On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 16:19:01 -0500, Rocinante wrote:

On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 11:49:48 -0500, Stan Brown wrote:

It seems like every time I have to drive a Philips-head screw, say
for putting up window blinds or (today) a towel rack, I end up
mangling the slots in the head so that I either can't finish driving
it at all, or at best it takes a lot more effort than it should.

I'm sure there's something really basic that I'm doing wrong. Can
anyone tell me what it is?

Philips head screws will strip easily with too much drill torque. Either
drill pilot holes (a little smaller than the screw sizes) or use slotted
wood screws, which allow higher torque to be applied without stripping the
heads.

Thanks. I just assume that the screws that come in the package
should work, but maybe I have to reconcile myself to buying wood
screws. I don't do all that many projects, fortunately.

I used to use a cordless drill to drive screws, but because of this
problem I stopped and now use only a hand screwdriver. Still, I
destroyed two screws today trying to install a towel rack on the side
of a butcher-block kitchen island -- after drilling pilot holes.

I know I'm at about the 95th percentile on the klutz scale, but this
seems ridiculous.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...