Favorite construction screw head design

[CraigStu]

It has been a long time since were got the first square drive, and/or torx drive screws. Generally they are better than phillips head. But I wish they would make them a tight fit. I am so tired of having to use one hand to locate the screw head while I start it into the wood. I have put the torx bit into my hand more than once when the wobble got large enough that the drill bit and screw separated. I don't know if it is the torx bit being small or the screw being large but I am tired of there being no size that fits tightly. The last few days I have been using torx construction screws into osb sub flooring. The chips that make up the osb vary widely in hardness w/ some feeling like I am trying to start a screw into sheet metal. Do you guys find square drive better? Do any of you have a favorite screw or bit manufacturer that does this right?

 

[jar944]

Spax torx heads are a tight enough fit you don't need 2 hands. Generic torx head screws **** for that reason.

 

[mervyn]

I like Phillips. Have a ton of Phillips bits. Have torx bits too but my default is Phillips. Ran across some square head screws in my house during a recent repair. Luckily I had a bit left over from my construction days.

 

[240sxguy]

I have the same complaint about torx fitting, I find the square drive often fits tightly but torx seems to be more common around here. I actively avoid Philips now. If anything just make sure you don't do what I did and get two different boxes of screws with different head designs. I was pretty annoyed that day.

You can still buy the bit holders with the sleeves on them that help retain the screw while you're starting them. I don't have one of course. lol

 

[acer66]

Torx and yes Spax and similar grade are a bit tighter but torx for sure.

 

[mike93lx]

Torx, no question. It's the default for high quality screws like grk and spax

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I like the Torx. But sometimes I wish they would standardize the bit sizes. I have to jump back and forth from T20 and T25 all the time.

 

[u2slow]

Robertson (square) for me mostly. Its the default around here except for drywall and steel-stud wafers. If the screws don't stay on the bit snuggly, it's worn out.

Torx screws are costly, but with more (larger) bit sizes it IMHO a better drive for longer screws beyond #10.

On a side note, I used to be able to get #8/3" deck screws with half the shank bald/smooth. I've gone through 2-3 cases the last 12 years. Now they're threaded almost the whole way and don't pull 2x lumber together the same. Recommendations on a brand still making the old style?

 

[acer66]

I have to jump back and forth from T20 and T25 all the time.

Yeah but that is not a big deal imho compared to the myriad amount of different Phillips head sizes and shapes.

 

[cannuck]

Because I live in Canada, I am supposed to proclaim Robertson as "the best", but I vastly prefer the 2 extra drive faces of Torx. NONE seem to tolerate much miss-alignment of the driver, though.

 

[mike93lx]

Robertson (square) for me mostly. Its the default around here except for drywall and steel-stud wafers. If the screws don't stay on the bit snuggly, it's worn out.

Torx screws are costly, but with more (larger) bit sizes it IMHO a better drive for longer screws beyond #10.

On a side note, I used to be able to get #8/3" deck screws with half the shank bald/smooth. I've gone through 2-3 cases the last 12 years. Now they're threaded almost the whole way and don't pull 2x lumber together the same. Recommendations on a brand still making the old style?

For bulk deck screws, I use griptite from HD, which are overall quite good.

For stuff that really matters, I'm all grk

 

[duneslider]

I will say my experience is that the higher quality screw like GRK, Simpson, Spax are much better at staying on the bit than the cheaper brands. I have a lot of both and I get a lot more aggravation when using the cheaper screws.

Other than the kreg screws I have I don't used a lot of square drive screws. I haven't had a lot of issues with square drive stuff. I am to the point I don't want to touch phillips screws except for drywall.

 

[Rusted Nut]

IMO, most of the OP’s issues stem from poor quality fasteners. Screws are not straight, heads not 90 deg to shank, poor tool machining, etc… Some of the fasteners on the market today are pure ****.

I prefer Torx fasteners.

 

[Bucko]

I prefer Torx over Phillips and hate blade/flat. I think more people would go embrace torx if they would actually read the box for most manufacturers and realize they give you a bit.

 

[u2slow]

For bulk deck screws, I use griptite from HD, which are overall quite good.

Grip-rite?


Thank you. They have the shank/thread proportion I want. I forgot what my HD had, but it wasn't this.

 

[mike93lx]

Grip-rite?


Thank you. They have the shank/thread proportion I want. I forgot what my HD had, but it wasn't this.

Yes, that's what I meant.

 

[f121]

Pozi without a doubt.

Much less prone to rounding than torx, much easier to locate screw onto bit than square drive.

 

[Prospecter]

I just try to avoid slotted fasteners.

 

[mike93lx]

Pozi without a doubt.

Much less prone to rounding than torx, much easier to locate screw onto bit than square drive.

Rounding out torx? Maybe if you limp wrist the driver, but the same would happen with nearly any head. I can't say I've had any torx get rounded out on me

 

[charbar]

I actually have rounded out Torx fasteners. Probably a combination of running into a knot in the wood and a half assed worn out bit or something though.

But I have never rounded out a square drive that I can recall. I've snapped screws before the drive rounded out.

At a previous job we used square drive all the time. Billions of them. Maybe that's partially the reason I like square over Torx, but I have plenty of both and don't throw a fit if I have to use a torx instead of square.

