Best Phillips Screwdrivers?

The screws are likely metric and don't fit tight as the Imperial ones do. Martin

I bought this cheapo Harbor Freight set to get the special bit for Game Boy Dual Screens:

Those bits aren't 1/4 inch but rather 5/32 inch. I was able to use it with a small torx bit to get down into a deep hole that my 1/4 bits couldn't.

Nothing special but it has already paid for itself. Figure it should last for awhile if I only use it when necessary...

I gave up trying to exactly differentiate screw types a long time ago. Some others came to a similar conclusion.

Now if a driver seems to camming too much, I just try a different driver or when I can, resort to an impact driver (hammer type) which is an indispensable tool sometimes, especially for old motorcycle stuff.

I was in an RC hobby store and asked about JIC and Posidrive screwdrivers, which they didn't carry. Maybe they don't torque the screws in models hard enough to notice the difference?

They did have EC5 connectors and 10 AWG Silicone rubber insulated wire to connect to a Lithium jump starter pack, so I can measure its real Amp-Hour capacity and misuse it with other loads.

-jsw

Yeah yeah, and the OP is fixing time capsule vacuum cleaners for a museum.

There's got to be some strange dull pointed phillips "standard" in China for bad screws.

A lot of people think they are all "Phillips" and that some screwdrivers just work better than others...

I always tried to take pride in my repair work. I wanted stuff to look as good or better than when it came in. Jimmied up screw slots were not "professional" work in my opinion.

The Game Boy I was working on was one I found along the road and had been well used/abused. Not to mention it was in the spring and the snow was still melting. I managed to get four of the five special headed screws out by wedging the slot with a jewelers straight blade. The last one broke the side off my screwdriver. Crap!

Even with the new, proper bit from HF it came out really hard. I was surprised it didn't break the bit. It looked amazingly well inside yet. No corrosion to speak of. The problem was corrosion on the cartridge connector pins. Got it working and that ended my "fun" with a Dual Screen Game Boy.

Next time I get close to one of the local hobby shops I'll have to see what kind of odd items they have. Thanks for the tip :)

The problem is that Phillips is only ONE of the standards for cross-recess screw heads. There is also Reed and Prince, ISO, Japanese and military cross recess. The Phillips tip will generally turn these others, but is not a good fit, and will quickly get the gripping surfaces rounded off.

Jon

That wire usually has very fine strands, so is very flexible and can carry an extraordinary amount of current. Still not big enough for some of the old battery powered 2 meter gliders. They used to call those "flying welders", because if one crashed, that's what it looked like when you shorted about 48 C sized nicad cells.

Pete Keillor

Except for carbon fiber extrusions and high current battery connectors the stock and tool selection hasn't changed much in decades. I mentioned these low-cost meters

and the owner said they don't try to compete with the Internet on that stuff.

-jsw

O.K. The first thing is that the proper Phillips tip *looks* too big fro the screw. The wings extend beyond the slots in the screw head..

The test (with a new tip) is to put it in loosely and feel for play ifyou gently try to rotate it with your fingertips on the shank. If it feels a bit loose, it is too small -- go to the next size up.

Aside from this -- there are screw heads which look similar, but are not. Reed and Prince is one such. That one has a different point shape, too.

As for what I find better overall are long shank 1/4" screwdriver bits without handles. They can plug into handles, or into electric screwdrivers/torque-limiting drills, or even into small ratchet wrenches at need. They are forged from harder metals than consumer grade screwdrivers.

This is because (as I mentioned above) it is likely too small for the screw. Often (for flat-head screws) the diameter of the screw head is barely larger than the diameter of the screwdriver shank.

Way back when, I got some screwdrivers from Snap-On, and they were very good. The handles were a rounded triangle shape, lots of grip for torque. Plated shank, but unplated tip. However, one of the two from then (No. 2 Phillips and a common size straight-blade) had the handle split in two across about the enclosed end of the shank. I don't know whether it was something like oil attacking the plastic or what, and they no longer make that shape of handle.

And -- does the No. 2 point fit into the screws before they are damaged?

Wiha makes larger ones, too. But make sure that the point fits the screw before you start to apply torque.

Good Luck, DoN.

[ ... ]

I've found at the local electronics parts place sets of 1/4" hex drive screwdriver bits about 6" long. The larger ones are hex the whole way down, but the smaller ones are turned to the proper diameter for a normal screwdriver so they will if down those deep holes.

BTW -- when using them in a drill with torque limiting the weight of the rill motor helps apply more axial force to the bit to keep it irmly seated in he screw, so they do tend to last longer in such service than you would expect.

And -- remember, the Phillips screw was *designed* to torque out to limit the chance of wringing off a screw during production assembly.

Enjoy, DoN.

This is what I have - more than just Phillips -

Flats that fit the screws - this makes slips out of the slot rare.

Mart> >

The last one that I exchanged was a #2. I broke the tip the first time I used it. I was removing the cover from a computer. One of those cheap Chinese #6, with a combo Philips/hex head. I removed it with a no name driver that I bought from 'Bud's Place', which was Walmart's closeout branding. I bought 100 of them for 25 cents each. I had intended to braze some of the 1/4" hex security bits on them, but I have never managed to wear one out.

I've never bought another Craftsman tool since then. That was about

20 years ago.

Xcelite's quality dropped, after Cooper Tools bought them. Like every other brand that they've purchased.

Like Weller soldering irons; I bought a new TCP-1 and the thermostat didn't last a month.

They replaced the stat, no quibble - it lasted about a week.

They also used thinner plating on the tips - they usually broke through on the bit inside the element barrel, the copper oxide would build up and seize it in solid.

I switched to Antex because it was a cheap disposable item - it turned out to be better than Weller.

I always liked my Antex irons and much preferred them to Wellers irons. I think I've had one element fail and that was easily replaced at a reasonable price and the iron is still going.

A company I worked for bought out a competitor and piled all the stuff they didn't want on the loading bay with a big sign; "help yourself" - I won a big box of Weller irons that someone had taken to bits.

That kept me going a couple of decades and I even had a few spare to sell.

I was cobbling together sometimes very old parts - that did nothing to prepare me for the non existent reliability of the iron produced since Weller became part of Cooper tools.

Mr.E wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Well, I now have a set of Vessel JIS screwdrivers. They appear to be just as pointy as the Phillips drivers I have. I did some digging, and ran across a drwaing that compares JIS to Phillips:

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The JIS appears to be pointier. However, I also found a photograph that compares the two:

g

and that shows exactly the opposite.

I think my conclusion is that nobody makes screws or screwdrivers with tight enough tolerances to be certain of anything. The advice to try different drivers until you find one that doesn't wiggle before you apply any force seems as good as it's going to get. I may also grind the tips back a bit on some of my pointier drivers.

I still need to replace my Phillips #1's, and based on the various comments, I think I will try Wera or Wiha.

Thanks for all the input & discussion. I'd forgotten all about Reed Prince, although I'm not sure I've ever run across any.

Doug White

I would say they are mislabeled. The look correct if you reverse the labels.

Those look like I would expect...

I don't think it pays to be a tool elitist anymore. Name Brands are churning out crap too. One year they selling something good, next year it isn't but looks EXACTLY the same.

You should just stop into your preferred store, Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, Sears... and look over what they have. If you use it a short time and it seems to be okay go buy a spare :)

If you have a company account you order through though... that's a different can of worms...