out. It's the very reason they're used. The whole idea was to use them in factory assembly, so that workers wouldn't overtorque them. You put them in and tighten, and when they cam out, you're done. If you want a fastener…
Well, they’re designed to cam out. Not strip out.