/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.443860]

What screw strips the LEAST easily?

[Anonymous No.443864]

Incoming Canadians.

[Anonymous No.443866]

Torx seems to be really hard to strip. I have stripped a new screwdriver bit before I stripped the screw.Those are the star shaped bits.

[Anonymous No.443867]

>>443866
second

[Anonymous No.443869]

I've only stripped them when I've used the wrong sized/type screwdriver

torx or pic related only accept the correct size and don't slip out so they are pretty much idiot proof

[Anonymous No.443873]

>>443860
Flathead

too bad is fucking sucks 95% of the time

[Anonymous No.443874]

>>443869
this man knows what he's talking about

[Anonymous No.443879]

The wikipedia article on screw drives is fascinating.
What am I doing with my life.

[Anonymous No.443880]

I would imagine a Robertson / square screw.
Never used one but it seems hard to strip.
I've stripped more hex and phillips screws than I can count.

[Anonymous No.443891]

The wikipedia article on screw drives is fascinating.
What am I doing with my life.

[Bob Dole No.443895]

>>443880
I would imagine that the same idea but triangle shaped instead of square would be superior. Three lagged stool is more stable then a four legged one etc... Does such a thing exist? I use the tri wing ones regularly and have never seen one stripped.

ormpaperi succelent

[Anonymous No.443897]

>>443895
THIS!
i often wonder why there isnt a triangle head screw, it just seems like it would be the most logical thing to do

[Nine to Five Hero !xPOSER9PtU No.443899]

>>443897
There is, they use them on McDonald's toys.

Or they did when I was young.

[Anonymous No.443902]

>>443895
search Nokia screw

[Anonymous No.443904]

I would think flat heads but they kind of suck in other ways. The only time I striped a flat head was when the alloy was more plastic then metal.

[Bob Dole No.443905]

>>443899
I have seen them from time to time as well come to think of it.

>best driver tip ever made
>only used on McDonald's toys
>mfw

[Anonymous No.443909]

>>443905
>>443899
Don't forget Nintendo. Used on their cartridges.

[Anonymous No.443915]

>>443904
>>443873

there is a flathead screwdriver bit that has two blades semi parallel to each other that resists slipping. wish i could find a pic but i could not

[Anonymous No.443929]

>>443915
>parallel

Parallel is I I and perpendicular is +

I've never seen a bit with two flatheads in I I parallel shape.

[Anonymous No.443936]

Cross head type screw heads are by far the easiest to strip so why are they so common?

[Anonymous No.443945]

>>443860
The one made with the toughest metal.

Otherwise. Anything that takes an allen key is good if you can get it in by hand. I seem to constantly strip allen bolts when I use drill bits on them, though they're mostly cut from old free keys I had and shitty.

[Anonymous No.443956]

>>443936

Beats me but I've heard they were designed to strip so they couldn't be over-torqued.

[Anonymous No.443969]

>using anything other than torx 25
>2013 the year of our lord

[Anonymous No.443975]

>>443956
Why not make the screws out of the same material as the driver heads and bits?

[Anonymous No.443976]

>>443975
because then you'd have to replace the bit every time you stripped something

[Anonymous No.443977]

>>443929
good job, you can read!

i think he really did mean a flathead in a || shape

[Anonymous No.443979]

>>443977
What is it called then?

But, he meant Phillips.

[Anonymous No.443980]

>>443976
But, the screw only strips because it is always shitty metals. Make them both of the same metal then make everthing I I bit and no more problems.

[Anonymous No.443988]

>>443880

Na I did a sub floor with one of those things, they performed just as well as phillips

[Anonymous No.443989]

Pretty much any screw drive will never strip under normal operating conditions (correct driver).

Phillips/Slot are not real screw drives, and exist only because plebians can buy one screwdriver of each type and force them into every size screw. Hell, most people just grab a knife and fuck around.

[Anonymous No.443990]

Its called a NAIL.

