Death to the philips head screw

[sswingle]

Fuck those things to hell. I still have a 500$ desk that needs those and I lost the "wrenches" 4+ years ago.

I really need a driver set!

Yes, because NO ONE sells allen wrenches...

 

[CPA]

Canada p0wns you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_screwdriver

Screw that. Too much torgue and it strips the head.

 

[JulesMaximus]

because the alternative is that torture device that ikea uses called an allen wrench

Buy a decent cordless drill and a set of allen wrench bits and you're good to go.

 

[Howard]

Screw that. Too much torgue and it strips the head.

What are you talking about?

 

[foghorn67]

Phillips sucks. I can't believe people argue for it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The hex wrenches for Ikea desks are easy to get. You can walk into Ikea's customer service area and grab it from the spare parts section. You guys didn't know this?

And if not, you can always ask them to get it for you in the back. I did this the morning befoe I moved out of college. I disassembled my bed after going to Ikea to get a missing hex wrench.

Oh and I also built my desk which was 2nd hand and missing half the pegs. I just walked in and grabbed a bunch of extra pegs and metal fasteners from the box of extra stuff they have. Ikea is awesome.

But anyway, allen/hex is the way to go! People think I'm weird because I have a set. But it's like... who uses a phillips screwdriver at work? 99% of the things I unscrew at work are with my hex set...

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Real men use explosive bolts.

 

[FoBoT]

who loves the Tri-Wing ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-Wing

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Real men use explosive bolts.

Nah, the bolts they use on large buildings are better. They have a head on the threaded side of the bolt that breaks off when the bolt is torqued right. Although it requires a special driver gun, the action holds the bolt in place while it spins the nut and makes it impossible to over-tighten while at the same time requiring no torque to be applied to keep the gun from spinning. This allows a relatively small tool to give very high torque specs. Absolute genius in it's simplicity and effectiveness if you ask me.

 

[Mark R]

Use the proper philips bit and you won't have any problems appplying enough torque.

Proper Philips bits are essential for driving Philips screws. However, the key thing to remember is that Philips are designed to be torque-limited. It was one of the design goals to have the driver bit, 'cam out' under high torque to prevent damage due to overtightening.

One thing that causes problems is using the wrong type of screw driver - pozidrive drivers and screws look extremely similar, and are almost always confused. Pozidrive have a 'star' pattern at 45 degrees to the main 'cross'. Pozidrive is a high-torque system, the points of the 'star' serve to lock the bit in position, preventing camming out.

The problem is that pozidrive bits and philips screws fit together well - but the locking points on the bit, that are supposed to lock into the pozidrive head instead prevent proper engagement of the cross, leading to very low torque tolerance and damage to the screw head. Similar problems occur in the opposite case.

Pozi vs Philips

 

[Number1]

No excuses made. But you fail to understand Phillips screws were designed for simplicity of use on assembly lines, not for home users. The fact that the screw allows a power driver to easily seat on contact and almost automatically forces the driver to disengage when torqued meant that the screw was a boon to assembly line work.

If it were so terrible, why did the Phillips screw supplant the Robertson screw that was in use prior to the Phillips screw in assembly line work? The Robertson screw was used since Henry Ford began using it in the Model T construction. When the Phillips screw was introduced in the early 1930's, industry moved quickly to the Phillips and left the Robertson behind.

You'd figure a screw that had a three decade head start in industrial use (the Robertson was patented in 1908, the Phillips was patented in 1933) would have been difficult to supplant, but the Phillips did it quickly and easily.

But by 1939, 85% of the global screw manufacturing industry became licensed to produce the Phillips screw system, including Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds (United Kingdom), largest fastener manufacturer in the world. If it had been so bad, why the wholesale move to it? After all, they already had the "superior" Robertson available to them for decades before.

The Philips screws are fine in assembly lines and applications where low torque is required like dry wall fastening. Working around the house, with wood or application where more torque is required, Robertson is vastly superior. Try to put a deck together with Philips screws.

