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List of screw drives

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Re: List of screw drives

#71

Post by Cthulhu_ »

jammi wrote: post #61
bagels wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish auto manufacturers knew this.

They do. Cars are engineered to fail and some models are sold even at loss to get the profit from OEM parts and service. This is also often the reason why seemingly similar parts are incompatible from one model to the next; the manufacturers are racing against the (often much more durable) aftermarket parts. If they were in the business of making cars great for the consumers, they'd engineer them strong with grease f…

And yet, cars still last for two decades or more if maintained properly, and are IMO some of the most reliable pieces of gear out there - I'm finding newer models to be better in that regard than older ones (but maybe that's bias on my side, I haven't driven older cars in a while now)

Re: List of screw drives

#72

Post by collyw »

jammi wrote: post #68

The only real reason for Phillips screw heads were the old electromechanical industry robots that would rely on auto-centering and spring tension to pop the driver out of the screw against a switch at the set torque. Modern (since 1980s or so) industry robots are computer-driven and torque-sensing. Phillips (and Pozidriv) needs to die in favor of modern superior screw drive designs like Torx.

Out of interest what is better about Torx?

With "normal" screws you can usually improvise something when you are without tools.

Re: List of screw drives

#73

Post by blhack »

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 that they are self-centering, and make industrial manufacturing easier. I guess that makes sense.

Re: List of screw drives

#74

Post by blhack »

collyw wrote: post #72
jammi wrote: post #68

The only real reason for Phillips screw heads were the old electromechanical industry robots that would rely on auto-centering and spring tension to pop the driver out of the screw against a switch at the set torque. Modern (since 1980s or so) industry robots are computer-driven and torque-sensing. Phillips (and Pozidriv) needs to die in favor of modern superior screw drive designs like Torx.

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.

Re: List of screw drives

#75

Post by micheljansen »

blhack wrote: post #73

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…

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 movement in two dimensions and force the screwdriver to always be in the center, but they slip easily and wear quickly.

Torx are superior because they fit much more "snugly", though at the (minor) cost of being less forgiving of using the wrong size of screwdriver.

Re: List of screw drives

#76

Post by blhack »

micheljansen wrote: post #75
blhack wrote: post #73

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…

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…

Yeah that's fair. I guess I was thinking of flatheads as small machine screws and things like that, where only a few rotations are actually necessary.

Re: List of screw drives

#77

Post by jammi »

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.

Usually the screw snaps in two at over-torquing before either the head or tool strips.

Re: List of screw drives

#78

Post by barrkel »

jgibson wrote: post #50

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 o…

Stainless will sieze in aluminium much easier than plain steel due to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion . Anti-sieze copper paste recommended if stainless is used, and it's often not a bad idea in any case.

Re: List of screw drives

#79

Post by kbrosnan »

micheljansen wrote: post #75
blhack wrote: post #73

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…

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.

Re: List of screw drives

#80

Post by agumonkey »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #67
agumonkey wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

oh yeah the partial disassembly is frustrating after a year of toying with devices and watching people on youtube I'm a lot more unorthodox.. anything goes as long as it's not too stupid. Yesterday I used a knife and a wrench to open a braun toothbrush.

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.

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