[ur screwed No.443992]

>>443860
>well the least would be a one way screw
a conventional screw would be a slotted screw

[ur screwed No.443993]

>>443869
allen cap are technically bolts not screws
but some screws do come in torx

[Anonymous No.443995]

torx

[ur screwed No.443997]

>>443929
>>443977

>flat head is refereed to the shape of the head of a screw
you mean slotted
>bit with two slotted l l

[Anonymous No.443996]

>>443993
The picture you quoted is of a machine screw.

There is no technical distinction between a bolt and a screw. Machineries handbook says that the difference is a screw is turned into the part, whereas a bolt stays stationary and the nut turns instead.

[ur screwed No.443999]

>>443996
ur right
>apologizes my good man

[Anonymous No.444036]

Gunsmith here. Not stripping screws is what I get paid for. USE THE CORRECT SCREW DRIVER AND YOU WILL NEVER STRIP THE SCREW. Christ guys.

[Anonymous No.444048]

I would think that those triangle shaped screws are the har to strip. They should really be more common. I honestly don't think it's even possible to strip one.

[Anonymous No.444053]

>>443873
>>443904

Flatheads are by far the easiest to strip. All of the force on the screw is in two small contact points at the edges of the screwdriver. The reason hex and torx heads are hard to strip is because the overall surface area being pressured is much higher.

Same reason you always see splined shafts on equipment made to transfer a lot of power instead of just a flat bar in a matching hole.


Side note: Phillips head screws were designed to cam the driver out of the screw to prevent tools from over-tightening them. Really wish the Robertson (square) head had become prevalent, because the Phillips head has pretty much no reason to be the dominant type these days.

[Anonymous No.444056]

>>444036
Easy to say when you have quality fasteners. The main reason screws/bolts strip is shit metal that melts when you try to undo them.

Also hex screws and torx resist stripping well but you HAVE THE USE THE RIGHT SIZE. Don't go shoving metric hexes into standard ones even though they are close.

[Anonymous No.444058]

Robertsons will never strip unless you let water pool in the head so they rust to a circle. (same for everything but slotted really, since it can more or less just run out)

In other words, shitty craftsmen use slotted because they dont know how to position screws, or use common sense.

[Anonymous No.444068]

1 = bad (easy to wreck the head or tool)
5 = best

slot head - 1
Philip head - 2
PoziDrive - 2.5
Allen Key - 4
Torx - 5
square drive - 5
triangle - 4
slot-notch - 2

[Anonymous No.444176]

>>443864
Yeah!

Robertson screws would be right at the top of the list OP, but might have to share first place with one or two others.

[Anonymous No.444182]

>>444053
I've never had a flathead strip out before, but they are a bitch because they slid out of the slot too easy. I've had every single other type strip out, except those ones with the 2 prongs. I use square drive the most since they cam out the least of any.

[Anonymous No.444189]

This is what I use. I highly recommend. I get them from Ace Hardware. They use a star/torx drive, and usually come with a bit driver included.

[Anonymous No.444420]

>>443880
>u
FUCK those heads, we used them because they were the only stainless screws we could find and we probably stripped 1/3 them.
when we switched torx deck screws we maybe stripped 1/20.
(we were making outdoor firetables)

[Anonymous No.444464]

>>443979
no, he didn't. he said two semi-parallel grooves. something probably closer to \| where the result was a nonslipping flathead type bit. what about that description would make you think he meant philips?

[Anonymous No.444476]

>>444182

No idea what you're buying then. Flatheads are generally agreed upon as the all-around worst screwhead in existence. They don't handle torque well, they don't automatically center the driver, and they're found most often on cheap screws because their only saving grace is that they're easy to make.

You had to have been using a cheap/wrong driver if you've had square/torx heads strip, or the screws themselves were very corroded. Torx heads tend to snap the screw before they strip. Square heads, too, albeit not as often as Torx.

Hex heads SHOULD be almost as good as a Torx, but the problem I find with those is that the tolerances allowed between the screw and head varies a lot. You tend to end up with a bit that's slightly loose, even if it's the right size. Not a good thing, since hex holes are very unforgiving in that regard due to the fact that they're fairly close to being round.

