Worn out phillips regrind service?

[Plan-b]

I know we all have a few sitting unloved in our tool box. Does anyone offer a service that regrinds phillips tip back into shape.

Good for you favorite screwdriver, that you can't exchange blades any longer.

 

[404]

What has worked for me is to grind just a small amount off the pointy tip of the bit. This lets it seat deeper and it works better.

If I grind too far, the bit still works but is difficult to center into the screw, may take me using both hands.

Good luck.

 

[Plan-b]

What has worked for me is to grind just a small amount off the pointy tip of the bit. This lets it seat deeper and it works better.

If I grind too far, the bit still works but is difficult to center into the screw, may take me using both hands.

Good luck.

I am well beyond this point. But good for the guys trying to get a few more screws in. With no better option.

 

[404]

Pictures of your thingy?

 

[383 240z]

Thats sounds pretty personal 404!!

 

[Plan-b]

I think everyone know what a dead phillips looks like.

 

[iScream]

Doesn't seem to make sense when you can buy a decent new screwdriver pretty cheap.

 

[ttpete]

A Phillips screwdriver is an expendable tool. They wear out. That's why it's a good idea to buy and use replaceable tip screwdrivers.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have Craftsman screw drivers. I swap them for new ones.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Doesn't seem to make sense when you can buy a decent new screwdriver pretty cheap.

I wonder if the question is more directed at the collector or for a heirloom type situation.


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[itsvegas]

swap the shaft out?

 

[DonPowers]

I grind a point and use them for punches or small drift pins.

 

[191145]

Are regular Phillips screwdrivers hardened at the tip? If they are, and you dress the tip back and remake it, it's going to wear out again faster. Like already said, the best thing is to use the hardened tips with the multi-use sets. I doubt that it could possibly be cost-effective to pay somebody to re-grind Phillips tips rather than buying replacements.

 

[404]

Thats sounds pretty personal 404!!

Oh sorry I did not mean a picture of the forked but one eyed self lubricating branch. I was surprised to read that the phillips in question was beyond grinding, so I wanted to know what we were dealing with.

I have ground some of mine down (the phillips I mean) and they grab REAL well.

 

[malibu101]

Since I don't have the capital to get it started, I'll give my idea away for the good of humanity-----

A companion to a grinder like the Drill Doctor could be the Phillips Physician.

 

[Michigan Mike]

I have reground some of my own. Like it was mentioned above take some off the tip.Then carefully touch up the sides. It helps to have a screw to test the fit as you grind. Are they as good as a new screwdriver no but they are a whole lot better than they were. I don't think I could do this as a service and not go broke.

 

[spongerich]

Why not buy my Patented TipMagic Phillips Rejuvenator System?

For just $79.99 you'll receive the Rejuvenator, complete instructions, and a handsome brown cardboard storage box. Order today and receive a second Rejuvenator for absolutely FREE! (Just pay separate shipping and handling charge of $39.00).

 

[DenisG]

Restoring Phillips screwdriver tips is covered in Fine Woodworking's The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee. First file the grooves, then the flats, and finally the tip.

 

[1950mercury]

I have Craftsman screw drivers. I swap them for new ones.

If they are the clear ones you must do it often.....

Op buy a Phillips with a acr tip with a warranty they are sweet...

 

[Jeff May]

I have several Klein Phillips...
Terrible, tips are totally trashed, just worn to the point of uselessness.
I had thought buying Klein would be better than Craftsman, but my Craftsman's seem to hold up very well.
I recently bought a Greenlee with changeable tips, so far so good, if you like those kind.

 

[mrvm]

After a reasonable service life all the screwdrivers in my tool box move onto a new era of multi-purpose existence. Never thrown away unless the handle is cracked.

 

[kunkernator]

I have a set of Snap On diamond tipped drivers and they appear like they would never wear out


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[Plan-b]

After a reasonable service life all the screwdrivers in my tool box move onto a new era of multi-purpose existence. Never thrown away unless the handle is cracked.

So, you have a drawer of pokie handles?

Just the ratio of good handles to lousey blades is my problem.

What happens if you have a yellow Mac hard handle? Do you trade it in for a red one? Can you get a blade for a Mac hard handle? No. You can get a new entire red screwdriver.

