Wood Screws

[4570Man]

I can strip any screw head, any time, anywhere. Slot, Phillips, Square, Torx or any other name you want to call them, I can strip them out. Haven't met one yet I couldn't.

What's the one that looks like a Phillips but isn't? Angles are slightly different and a Phillips won't go in all the way.

Then there's another; typical Phillips 'X' pattern with another smaller 'X' pattern that makes it look like a star.

It sounds like operator error. Use the right size bit, use a bit that’s not worn out. Make sure the screw head isn’t full of dirt. Make sure the bit is hitting the screw straight. Use an impact over a drill. Unless somebody else has already partially stripped the head they usually break off before they strip.

 

[4570Man]

We have square head screws but I don’t find them to be much improvement over Phillips. They strip pretty bad and the bits wear out fast.

 

[/pine]

I once watched an old country guy installing some hinges...he was using a hammer to pound the screws in like they were nails...I asked him about it and he said the slots were just in case you wanted to take them out...!

FWIW...a #1 square head driver is the best tool for installing/replacing light switches and receptacles...if you use the side screws rather than the tension holes...

 

[4570Man]

I once watched an old country guy installing some hinges...he was using a hammer to pound the screws in like they were nails...I asked him about it and he said the slots were just in case you wanted to take them out...!

FWIW...a #1 square head driver is the best tool for installing/replacing light switches and receptacles...if you use the side screws rather than the tension holes...

He sounds like an idiot.

 

[/pine]

He sounds like an idiot.

I posted the anecdote because I thought it was funny and topical...was not intended as a character profile...
FWIW...
A craftsman he was not but the man was the most skilled woodsman I've ever known...he'd give you the shirt off his back...he had two purple hearts and a silver star...he died from lasting issues of being shot after confronting criminals that were harassing a group of campers...he is missed by many...

 

[rgr33]

I was a big fan of the square drive screws for many years, right up to when I went to HD and couldn’t find them any more.
Saw the torx, saw the higher price, and silently cursed the HD buyers.

Now I am sold on them, trying to use up all the Phillips and square drive so I don’t have to deal with them anymore. I still do like the odd hex head screw, if it doesn’t need to be flush on the surface.

Every new thing that comes on to the market must prove its self to me first, as I am a creature of habit, not an early adapter, hence the John Deere gear drive in the barn many years before the HST came to stay.

 

[LittleBill21]

to be honest, the minute i went to a impact driver to run screw the head type really didn't matter, i backed out phillips out of a 40 year old deck without issue. if your using good bits that aren't cammed out, i have no trouble running a 4 inch screw non pre drilled into pretty much anything wood based

 

[Wagtail]

... I also lubed the screws with bees wax.

That brought back a memory! I remember my Grandfather having an old bar of soap on his workbench. There were 'grooves' on it from him wiping the threads of wood-screws along it for lubrication.

 

[bunyip]

I use Kreg square drive which are probably the same as Robertson, apart from that a collection of Phillips, Posi and hex heads for outdoor applications that don't need to be pretty.
Also have some screws with what could be described as small blades on the underside of the head that countersink themselves, posi drive but don't know the brand.
Have a three blade head for security screws, no screws though, they use them on road signs and reflectors so they can't be removed by anyone except the Government who put them in.

 

[Oaktree]

It sounds like operator error. Use the right size bit, use a bit that痴 not worn out. Make sure the screw head isn稚 full of dirt. Make sure the bit is hitting the screw straight.

All good advice, but some screws especially the ones that come with window shades or other stuff you hang on the wall seem to have a head that's a little too big for a #1 Phillips, but too small for a #2. Dunno if it's some weird metric size or what. I always throw them out & use real screws.

I really don't have the problems with Phillips-head screws that some have. Sure beats slotted by a mile!

I remember my Grandfather having an old bar of soap on his workbench. There were 'grooves' on it from him wiping the threads of wood-screws along it for lubrication.

I always keep a block of paraffin in my shop for that reason...actually lots of uses like coating the top of my table saw so wood slides easier and old drawer tracks that don't have slides. Learned that in high school shop class.

No flames please, but I've been using drywall screws in carpentry projects. Cheap and work great.