>>444420

There's no way you were using the right size head, or you were using the absolute cheapest available screws. I've never managed to strip a square head screw, let alone a Torx.

[Anonymous No.444488]

>>443891
Those one-way screws... Fascinating.

What am *I* doing with my life?

[Anonymous No.444491]

Philips top-tier screw reporting in for ease of use - its taper is perfect so that you don't need an exact size.

[Anonymous No.444499]

>>444476
they were stainless steel 3in screws and they were almost $40 for for 5 pounds and we were using the bit that came in the box they were just extremely soft and stripped if you looked at them funny also it doesnt help it was treated wood so it was extra sticky and tough to screw into.

[Anonymous No.444508]

>>444476
Have you ever used a screwdriver before? You sound like someone that has no clue at all.

[Anonymous No.444507]

>>443936
Phillips head drivers were designed to be self-centering. Back when manufacturing started being automated in the industrial revolution they needed a bit that machines could use and not fuck up. They're popular because of mass production.

[Anonymous No.444522]

>>444036
Browning Auto-5 here.

>I am here to ruin your dreams.

[Anonymous No.444539]

>>444499
>stainless steel
> extremely soft

pick one.

[Anonymous No.444541]

>>443869
I stripped the one in my Xbox 360.
I used the right size. Only took maybe 5 times taking it apart.

[Anonymous No.444567]

>>444539

>doesn't understand there are different grades of stainless steel. Shit 440 is soft compared to the U1080 Surgical Stainless.

[Anonymous No.444601]

Go Robertson, and you'll never look back,

[Anonymous No.444606]

>>443869
I usually strip the wrench before those things strip. Once a bolt was tightened so tight, that when I tried to take it off, I broke a pretty solid weld.

[Anonymous No.444607]

>>443980
NO!!

If the fastener is over tightened or rusted solid, not only do you have a broke screw head but a broken tool.

Imagine something held together with 10 fasteners that breaks a tool or bit every time.
If worse comes to worse just drill out a stuck fastener.

[Anonymous No.444609]

>>444567
>>444567
>>444567
PLEASE!!!
do you know how that sistem to catalog the different steel level works?
if so, please, let us know how that number-thing goes, I saw it in the good knives but I am clueless on how it goes... explanation epuuleaseeee

[Anonymous No.444611]

>>443980
One thing is going to fail, and when they are the same material, both of them fail. I'd rather have my 10 cent screw fail than my expensive screwdriver.

[Anonymous No.444651]

>>443915
>>443929
>>443997
maybe these?

[Anonymous No.444652]

>>443915
>>443929
>>443997
maybe these?

[Anonymous No.444778]

>>443880
we use them all the time in our theatre scene shop. Since sets have to be torn down and freshmen have no idea what the fuck they're doing, these have the least chance of stripping out...

[Anonymous No.444780]

>>444541
>taking apart 360
>5 times

WHAT?

What on earth for?

[Anonymous No.444781]

>>444652

Slot notch.
aka:

shit.

security screws into soft wood or plastic casing (on plugpacks or phones.)

[Anonymous No.444988]

>>444508
What you on about? The guy was 100% right.

Why is there always some dick trying to act all pro by stating some counter intuitive bullshit?

[Anonymous No.444995]

>>444652
No, I was meaning a bit with 2 flatheads on it. As in the head of the screw would look like an ungrounded American electric outlet and the driver head would be 2 flatheads.

[Anonymous No.444997]

>>444988
>What you on about? The guy was 100% right.

No, he is 90% incorrect. Stop trolling, fuck.

[Anonymous No.444998]

Gold >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Silver screws

they might be uglier but they are infinitely better

[Anonymous No.445011]

>>444998
Well, a screw made out of gold wouldn't be all that great really...

>>444997
No he is not. Please, do point out where he is incorrect.

[Anonymous No.445016]

>>444476
>never managed to strip a square head screw
I sure have, but that was when I was just learning to use a power drill.