 

[4x4Pete]

Robertson with quality bit. Waaaaayyyyy better than everything else out there. After installing millions of different screws and probably 10's of millions of Robertsons I wouldn't use anything else. In Canada these are available almost anywhere. It's terribly unfortunate for those of you in the states that you have to deal with inferior screws.

 

[reader2580]

Square drive was all the rage a while back, but it seems most construction screws have gone to Torx these days. It can be frustrating when taking apart work to make changes and you find that multiple drive styles were used. I have worked on projects (not at my house) were Phillips, square, and Torx were all used.

 

[mike93lx]

Square drive was all the rage a while back, but it seems most construction screws have gone to Torx these days. It can be frustrating when taking apart work to make changes and you find that multiple drive styles were used. I have worked on projects (not at my house) were Phillips, square, and Torx were all used.

Whenever I build a big project, I make sure to bury a handful of slotted screws just to piss off the next guy

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Bits wear out. I have ground/filed/sanded the tip on square and torx bits to get a little more use from them.

 

[engineer2]

I love torx (star) drive.
Square drive works OK as long as the bit is new. When you start to wear the corners off the bit, you start stripping out the square holes.

If it's construction, a stubborn screw can be started with a tap from a hammer. Sink the tip maybe 1/4" and have at it.
For furniture or nice stuff, pre-drill the hole using a countersink/pilot hole drill.

You haven't lived until you've had a screw go crooked enough to make the impact driver jump out and land the bit right into your fingernail. I quickly learned to keep my hands well out of the way.

 

[duneslider]

The advantage I see to torx over square is you can place/index a screw on the bit faster with torx. If you are doing a lot of fasteners it absolutely goes faster with torx. Torx are also supposed to handle more torque than square, hence the name. I have stripped more square than torx. Generally this is an issue with the bits wearing out and being old, torx seems to last longer.

The issue I find with cheaper fasteners is they don't fit the bits as well, either too tight or too loose. Which leads to issues. The higher quality screws have fewer problems. I also like the hex heads on a lot of the simpson screws.

 

[f121]

Rounding out torx? Maybe if you limp wrist the driver, but the same would happen with nearly any head. I can't say I've had any torx get rounded out on me

Get the bit slightly off square, easy to round the bit or the fastener. Pozi are just much nicer to use

 

[LWB]

Red Robbie all the way! They're plentiful here and much cheaper than any of tghe other types.

 

[mike93lx]

Get the bit slightly off square, easy to round the bit or the fastener. Pozi are just much nicer to use

Where are you buying pozi screws? I think I have a box of them from spax, but they're small indoor construction screws. All the bigger stuff is torx

 

[kbs2244]

I guess I am in a minority
I prefer a number 2 Phillips

I can get short drivers instead of change at the check out at my local hardware store
I find them in machines when taking thm apart for repairs
I have no problems with them rounding
I like the way they do not need to be perfectly aligned
and I find it easy to make a long shaft driver for my battery driver from a cheap screwdriver when needed. it is easier to find a screwdriver and easier on the wallet then the more expensive Torx or Robertson drivers

 

[Zeke]

Yeah but that is not a big deal imho compared to the myriad amount of different Phillips head sizes and shapes.

Should be # 1, 2 and 3 and that's it. Those deck screws that have a square drive in the center and look like they will take a Phillips, are NOT Phillips.

 

[paulsomlo]

Spax - an improvement on Torx.

 

[mike93lx]

Spax - an improvement on Torx.

Spax is a brand, not a drive type

 

[reader2580]

The screws used to attach the skin on a lot of enclosed trailers have a very unique head. It looks like Torx, but it is not Torx. It is an eight sided opening. They actually use a #2 square drive bit. I assume the design is so workers on the assembly line don't have to be as accurate on lining up the bit to install the screw.

 

[paulsomlo]

Spax is a brand, not a drive type

That's true - Spax refers to their drive type as "T-STAR plus"; for those not familiar, it's got a cylindrical section at the tip of the bit that fits in a recess in the screw head, in addition to the Torx profile: https://www.spax.com/en/service/technical-terms/spax-t-star-plus/

 

[jack stand]

You Guy's rounding out torx drivers need to double check that you're using the right bit. The next size up screw bigger than your driver will work to a degree put not work properly and degrade both the screws and the driver. The correct driver can (in most woods) be driven single handedly in most situations except for vertical down.
I've found Grip Rite to be an economical alternative to grk but not available in the big orange or blue diy stores.
For structural I've moved to the Simpson line, a slightly bigger but flatter head, less expensive (than GRK) and available in 500 count boxes.

 

[acer66]

Should be # 1, 2 and 3 and that's it. Those deck screws that have a square drive in the center and look like they will take a Phillips, are NOT Phillips.

I know fortunately they changed deck screws to torx.
I do residential remodeling and come across a bit more than just 3 different types of Phillips heads.

 

[KEH]

I'm not a builder, actually not anything now, retired. I used phillips screws for some woodworking projects and found that expensive screwdrivers(SO, SK, etc) were worth the cost because they fit the screws better.

KEH

 

[Wiz02]

What happened to hex heads?

 

[mike93lx]

What happened to hex heads?

Hard to flush mount or recess a hex.

They are used for lags and ledger screws, but even many of those are being replaced with flat heads that look more like a pan head, so they retain strength at the surface