I hate soft chinese Philips head screws. I often have to change batteries in my kid's toys. My screwdrivers often mangle the head so much you have to tap it with a flat head to make a notch to get the screw out.

If I invent a time machine back to the 50s, who's goin with me?

Oh yeah definitely, so annoying. My wife bought some hook and every screw stripped when trying to put them up. Ended up spending more at Ace buying new screws to match the finish than the stupid hooks cost.

Not at all what I thought this was going to be about. Not even remotely.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
Not at all what I thought this was going to be about. Not even remotely.

Not sure if the screws being soft can necessarily be attributed to it being Chinese...these screws depending on application may be intentionally designed that way if they're meant to be screwed into plastic or pot metal. This means the screws would be sacrificed first before stripping out the threads in the event of over torquing.

Also, if you're constantly stripping out screws, you're likely either using too much force or using the wrong size bit.

They’re made for Chinese screwdrivers.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
They’re made for Chinese screwdrivers.

^Harbor Freight enters the thread.

And the holes for those screws are drilled with the rubber-infused Chinese drill bits that bend with the slightest pressure.

One wall of my shop looks like a hardware store with bins of decent quality fasteners of various types and sizes. I generally toss the hardware package immediately upon opening most products.

^^^^^^^^^^^

Ditto

quote:

Originally posted by darkest2000:
Not sure if the screws being soft can necessarily be attributed to it being Chinese...these screws depending on application may be intentionally designed that way if they're meant to be screwed into plastic or pot metal. This means the screws would be sacrificed first before stripping out the threads in the event of over torquing.

Correct, Phillips head screws are designed to cam out to prevent overtorquing. That's a feature, not a flaw. It's a wonder how Phillips screws became so common. It's also no wonder why they're gradually being phased out in critical applications in favor or Allen, Torx, or other bit head designs. Think about how few screws on guns use Phillips. Aside from grip screws on some guns, you generally don't see them much anymore.

quote:

Also, if you're constantly stripping out screws, you're likely either using too much force or using the wrong size bit.

I'm not picky about mid size & larger, but I find the smaller the screw, the more likely it'll round out if I don't use a high quality driver. E.g., anything smaller than P0, I'm breaking out my Wiha, Snap-on, or similar drivers.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Correct, Phillips head screws are designed to cam out to prevent overtorquing. That's a feature, not a flaw. It's a wonder how Phillips screws became so common.

The story is that Henry Ford was getting bids for fasteners and it was a competition between Phillips and Robertson. Robertson didn't want to give him exclusive rights, so lost. Once Phillips became standard in the auto industry, it spread. I find the Robertson screws or Torx to be far superior in every way.

Just a simple heads up on this topic -

Trivia to tuck away - they made aluminum screws in the past and used them to Mount stylish (fake) aluminum shutters on houses. Removing them is nearly impossible. Heads strip and/or break off. Vise grips on the left over shank are likely to break off the screw flush with the surface.

Whether they were used elsewhere is unknown. I hope you never see them.

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Not at all what I thought this was going to be about. Not even remotely.

Filthy, filthy, filthy...

quote:

Originally posted by monoblok:

quote:

Not at all what I thought this was going to be about. Not even remotely.

Filthy, filthy, filthy...

I think I've seen that website.

And, 20 minutes later, you'll want to do it again.

Oh wait, wrong thread.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Correct, Phillips head screws are designed to cam out to prevent overtorquing. That's a feature, not a flaw. It's a wonder how Phillips screws became so common.

The story is that Henry Ford was getting bids for fasteners and it was a competition between Phillips and Robertson. Robertson didn't want to give him exclusive rights, so lost. Once Phillips became standard in the auto industry, it spread. I find the Robertson screws or Torx to be far superior in every way.

The version I recall is that Robertson wanted royalties, and Ford flipped him the bird, so to speak.

I like the soft chinese rubber micrometers. You can keep tightening them (or bending) until you get the desired measurement.

Everything is correct. Prevents having to redo.

 
I have been using cross-point bits that conform to the DIN 5260/ISO 8764-1 standards, which have more-or-less replaced the JIS standard. The bits fit JIS, and fit Phillips exceptionally well, better than actual Phillips bits. Almost all screwdrivers/bits sold today as "JIS" are actually to the newer standard, even most Vessel tools.
 
Phillips head screws will still cam out, but not as readily, especially if you have some ass behind your driver. But then there is my wife, and when she gets going with an electric screwdriver and Phillips head screws, we need a new tool. Enter screw removal pliers, like the Knipex Twin Grip or Engineer PZ58.

quote:

Originally posted by xd45man:
I hate soft chinese Philips head screws. I often have to change batteries in my kid's toys.

I don't think the screws are the biggest problem here.

They made the screw on battery covers because they say that the kids could swallow the batteries. Then they put a retaining washer on the screws so they won't get eaten as well.

How the batteries got confused with silver M&Ms is anybody's guess.