 

[Plan-b]

Doesn't seem to make sense when you can buy a decent new screwdriver pretty cheap.

Drill bits are cheep also. I sharpen them all the time. So does everyone else.

 

[Askme42]

swap the shaft out?

twss

 

[iScream]

Drill bits are cheep also. I sharpen them all the time. So does everyone else.

You didn't ask about grinding your own screwdrivers. You asked about a service to do it for you.

Doesn't seem to make sense when you can buy a decent new screwdriver pretty cheap.

 

[mrvm]

So, you have a drawer of pokie handles?

Just like the freebie screwdriver set from HF, worn out phillips/flats are stored in a shoebox awaiting re-purposing as a scraper, poker, prybar, stabber, or mini alignment tool, etc.

 

[404]

Why not buy my Patented TipMagic Phillips Rejuvenator System?

For just $79.99 you'll receive the Rejuvenator, complete instructions, and a handsome brown cardboard storage box. Order today and receive a second Rejuvenator for absolutely FREE! (Just pay separate shipping and handling charge of $39.00).

What about the Handsome Certificate of Authenticity? Your product is not complete without it.

 

[kv501]

One of the original design intentions of the Phillips head is that it would cam out if you put a bunch of torque on it, to prevent knuckle draggers from stripping threads and breaking fasteners off. Hex and Torx are for anything that needs to be cranked on.

That said, practically everything out there is Phillips head and getting rusty/painted/seized fasteners out makes the screwdrivers consumables if you use them a lot.

 

[ttpete]

One of the original design intentions of the Phillips head is that it would cam out if you put a bunch of torque on it, to prevent knuckle draggers from stripping threads and breaking fasteners off. Hex and Torx are for anything that needs to be cranked on.

That said, practically everything out there is Phillips head and getting rusty/painted/seized fasteners out makes the screwdrivers consumables if you use them a lot.

My belief is that the phillips business started in the auto industry pre-WWII. At that time, there were things like interior garnish moldings around the windows that were secured with flathead screws. They were installed using Yankee push screwdrivers, and the phillips head screws were a natural to prevent the driver from jumping out and scarring the part, and the cam out was a feature to prevent stripping the screw.

 

[bobcatdan]

Apparently I don't use screwdrivers enough as I don't know of any of any Phillips of mine wearing down.

 

[defektes]

I have several Klein Phillips...
Terrible, tips are totally trashed, just worn to the point of uselessness.
I had thought buying Klein would be better than Craftsman, but my Craftsman's seem to hold up very well.
I recently bought a Greenlee with changeable tips, so far so good, if you like those kind.

Klein makes some awesome and very good tools, the P2 is not one of them.

 

[Schurkey]

1. It's utterly pointless to rejuvenate a Phillips screwdriver. Grinding the "sharp" part of the tip off means it will never fit properly in a Phillips-head screw. Filing the grooves and flats takes too long; and I strongly suspect that it's difficult to find a file that would produce the correct angles without considerable skill and patience.

2. The best screwdriver tips are forged, not ground.

3. I believe that the Phillips design was intended to cam-out at some given torque, but when it does, the screw and the driver are in danger of damage. Using a worn driver will endanger the recess in the screw head, using a driver on damaged screws endangers the driver tip. Any person having a lot of trouble with worn screwdrivers better do some inspection on the screws that are being driven; you'll probably find that the screws are as ruined as the driver.

4. My simple test for screw/driver wear is to take a NEW, PROPERLY-FORMED Phillips-head screw about an inch long, and insert the driver into the head as normal. The screw should not fall off the driver when the driver is held parallel to the ground. Similarly, a used screw can be tested by inserting a good driver into the recess, again the screw should hold-onto the driver when horizontal. Worn screws, or worn drivers will generally not "stick together" when held horizontally. Clearly, a magnetized driver or a magnetized screw isn't suitable for this test!

 

[404]

1. It's utterly pointless to rejuvenate a Phillips screwdriver. Grinding the "sharp" part of the tip off means it will never fit properly in a Phillips-head screw.

This is demonstrably untrue. Removing the very tip lets the rest of the bit sit down lower properly into the screw, and the bit will hold a mounted screw at any angle.