"Doug White" wrote in message
...
For many years now, I have always used the black handle Xcelite Phillips
screwdrivers with the chrome shaft & black tip. I outfitted my
electronics bench with a fresh set a few years ago, and the #1 Phillips
tip is already toast. I took apart a dead stick vacuum cleaner today
that had a dozen screws down in holes, and I had to get my other #1
driver from my woodworking toolbox to finish the job. It is also
showing signs of excess wear on the tip.

Firstly; AFAICR: Xcelite are part of the Cooper Tools group - The weller
TCP1 soldering iron was pretty much the industry standard - till the bean
counters at Cooper Tools decided that quality and reliability was an
unnecessary extravagance.

There are various standards for crosspoint screw heads. You can get Philips
and Posidrive just for starters - if you don't use the right tool; rapid
failure is a certainty.

Another I've encountered is the screws on Japanese motorcycles, an impact
driver didn't do any better than a regular T-bar screwdriver. Then I noticed
the bottom of the cross was peened shiny - the point of the screwdriver was
too long and the side blades were only half engaging. Just grazing the point
of the screwdriver bit on the grinder, allowed it to fully seat into the
crosspoint head. There was no more trouble after that.