 

[dullard]

The Philips screws are fine in assembly lines and applications where low torque is required like dry wall fastening. Working around the house, with wood or application where more torque is required, Robertson is vastly superior. Try to put a deck together with Philips screws.

You are arguing against someone who is agreeing with you. ATOT is silly like that. Reread Meghan54's first post.

You are correct, Phillips is great for applications like drywall on new wood. Try a Robertson or something else in that case and you'll most likely go right through the drywall without added tools to stop the bit.

But, Phillips has its problems (drywall on old wood frames for example). It can't handle that torque.

Why are so many arguing against Phillips screws in all cases when they have definite advantages in certain cases?

 

[nerp]

I like flathead screws because it's narrow and thin so I can use a coin or my finger in a pinch. I can also use many AT poster's worldview.

 

[yh125d]

I can agree that phillips has great advantages in certain uses, but considering how common it is it's dumb. Gimme allen/hex based in most of the places where phillips is used but not really needed and I'll be happy

 

[bruceb]

I personally prefer either Torx or Allen or even Clutch (or Butterfly) in that order for tight applications. As to Phillips type screws there are many variations of them and you need the correct screwdriver for each. Don't forget they also make Metric Allen Keys. While I have heard of Tri-Wing screws, I have yet to encounter them in household or automotive repairs.


And that also includes special ones for Japanese phillips screws.

http://www.instructables.com/id/When_a_Phillips_is_not_a_Phillips/

 

[JEDI]

Why do we still use these lame screws....high torque screws would be so nice.

Pro Tip:
Everyone knows this

 

[SSSnail]

If it were so terrible, why did the Phillips screw supplant the Robertson screw that was in use prior to the Phillips screw in assembly line work? The Robertson screw was used since Henry Ford began using it in the Model T construction. When the Phillips screw was introduced in the early 1930's, industry moved quickly to the Phillips and left the Robertson behind.

You'd figure a screw that had a three decade head start in industrial use (the Robertson was patented in 1908, the Phillips was patented in 1933) would have been difficult to supplant, but the Phillips did it quickly and easily.

That's because Robertson was an idiot and didn't want to license the use of the screw to Ford, so Ford said SCREW YOU! and went with other alternatives. Also, Cummings had a US patent that dated 1875 for the square head screw which should have rendered Robertson's patent invalid.

I too, can wiki . Everyone know this.

 

[daw123]

This is sad, but I like the hex screw / bolt.

Phillips screws are a PITA because I nearly always strip the head; generally when they are very small screws and I don't have a screwdriver small enough to remove them.

Why do manufacturer's prefer Phillips screws / bolts - is it simply because they are cheap?

I would have thought that when Phillips screws are used in an assembly plant, the tools are set to specific torque settings anyway, which negates the need for the drive to be automatically disengaged by the screw when its torqued.

 

[daw123]

The Philips screws are fine in assembly lines and applications where low torque is required like dry wall fastening. Working around the house, with wood or application where more torque is required, Robertson is vastly superior. Try to put a deck together with Philips screws.

Its easy. You just have to drill a pilot hole first.

 

[sandorski]

Hammer and Nails>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ALL

 

[Squisher]

I think the biggest problem people have is using a driver or bit that seen some wear or using an incorrectly sized bit for the job. I'm really digging the Irwin blue ring torsion bits I bought online.

 

[CZroe]

When working on anything Japanese, it's JIS FTMFW.

 

[sdifox]

Its easy. You just have to drill a pilot hole first.

lol... pilot hole for deck screws...

I put in 4000 2.5" screws into my sub floor before the contractors came in to do the hardwood. I could not imagine doing 4000 pilots on top of the 4000 screws.

Robertson pwns.

 

[Fenixgoon]

oh yeah, i forgot, on another forum i go to some of the guys call them FAIL-ips screws. i agree.

 

[DrPizza]

Weird, I only have a problem with Phillips bits if I'm using el cheapo screwdrivers or bits. With good bits, I don't have a problem.