[Anonymous No.445029]

>>445011
>Please, do point out where he is incorrect.

entire post, >>444476

[Anonymous No.445030]

>>445016
I've stripped maybe about 10,000 square head screws. The problem occurs from the screw itself. The coating on the screw sometimes makes the bit hole too shallow. The bit and hole don't match up properly. this happens even on "high quality" screws.

That is 10k out of about 500k screws installed though. Which is like 2% of 500k and not bad at all really. Robertson square drives slip the least of any I've used. Try to avoid those hybrids that have square and Phillips in one screw, fuck those things.

[Anonymous No.445042]

>>445029
Boy, you sure showed him, eh?

[Anonymous No.445047]

>>443866
I drive a jeep wrangler and it has torx everywhere, the larger sizes are good as are smaller ones, but there seems to be a sweet spot right in the middle where I strip them every time.

[Anonymous No.445059]

>>445030
>I've stripped maybe about 10,000 square head screws.

[citation needed]

[Anonymous No.445070]

I know they're very rare, but I guess Ribe CV is extremely hard to strip.

[Anonymous No.445079]

>>445078
>50 pounds of screws

fixed

[Anonymous No.445078]

>>445059
I wasn't quoting anyone or anything. I used to work in construction and have built many houses. We don't use nails anymore, just big screws for framing. You can go through 50 pounds of nails a day sometimes.

[Anonymous No.445085]

>>445078
try replacing your screw drivers every now and then, if you're going through 50 pounds of screws a day and are stripping shit tonnes of screws, you probably have a faulty tool bro.

(although thinking about it they're probably drill bits, in which case they're probably either cheap bits or the wrong size)

[Anonymous No.445086]

>>445070
I've seen someone stick a bit in a drill and metal chunks when flying once it was in.

the screws are hard to strip, yeah, but the bits seem to be easy as shit to fuck over. (I know they weren't good bits but it still made me lol to see a bit turn into a round peg near instantly)

[Anonymous No.445088]

>>445086

Most bits are made out of sintered metal and are designed to fail before the screw strips. You can buy chrome vanadium bits for bit drivers and stick them in an electric drill, but you shouldn't be stripping the standard ones if everything is working correctly.

Do you have the torque limit set correctly?

[Anonymous No.445114]

>>445088
>Most bits are made out of sintered metal and are designed to fail before the screw strips.

No, no they are not. The screw almost always fails before the bit and when the bit fails it is usually from hours of screwing around.

[Anonymous No.445119]

>>445085
2% of 50lbs is 1lbs

The screws are stripped, but it does not matter since they are normally in where they need to be. the problem stems from what I already stated in >>445030

It is the coating that causes the improper fit. When there is no coating or the coating is proper the fit is perfect and there's no slipping at all. Sometimes I have to toss the screw because the screw head is so full of coating you can't get the bit into it.

I'm not one to just push harder and make the drill go "btbtbtbtbtbtbt" like every single one of my past coworkers did (drunk rednecks all of them who constantly killed bits). Bit wear is usually not a problem for me.

If the bit does start to slip I simply slow the drill down to a crawl, push hard, and pump the trigger so it goes on and off. Each time it goes off and the drill stops, the bit refits itself so when it is turned on there's less chance of slipping. Holding it on just increases chances of slipping until it goes "btbtbtbtbt".

[Anonymous No.445157]

>>444053
No, thats not how a slotted bit works. If you use a properly sized slotted bit to the fastener, half the force is is on the right side of half of the blade, and half of the force is on the left side of the other half. Its only "at the tips" if you aren't using the correctly sized slotted bits.

For optimal fit on slotted screws, use hollow ground blades/bits. Seriously, one you realize one slotted screwdrive CANT rule them all, you will be much happier. In fact, slotted allows optimal transition of torque.

[Anonymous No.445160]

>>444491
thats the main disadvantage dumbass, that and the fact its DESIGNED to cam out and ruin things

[Anonymous No.445161]

>>444652
those would be called Spanner, or snake eye bits. I see them in elevators.

