I've had it with Phillips screws

[Rob Luter]

My company applies screws by the tens of millions. The key to a Phillips head recess working well is to know the size recess you have and the size bit it needs. If they match then everything works very predictably. My preference on the assembly line is a product called Quadrex® or SPAX screw drive, a combination of the Phillips and Robertson screw drives. With those we can use square drive bits in the factory and John Q Public can service the product with a Phillips.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

PITA to fix is the background for my construction screw rant. I do as much or more taking things apart than I do building things. A screw with an unknown head type buried so deeply in a deck board or in the back of a cabinet that it can not be seen is not proper. It has however become normal. The advent of hardened, self drilling, self countersinking, screws with heads other than slotted or Phillips that have been driven with an impact is a modern development. I guess there may be a place for it in construction. I won't be building that way. I have also stopped using electro plated, "triple coated" screws for exterior. My screw assortment for exterior contains only stainless steel, brass, and bronze and a few made in the USA hot galvanized.

[roger wiegand]

Torx for construction work absolutely. A lot of what I do is either antique restoration or building things in the spirit of the antiques. Nothing looks worse than a shiny phillips head screw in that context. I have a carefully hoarded selection of NOS slotted screws for that work. On my recent dance organ restoration project a lot of the screws were rusted beyond hope and my stocks of the required sizes were exhausted. I spent uncounted hours wire brushing the cadmium plating off of new steel screws so they wouldn't shine like beacons in the night. Not a favorite activity.

[John K Jordan]

JIS=Bicycles and Motorcycles. Thats why motorcycle side case and bicycle derailleur screws are generally in bad shape in the USA (guilty)

I used to struggle with removing some bolts/screws on motorcycle side cases, even with a good hand-and-hammer impact driver. I'd have to cut a slot in the stripped out head using a small metal-cutting disk on a Dremel then use a big flat-tipped screwdriver. Then some enterprising person started selling replacement bolt kits with hex sockets. That was about a 1/2 century ago.

I see the last few 4-wheelers I've bought didn't have a Philips/JIS head anywhere on the engine, just on small screws on controls, carbs, and such.

[Mike Henderson]

First thing: Don't use a pointy #1 Philips screwdriver on the much more common #2 Philips screw. Second: A worn Philips bit will certainly sour you on Philips head screws. Yes Torx are the best, but sometimes you are stuck with Phillip screws and you need to make the best of it. My secret? A box of fresh Milwaukee #2 Philips bits. I am about ready to install 90 Blum hinges. The adjustable ones. The screw into the face frame is Philips, while the adjacent adjusting screws are Posidrive, tightened so much a Philips won't loosen them without camming out. Great.

That's something I learned - throw away a Phillips bit when it gets worn and starts to cam out. I used to try to keep them way too long.

Mike

[Kevin Jenness]

Square drives are easiest to keep on a driver tip without falling off, though Torx are less likely to cam out and easiest to clock. Slotted screws are hardest to drive but easiest to clean and remove after painting.

My pet peeve (not the only one) is carpenters using a #2 Philips driver on #3 door hinge screws or Philips bits for Euro hinge adjustments. It's worth sending a drive bit with doors if in doubt of the installer.

[Cameron Wood]

Square drives are easiest to keep on a driver tip without falling off, though Torx are less likely to cam out and easiest to clock. Slotted screws are hardest to drive but easiest to clean and remove after painting.

My pet peeve (not the only one) is carpenters using a #2 Philips driver on #3 door hinge screws or Philips bits for Euro hinge adjustments. It's worth sending a drive bit with doors if in doubt of the installer.

Agree. It's usually the painters who ruin the screws on expensive fancy door hinges.

I like square drive, but they went out of favor in my area & not worth special ordering. On a deck that I just reworked, a couple of pounds of 3" SS screws came out and went right back into stock as they were almost all in perfect condition after ~20 years installed.


Also agree with Maurice Mcmurry above- hardened fasteners are tough to cut, hard on blades, and can be a PIA to dig out. At least not as bad as figuring out the size of some tiny allen screw in a plumbing fixture and whether it is SAE or metric.

I also have noticed un-plated steel screws have become more valuable as they become more scarce. Bright, plated phillips wood screws look terrible on older furniture.

[mike stenson]

JIS=Bicycles and Motorcycles. Thats why motorcycle side case and bicycle derailleur screws are generally in bad shape in the USA (guilty)

I am so happy that most derailleurs are now hex. So very happy.

[Wes Grass]

Hex sockets were a great upgrade on dirtbikes. But they get packed with mud and have to be dug out before removing them. Then, Honda started using an 8mm hex flange head on M6 screws.

... Amazing ...

I used to go the Honda shop and buy them for other things I was working on. Very attractive combination.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

It is so nice when things are manufactured with sensible fasteners and continuity. The first time I took a Stihl chainsaw case apart I was very careful to keep track of which screws came from where only to realize that they were all exactly the same and the OEM tool provided by Stihl fit them all. I guess that's a +1 for the Stihl screw type which appears to be a torx type.

[Bill Dufour]

I spent uncounted hours wire brushing the cadmium plating off of new steel screws so they wouldn't shine like beacons in the night. Not a favorite activity.[/QUOTE]
I am sure there is an acid dip method to remove plating.
BilL D

Nitric acid?

[Wes Grass]

Cadmium = Toxic.

If they actually are, and not just bright nickel

[Thomas McCurnin]

I don't use Phillips screws with an impact driver. That is way too much force and will strip out the screw head. Just use a driver drill and grease the screw with some wax.

That said, I'm a huge Spax fan with impact drivers.

[Curt Harms]

That's something I learned - throw away a Phillips bit when it gets worn and starts to cam out. I used to try to keep them way too long.

Mike

Somebody ought to tell general aviation aircraft mechanics that. I don't know if they don't want to deal with painting new or what.

[Mark Wooden]

I use them all, but like many have said, keeping track of the torx screw sizes is a bit of a PIA; I find myself having to carry 3 different tips when using different length screws some days.
As to Phillips drive, I use P2R bits, they last longer and dont cam out much due to being relieved (the 'R')