Blame Henry Ford. The superior screw head style was available to him, but he refused to use it.
You had me at blame Henry Ford.
Torx ftw
Just yesterday I stripped a T25 because I only had a T20 bit on me and underestimated how tightly it was screwed in. Even though it was completely stripped with the T20, the design is so good that using my drill and pressing down with the proper T25 got it out. No screw extractor required!
It’s kinda funny that a screwhead intended to solve one problem went on to create an arguably worse problem for many applications.
Shoulda just payed Robertson.
Payed is incorrect, it is paid
No, they were stringing him out …
Torx needs to become the standard for screws. They are just better in every way.
In wood yes. But please keep them off my bike. You suddenly really start to enjoy the ball end of your Allen keys when working in tight spots and torx has none of that (and some brand are starting to use more and more torx on their models)
The Nordics are far ahead in this. Torx everywhere.
Ironic, IKEA is married to PZ2. Which to be fair is a fine standard (aside from the fact that unaware people tend to confuse it with PH2 then wonder why their screws are stripped), it’s just annoying that I have to switch my drill from T20 to PZ2 to build IKEA furniture.
what the fuck where, all i see is philips and hex
A carbide set of torx bits make a great set of hex extractors. Hell, torx can sometimes be tapped into a drilled hole and turned. Half of the broken or sheared bolts I remove at the shop, I just use a torx bit.
When your bit is used to rescue bolts made with inferior bits, you know you’ve won.
Holy shit, someone who does it as well! Torx bits are so useful for this, I have a fairly high success rate even on the tiny terrible electronics screws I usually work on.
Torx is better but it can still get stripped. Having a set of extraction bits prepared can’t be a bad thing.
If you do this you have two options. Either put a piece of rubber from a balloon, latex glove etc between the screw and the screwdriver. Or use a hacksaw to put a slot in the top of the screw and use a flathead screwdriver.
am i the only person with a set of screw extractor bits?
I never even knew it was a thing. I’m assuming most people don’t have them.
I see sales for them all the time at hardware stores.
Forklift Mechanic, here. It indeed is, a thing.
I got a set, tried to use them twice and they failed both times. In the first try the bolt metal was too hard for the extrator to bite in in any reasonable time drilling and the second time the screw was too soft and the extractor stripped the hole the extractor makes attempting to extract.
YES BECOME FLATHEAD. ive also used torqx and pounded them in. Like a poor mans easy out, works about 20% of the time
If people don’t know the trick above then they definitely don’t know what easy out is lol. It does work and is under rated.
Another option for smaller screws is just to drill out the head, it will let go.
deleted by creator
I thought all my stripped screw troubles would end when I found this tip and seeing how much it’s suggested. But all that ever happens is I pierce the gripping medium due to the force required. Maybe there is a quality option that can withstand this but I’m probably buying extractors if I’m spending money at that point.
There is a third: manual impact driver
Arrooooo
I hate Phillips screws. For this very reason.
You just need the right size screwdriver
You’re right that phillips screws are prone to cam out if theres a size mismatch, but it doesn’t stop there. Apply too much torque or have a misshapen screw head or bit and you’re out of luck.
Get a JIS screwdriver. Life changing.
Where the hell do companies even find these super cheap, shitty screws that strip so easily? When I buy screws at a hardware store, they don’t ever get stripped unless I use an impact hammer drill with the wrong size head and the screw is really stuck in something (and it sometimes also just twists and breaks the entire screw at that point). But screws already in a thing I bought almost always get stripped hella easy using a hand tool.
I’m no mechanic, so anytime I work with a drill, it’s to unscrew someone’s pervious work. I just jam the plus shaped head into the plus shaped hole and pray, just as the lord intended.
I think it depends on the screw, what it’s for. Softer ones can bend without breaking, very important in most cases.
And + sucks, * superiority.
Drywall screws are hard because drywall is hard (as in like sandpaper) and doesn’t flex.
PS Skill issue.
If it needs to be tight, Robertson or Torx is the only way. The benefit of Robertson over Torx is that it is pretty much immediately clear if the bit fits properly or not. I have stripped too many Torx that were in a place that required a human with an extra elbow and a second wrist to reach, that I thought were t20 but were t25, for example. I keep thinking I’ve learned my lesson.
I keep meaning to buy sets of Phillips, Pozi, and JIS, but never manage to time a stripped screw with a tool sale.
The only thing worse than + is -, and even that is situational.
The only thing worse than more is less, and even that is situational. Sounds cool.
Canadian look of superiority
You can still mangle a Robbie if you have the wrong size but you do have to work at it.
Also those combo Robertson/Slot screws made with Chineseium can round out pretty quick.
Phillips? JIS? Only way to find out is to ruin that screw!
That looks like a really shitty screw to begin with.
Actually looks like an anti removal screw. The inner edges of the plus are sloped, but only in the direction to unscrew.
Looking at this makes me physically ill
worse when it happens to small screws in electronics. shit like this makes you want to just smash your laptop
FRAMEWORK. FRAMEWORK LAPTOPS. WHY MUST THEY MAKE THEM SO WEEEEEEAAAAAAKKKKK
Security screw with the oval drive.
Fuck that, Robertson, hex or torx.
Robertson is incredible, in Canada it is often used to build outdoor patio for instance, it’s magical to use, I love those screws
In new build stuff, I’ve actually been seeing a lot more torx.
The main problem wthe the X shaped model is that there are so many different versions with different angles and points oe lack thereof that it can be hard to tell which is which at a glance, increasing the chance of stripping if you don’t check for proper fit.
Not to mention you might be working on something where the prior person mixed and matched different screws head types on the same project!
It’s not an X, it’s a +. I will die on this hill.
You are technically correct, whoch is the best kind of correct!
I just hadn’t woken up to remember keyboards had a plus sign.
And we will let you because no one cares.
Hey look Neatnit’s corpse is getting eaten by birds. Well… they’ve got to eat something. What was it he died for again?
There’s half-dozens of us!
Pozidriv and Phillips are quite easy to tell apart imo
But JIS and Phillips blows
If people know what they are looking for and the screws weren’t painted over…
JIS is much better than Phillps, as long as you have the exact matching driver.
This literally happened to a screw I have in my literal body
Jfc that is not something you want to hear. When your doctor has to call for handyman Hal there is a problem