[Anonymous No.445235]

>>443860
Just for availability: Torx. Used to be harder to find, but now I can find common screw types in Torx at the local hardware stores.

Hex is nearly as available, but I've stripped a couple and worn out hex keys before. Nothing a quick second to a grind can't fix, but I've never ruined a torx or torx driver yet.

Hex are easier to strip with a slightly-offsize key, which is easy to do if you're uncertain of imperial/metic, and Torx are actually hard to strip even a few driver size or two too small.

I have no experience with Square or Triangle screws, but I'm certain they're a lot like the Hex, where one driver size too small greatly increases your stripping chances compared to Torx.

Also, fuck screws that are designed to cam out yet are used in applications where overtightening is a nonissue and you'll be reassembling it many times over. Seriously. The bane of my repair/modification hobbies.

[Anonymous No.445241]

12 point is pretty badass. Thought I had seen it all when I didd a clutch job on a 1986 audi 4000 CS (front wheel drive - not a 4000 quattro; basicaly a VW fox)
Goddamn CV axels were held to the goddamn transmission by these 12 point torx like bolts about 8 or 9mm.
Had to walk to town to get a special adaptor socket and one of these bits.

[Anonymous No.445546]

>>445241
That's a XZN. It's basically a triple square.
Not to be confused with a double hex, which of course also has twelve tips.

[Anonymous No.445571]

>>445070

Imperial Scum!

[Anonymous No.445586]

>>445571
I'm usually an advocate for the metric system. I even think it's a shame we don't use a decimal time system. So what makes my mentioning of Ribe CV, imperial scum? Please enlighten me.

[Anonymous No.445587]

>>445586

[Anonymous No.445588]

>>444652
I want an xbox bit

[Anonymous No.445590]

>>445587
didn't see that coming
cheers

[Anonymous No.445597]

>>443880
>have loads of square screw-drivers
>never found anything to use them on
depressing

[Anonymous No.445652]

>>443880
Nope, ive striped so many of these. Correct size bit and everything.

[Anonymous No.445667]

>>444508

Alright, I'm in a bad mood today and feel like a little bit of destruction could do some good. I stuck these in a vice and tried to torque the heads off. This is what I ended up with.

1. #1 Phillips. Snapped, slight damage to slot.
2. #2 Phillips. Snapped, little or no damage to slots. (My fallback screws should I run out of Robertsons.)
3. #2 Phillips. Trashed slot.
4. #2 Phillips. Damage to both slot and driver. (I built a bed out of these particular screws. I fucking hate them.)

5. Torx T25. GRK brand premium. Snapped, very slight damage to top of slot. (This screw was the hardest to actually snap.)
6. Torx T25. Generic exterior screw. Snapped, no damage to slots.

7. #2 Robertson. Snapped, no damage to slot. (Should note that these are the kind of screws used and re-used in my school's scene shop.)
8. #0 Robertson. Snapped, no damage to slot.

9. 3/8" hex head. Snapped, no damage to head. (Easily the most durable head, but this is due mainly to the driven faces being at a significant radius from center compared to socketed screws.)

10. Flathead/phillips combo; driven via flathead. Damaged slot.
11. Flathead. Damaged slot.
12. Flathead. Damaged slot.
13. Flathead. Damaged slot.


So, basically what I'm seeing is flatheads are garbage, Phillips are spotty and highly dependent on the quality of the screw, and the sockets with numerous faces to drive are the hardest to strip. Which is exactly in line with my experience.

Unfortunately I don't stock hex-socket screws, but past experience puts them slightly below a Robertson socket in terms of driving power.

[Anonymous No.445673]

>>445157

It does not matter how well the slot fits. The fact of the matter is that the majority of force ends up at the edges of the driver once pressure is applied and the metal experiences elastic deformation. Push it too far, and the metal will begin to plastically deform. The head simply fails completely from that point, since it just lost its most capable bit of load-bearing surface (that which is furthest from the center of the screw).

If you really want to argue this, I can simulate a few heads in Inventor and show you exactly what kind of forces are at work.

