Screwdriver question

[Primer1]

Lurking for a couple weeks. First post today. Great site.

So here's my q.

Assembled some metal storage cabinets today. Knew I was going to be putting in a ton of phillips screws. Got my drill out and an old Stanley ratcheting driver because I figured the cheapo driver they sent with the cabinets would be worthless.

So as I'm putting things together, I keep stripping screws. Not because I was careless. The bits on my drill and driver were spinning out of the screws even when I was very careful.

I grabbed the supplied cheap driver and it was awesome. The tip was just slightly shorter than the tips in my stuff. Seated into the screws and almost never spun out.

Hung some hooks on the wall - same exact issue. My drivers spun out. Went and got the driver from the cabinets. Never stripped the head.

Surely I can find tips for my stuff that has the same shape. I know there are different phillips tips. Anyone know how to find the best one, or the best assortment. It looks to me like I'm using the same size as the cheap one. It's just a little longer and comes to a point so that the cross pieces don't seat fully in the head of a screw.

I hope this makes some sense.

Thanks in advance for any info.


TL

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[brownbagg]

i found the drill turns too fast and causes even good bits to strip out

 

[neblinc]

Lots of info here

Randy

 

[Primer1]

i found the drill turns too fast and causes even good bits to strip out

Thanks, Agreed. But even with my ratcheting driver locked so I'm just using it like a regular driver it spins out when the cheap one didn't.

Lots of info here

Randy

Helpful link. The Apex 440 bits look like what I have. The 446 has a reduced diameter, but also doesn't seem to come to a point like the 440 bits do. I think both these bits come in all sizes, but I didn't find anything that explained the tip shape. Might give them a call. Thanks

 

[neophyte]

Are you sure the cabinet screws were philips screws. There are a number of different cross head type screws. The screw heads look very similar but are not always compatible do to slightly different geometries. If the cabinet manufacturer supplied a bit it may be that they were using a different type of crosshead screw and wanted to avoid a problem. JIS or POZIDRIVE are the most likely alternative crosshead screws and will routinely strip out if a phillips bit is used. This would be similar to the Robertson screws found in canada and the northeast USA. Robertson includes a bit in each box because the Robertson square drive geometry isn't exactly the same as some of the generic square drive bits found in the USA. PHILLIPS screws are the usual cross head screws found in the USA. POZIDRIVE screws are somewhat more standard in Europe, but are found in the usa on some products manufactured in Europe, or by European companies. SUPADRIVE is another variant of the Pozidrive. JIS is the standard Japanese cross-drive found on Electronics, and items manufactured in Japan or by Japanese companies. PHILLIPS SQUAREDRIVE, QUADREX, and RECEX, are screws that basically combine a cross head screw and a square drive. There are other variants of combined drivers as well. These screw drives were sometimes designed so that either type of driver could be used, but the screws are sometimes manufactured out of a soft enough material you actually need a special driver. REED PRINCE/FREARSON is another type of crosshead found in the USA, typically though in bronze marine hardware. BNAE is a type of French crosshead screw, unless you are working on french manufactured aircraft though you're unlikely to encounter it. CROSS SLOT and LOTUS HEAD are two other types of cross head screws. cross slot is essentially two slots milled in the same screw in case on gets stripped. Lotus head screws are found in cheap furniture. MORTORQ and TORQ-SET are two other types of crew heads that sort of look like crosshead screws but aren't. This is a link to an instructables article on screw heads, http://www.instructables.com/id/When-a-Phillips-is-not-a-Phillips/?ALLSTEPS This is a link to the Wikipedia article on screws. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives

 

[JakeKohl]

Lurking for a couple weeks. First post today. Great site.

So here's my q.

Assembled some metal storage cabinets today. Knew I was going to be putting in a ton of phillips screws. Got my drill out and an old Stanley ratcheting driver because I figured the cheapo driver they sent with the cabinets would be worthless.

So as I'm putting things together, I keep stripping screws. Not because I was careless. The bits on my drill and driver were spinning out of the screws even when I was very careful.

I grabbed the supplied cheap driver and it was awesome. The tip was just slightly shorter than the tips in my stuff. Seated into the screws and almost never spun out.

Hung some hooks on the wall - same exact issue. My drivers spun out. Went and got the driver from the cabinets. Never stripped the head.

Surely I can find tips for my stuff that has the same shape. I know there are different phillips tips. Anyone know how to find the best one, or the best assortment. It looks to me like I'm using the same size as the cheap one. It's just a little longer and comes to a point so that the cross pieces don't seat fully in the head of a screw.

I hope this makes some sense.

Thanks in advance for any info.


TL

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I bought a set of Dewalt "drywall" Phillips tips from HD. They came in a little opaque yellow case about 3" x 3" and there are probably about 30 double ended inserts there. They're incredible. They bite better than any tip I've ever had into every phillips screw they touch and last forever.

 

[supra90turbo]

After years and years of cursing Japanese motorcycle "Phillips" screws, found on carburetor bowls, and everywhere else on the bikes, I was informed that they are NOT Phillips, but JIS.
JIS screws are marked with a single dot somewhere on the head of the screw.

I got a set of Hozan JIS screwdrivers, and what a difference! I would recommend them to anyone, and the price is very good!

The other bit that I have found works incredibly is a Snap-on ACR phillips bit, it takes pressure to keep it in the grooves, but it won't round them out in an instant like every other phillips would.

 

[Primer1]

Thanks all.

Here is a pic of the bits I was working with, along with the cheap driver. The cabinets were made by Seville Classics out of CA. I suppose they could be manufactured out of the country. But these all look like phillips heads to me. I'll do some research, but do those other types (JIS etc...) look indistinguishable from phillips?

 

[Primer1]

Trying again:

 

[JakeKohl]

sometimes if you knock the pointy tip off the end of a cheap phillips screw driver, it will allow it to go deeper into the screw and engage the flange pieces better.

 

[neophyte]

The two short bits look like Pozidriv bits( or maybe supadriv, I don't actually own any of the latter). If the screws have small lines on both diagonals they should be Pozidriv, if there is only one line on the diagonal the screws should be supadriv. The two types should be mostly interchangeable. Phillips screwdrivers almost always cam pozidriv screws out.