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I love these screws more and more every time I use them.
Home Depot has them.
I just installed a new pre-hung exterior door and the 4 Phillips screws they include are JUNK and the first one started to strip out the head without much force at all.
Luckily I had some head showing and backed it out with small Vise Grips. Brass plated cheap steel.
Got out the 3" Torx screws, drilled a an other pilot hole and the Torx almost pulled it's self right in. I always butter my screws with soap first. #25 Torx bit is included in every box of "Deck Mate Screws", in case you don't have a bit. These are plated deck screws.
I agree, fasteners thrown in with most projects are Made in China junk. Good call on using soap to help things along. My grandfather was a master carpenter and I remember seeing a bar of Safeguard soap in his toolbox for just that reason.
I agree. Once I finish up my stock of exterior philips screws, I'm changing to torx exclusively. When skirting my home, I quickly discovered that the longer the philips, the more likely they are to stripping because they almost seem designed to do that.
I tried the philips II screws (like a square/cross combo) for a time, but realized that if someone comes along (father-in-law, I'll spare the details) and need to remove them, they resemble regular philips so much, that they strip them when extracting using a philips bit.
"square/cross combo," that's the type that the hinges had. I wonder how much the company save by including such low quality screws.
I was going to use my new Palm Nailer when installing the door, but decided screws were a better Idea. You can back out a screw better than a nail. I screw up sometimes.
I guess we, Americans, are out of touch on some things. Other countries have used Torx and Square drive for a long time. I never heard of Square drive Screws until we bought an older MH. And there is another head design that I can't think of......OH, Robertson?
Torx & square drive fasteners got their start on production lines, there are even variations of torx such as reverse torx. They are a bolt with a torx head rather than a standard hex head.
Sorry, but as a mechanic I wonder just how many of the new types of fastener designs are driven by the tool manufacturers. It seems that every few years we HAVE to but some type of new tool just to do our job. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
Robertson (square) is a Canadian design patent which is why they are not common in the US.
They are hand's down my first choice in screw head design. Rarely strip assuming the proper size screwdriver bit is used and will generally break the head off the screw first.
The best thing about them is they will stay on the bit hand's free. Great for production work like installing vinyl siding.
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
Greg,
you are correct about the Robertson, US companies did not want to pay the patent fees. I think the torx head was started by GM. My memory could be failing me there though. Generally, I use a robertson for most of my heavy duty fastenter needs. I don't think deck screws come any other way in Canada, do they?
Hi all,
I have a 68 Monarck that has a really strange pattern for screws (at least to me). It is called a clutch head and is difficult to find. It is shaped like an hourglass, but they do work well
It looks like the Phillips Head was designed to purposely slip (cam-out, at a specific force to prevent over torquing or stripping, when used by a person and not a machine.
The Torx was designed for automatic machines that can be set to a certain amount of torque and be consistent. Also the 6-Points of contact and force improve the driving.
I found all the screws in the MH were square drive, with only 4-Points of contact, from 1986-87 and I had to buy some drives to fit them and may never have use for them again. I'll just add them to my collection of STUFF.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly who invented them, but it seems they appeared around 1936 or so. I'm still digging for info.
Lorne wrote:It looks like the Phillips Head was designed to purposely slip (cam-out, at a specific force to prevent over torquing or stripping, when used by a person and not a machine.
Not sure if it is true....but my understanding is that the Torx screws came into being via GM and then quickly adopted by the tech industry. Originally it was about a better drive system - but tech adopted for the hi-tech look. Of course, now the move is to 5-pointers vs the 6 pointers.
I use the Deck Mate screws (phillips with the square center point) and find they drive in - and out - much better than the standard phillips. Those square drive screws run up my blood pressure trying to get them out after they have been exposed to the elements for a few years.
i have been dealing with torx for 20 some years. auto tech for 30, gm used them quite a bit, like any other fastener they're great till something else comes along. they'll strip out just as fast as phillips if you use power tools on them and you don't set in straight. and the bits round off too easy if you not carefull, but i use them over that !#$^%&*(&^$#@ sloted screw evryone knows and cursed at.
"a man has got to know his limitations", clint eastwood. " i haven't found mine yet," me
