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List of screw drives

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Re: List of screw drives

#101

Post by micheljansen »

lostlogin wrote: post #98
micheljansen wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has just remodelled an old house with loads of flatheads: you've got to be kidding me. I hate those things with a passion. Flathead screws only restrict the movement of the screwdriver in one dimension and allow it to move in the other one. This leads to the screwdriver to keep sliding out when you put force on under even the slightest angle. Phillips screws improve on this design by restricting moveme…

I’m sure you have worked this out but my technique is to scrape all the paint off very carefully, then crack the lock by turning the screw in the wrong direction. Sometimes I hit the screw driver with a hammer too. After the lock is broken, turn the screw the right way. This way, stripping the head isn’t such a problem as it’s burring off the head in the wrong directions, saving the important edge for actually gettin…

Yes, I also quickly developed some skill with a utility knife, getting the paint out and creating space for the screwdriver head, but I never found a good way to prevent the screwdriver from sliding sideways. Especially with large screws that require a lot of force to remove.

Re: List of screw drives

#102

Post by micheljansen »

kbrosnan wrote: post #79
micheljansen wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has just remodelled an old house with loads of flatheads: you've got to be kidding me. I hate those things with a passion. Flathead screws only restrict the movement of the screwdriver in one dimension and allow it to move in the other one. This leads to the screwdriver to keep sliding out when you put force on under even the slightest angle. Phillips screws improve on this design by restricting moveme…

An advantage of flathead is that it is easy to unfoul the screw head. A minute with a utility knife or a flathead screwdriver will clear the channel of dirt or paint. I would not want to deal with a torx that has several layers of paint dried into it.

I have fortunately not had to experience that. I guess a special screw extractor tool might be the only option then.

Re: List of screw drives

#103

Post by lsc »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #93
lsc wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 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...

Meh, I'm mostly talking about getting the right socket for the job... I mean, don't use the ASE socket that is almost the same as the metric bolt you are working on, go down to the hardware store and get the right tool.

That's the thing about automotive work; as far as I can tell, automotive tools are very widely available and cheap, compared to other tools I've worked with, and not only that, but you go to the auto parts store, and the people are helpful and knowledgeable. I mean, if I need some SAC305 on the weekend, well, fry's might have that, maybe, but nobody there will know the difference between SAC305 and sn99. If I need any sort of server-grade parts, I'm almost certainly stuck waiting for monday. Fry's has a very small selection of ECC memory or enterprise-grade disks, for example. And you aren't going to have a Fry's in a small town, but you will have a Napa auto or similar.

I mean, part of it is that I know a fair bit about computers and really not all that much about cars, but when I show up even at the chain auto parts stores, they can answer even relatively difficult questions. This is not, in my experience, true of Frys.

When it comes to tech support, be it a computer or a car that needs fixing, the difficulty of a question is directly proportional to it's vagueness. Newbies are more likely to ask difficult questions than more experienced and knowledgeable people who actually know enough to tell you what the actual problem is.

Re: List of screw drives

#104

Post by lostlogin »

blhack wrote: post #74
collyw wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of interest what is better about Torx? With "normal" screws you can usually improvise something when you are without tools.

They don't strip, or at least it would take a tremendous amount of torque to strip them. My experience has been that the driver strips before the head does.

That stripping the driver before the screw is a feature. Heads come with every box of screws I buy, and getting out ruined screws is far harder than replacing the driver.

Re: List of screw drives

#105

Post by wyclif »

slededit wrote: post #14
SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

Recently, Fender (the electric guitar manufacturer) began offering vintage reissue models with the originally-issued flathead screws, at some point years ago they had switched to Phillips. When doing any kind of modification or repair, I realised after getting one of the vintage models that I preferred flathead for that reason. Phillips is bad on guitars because not only is it easy to strip the head, but you can also end up dinging the top of the guitar when the screwdriver tip dislodges and hits the nice top finish.

This is also why you should only use a hand screwdriver and not a power driven driver bit.

Re: List of screw drives

#106

Post by lostlogin »

micheljansen wrote: post #101
lostlogin wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sure you have worked this out but my technique is to scrape all the paint off very carefully, then crack the lock by turning the screw in the wrong direction. Sometimes I hit the screw driver with a hammer too. After the lock is broken, turn the screw the right way. This way, stripping the head isn’t such a problem as it’s burring off the head in the wrong directions, saving the important edge for actually gettin…

Yes, I also quickly developed some skill with a utility knife, getting the paint out and creating space for the screwdriver head, but I never found a good way to prevent the screwdriver from sliding sideways. Especially with large screws that require a lot of force to remove.

Heat and then a crack with a hammer have been my method. Always using the absolute tightest getting screw driver. I still snap the screw maybe 1 time in 5 due to the torque I can get on it. I’m repairing rusted out 1940s window hinges, and it’s truest awful. Have got about 100-150 to go, but I’ve done maybe 300.

Re: List of screw drives

#107

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

jimnotgym wrote: post #63

In the UK construction industry the pozidrive has long been the most used, followed by some special purpose designs using torx. Sometimes kitchens would come with the same crappy phillips screws as flatpack furniture. However belt feed drywall screws were always phillips. In fact most drywall screws were. It always infuriated me if you wanted to put some extras in with a drill (or take some out) that you had to go se…

> Now I also wonder why we would always call the drywall "plasterboard" yet call the screws for it "drywall screws"!

Especially as the nails are known as "plasterboard nails" ;)

Re: List of screw drives

#108

Post by burfog »

I like the connectors that were used on the Capsela toys. The two mating parts were identical, each with three prongs. It looks like a radiation symbol that is missing the center dot.

An interesting property is that there would be no need to carefully match the diameter.

Re: List of screw drives

#109

Post by andrewaylett »

I find it interesting that so many people here see the choice as being between Phillips and Torx -- all the time I was growing up (in the UK), Torx bits were incredibly difficult to get hold of while Pozidriv became more and more common, to the point where I don't think I've any loose non-Pozidriv screws in the house, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone selling Torx screws.

Re: List of screw drives

#110

Post by ironcan »

DanBC wrote: post #95
Gracana wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stainless fasteners are the worst. My company builds food equipment so they're a necessity, but... ugh. They gall terribly and they're squishy. If there happens to be a burr or crud in the threads, you might as well grab your angle grinder and drill, because that screw is not going to come out any other way.

It's interesting you say that, because I had a good experience with stainless! I used to use a lot of stainless bolts on machines that went into hostile[1] environments. We used a variety of hex socket bolts, with thread lock compounds and calibrated torgue drivers to put them in and uncalibrated drivers to take them out when they eventually came back for refurb. We rarely had problems putting them in or taking them…

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmwEB4DY_jc&t=169s

Going on a tangent here, but are miners not supposed to wear any kind of breathing protection?!

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