[Anonymous No.445778]

appliance repair fag here...

work on all major brands..

in terms of most common screws... what I find is
1/4 inch sheet metal screws
#2 phillips.
T20 torx
#2 robertson
T15 torx
everything else

sheet metal screws are the easiest to deal with.. and surprisingly from my experience the most resistant to rusting to a point where they won't drive..... the torx are pretty good.. the rest suck as soon as they start rusting..

[Anonymous No.445783]

Posidrive/Torx .. they were invented for robotic assembly. Robertson (square drive) are also quite good.

[Anonymous No.445798]

>>445667
Thanks for conducting this little study. I always suspected Robertson was a tough design.

[Anonymous No.445816]

>>444068
What about tri-star?

[Anonymous No.445899]

>people not knowing why shitty phillips head screws are used in everything instead of glorious robertson screws

>way back when Ford was getting going and starting up assembly lines they needed a special tip to put on the ends of screws and things

>robertson screws were patented by a guy and were obviously superior

>Ford said they would only use roberston screws if the guy sold ford the rights to them so they owned it outright and wouldnt have to pay the guy royalties

>guy said no because he wanted to retain the rights

>ford told the guy to fuck off and went with phillips heads on all their stuff and they took off from there

[Anonymous No.445902]

>>444995
>ungrounded outlets
why, Americlaps, why

[Anonymous No.445958]

>>445902
It is an image from a series where you replace an old ungrounded outlet with a new grounded one.

In case you didn't know, neutral is also ground.

[Anonymous No.446057]

Woodscrews: torx / squarehead
Bolts: hex / inhex / torx
sheet metal: fucking torx again
everything else is shit.

[Anonymous No.446081]

>>443864
Oh god, I'm actually in pain from laughing at that, after opening the thread... Cause if theres one thing canadians wont shut the fuck up about(after their health care, gay marriage, syrup, how they are all supposedly so polite and humble[totally ignorant to the fact that BRAGGING about humility does not make you humble]) is the fucking robertson screw.

I would agree though... Robertson > Torx > Pozi

[Anonymous No.446096]

>>445899

not quite, ford wanted to license the rights so he could manufacture them himself and ensure supply, Robertson wouldn't license them after an ugly court battle he'd just won the rights back over but couldn't ensure ample supply to Ford, so Ford went with what he could get anywhere

[Anonymous No.446098]

>>443860
Flathead.

Fuck everything else.

[Anonymous No.446133]

>>446098
that was a perfectly fine torx

[Anonymous No.446137]

>>446133
1: It wasn't just a torx, it is a "security torx"
2: it is now a perfectly fine slotted screwhead for a flathead screwdriver.

[Anonymous No.446138]

>>446098
With a Dremel, you always have the correct type of driver. A flathead screwdriver!

[Anonymous No.446226]

>>446098
This is why we can't have nice things.

[Anonymous No.446239]

>>445783
I hate Pozidrive. And yes, I have the proper drivers.

[Anonymous No.446240]

>>445902
That's an old style outlet, we use grounded shit these days. Japan still goes ungrounded.

[Anonymous No.446242]

>>446081
Agreed.

Robertson > Torx > Internal Hex

I wish triangle was more common, but its usually a "security" screw.

However, I don't know anyone that makes internal hex headed deck/drywall screws. I wish someone did.

I do love me some 1/4" external hex sheet metal screws.

[Anonymous No.447485]

using an impact driver takes alot of the pain and agony out of using philips head screws. i still hate them only slightly more than flathead, but every type of screw has it's purpose. sometimes you just gotta use what's most common, regardless of whether there is a superior alternative. Only example I can think of off the top of my head is when we install cabinetry hardware. You use philips because if a hinge needs to be adjusted you have to have used a screw that the client has the proper screwdriver for. As a contractor I'll have the ability to use any slot type I want, but the customer will probably only have flathead and philips. I have so much more I could say on the subject from my years in construction, but I'm working on getting drunk right now, so I don't feel confident I could articulate myself well enough at the moment.