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?


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

In t Stan Brown
wrote:

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

Try drilling a pilot hole.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

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.

--
"Any technology indistinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."


1/2/2011 4:16:15 PM

On 02 Jan 2011 16:55:40 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

In t Stan Brown
wrote:

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

Try drilling a pilot hole.

Good thought, but I do that routinely. Maybe I'm making the hole too
small relative to the diameter of the screw -- is there a guideline?

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

On Sun, 2 Jan 2011 18:16:09 -0500, Stan Brown wrote:

On 02 Jan 2011 16:55:40 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

In t Stan Brown
wrote:

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

Try drilling a pilot hole.

Good thought, but I do that routinely. Maybe I'm making the hole too
small relative to the diameter of the screw -- is there a guideline?

Print this chart out: www.wlfuller.com/html/wood_screw_chart.html
--
Ski!:
A shout to alert people ahead that a loose ski is coming down the
hill. Another warning skiers should be familiar with is "Avalanche!"
(which tells everyone that a hill is coming down the hill).
-- from "The Skier's Dictionary"


1/2/2011 6:18:11 PM

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...

Stan Brown wrote:
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?

Are you using the proper size, quality screwdrivers? Cheap or mis-fit
screwdrivers are a common cause of this problem. Additionally, you need to push
HARD while turning. A hammer driver impact driver can help with that.

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?

Thanks to those who responded. I need to drill larger pilot holes
than I have been doing and use a higher-quality screwdriver, also
carefully matching the screwdriver to the particular size Phillips
screwhead. And I need to use a lot of force straight into the screw
head -- that may be a problem because I'm not all that strong.

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

In article ,
Stan Brown wrote:

Thanks to those who responded. I need to drill larger pilot holes
than I have been doing and use a higher-quality screwdriver, also
carefully matching the screwdriver to the particular size Phillips
screwhead. And I need to use a lot of force straight into the screw
head -- that may be a problem because I'm not all that strong.

Buy a set of driver bits, and use your drill to drive the screws.
You'll find it's a lot easier and smoother than turning them by
hand. (This assumes your drill is variable speed and allows good
low-speed control; if not, buy an inexpensive drill-driver.)


Gary

On Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:45:49 -0600, Gary Heston wrote:

In article ,
Stan Brown wrote:

Thanks to those who responded. I need to drill larger pilot holes
than I have been doing and use a higher-quality screwdriver, also
carefully matching the screwdriver to the particular size Phillips
screwhead. And I need to use a lot of force straight into the screw
head -- that may be a problem because I'm not all that strong.

Buy a set of driver bits, and use your drill to drive the screws.
You'll find it's a lot easier and smoother than turning them by
hand. (This assumes your drill is variable speed and allows good
low-speed control; if not, buy an inexpensive drill-driver.)

Thanks, Gary. I had done that in the past and ended up stripping
most of the heads. Maybe it was a bad (cheap) set of driver bits,
because the drill was definitely variable speed.

Understanding that price is no guarantee of quality, about how much
are we talking for an acceptable set of driver bits?

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

In t Stan Brown
wrote:

On Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:45:49 -0600, Gary Heston wrote:


Buy a set of driver bits, and use your drill to drive the screws.
You'll find it's a lot easier and smoother than turning them by
hand. (This assumes your drill is variable speed and allows good
low-speed control; if not, buy an inexpensive drill-driver.)

Thanks, Gary. I had done that in the past and ended up stripping
most of the heads. Maybe it was a bad (cheap) set of driver bits,
because the drill was definitely variable speed.

There's also a chance that the screws you're buying aren't any good. A
lot of the stuff that you find in chain hardware stores is real crap.

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

In article ,
Bert Hyman wrote:
In t Stan Brown
wrote:

On Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:45:49 -0600, Gary Heston wrote:


Buy a set of driver bits, and use your drill to drive the screws.
You'll find it's a lot easier and smoother than turning them by
hand. (This assumes your drill is variable speed and allows good
low-speed control; if not, buy an inexpensive drill-driver.)

Thanks, Gary. I had done that in the past and ended up stripping
most of the heads. Maybe it was a bad (cheap) set of driver bits,
because the drill was definitely variable speed.

Cheap driver bits usually strip themselves or break. I've had good luck
with major brands; Irwin, DeWalt, even Black and Decker. Any of these
would be good:


http://www.lowes.com/pd_241486-70-DW2176_5003697__?productId=1238387&Ntt=driver+bit+ set&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_15%2B25_5003697__s%3FNtt %3Ddriver%2Bbit%2Bset&facetInfo=$15%20-%20$25

http://www.lowes.com/pd_296670-70-DW2504_5003697__?productId=3031274&Ntt=driver+bit+ set&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_15%2B25_5003697__s%3FNtt %3Ddriver%2Bbit%2Bset&facetInfo=$15%20-%20$25

http://www.lowes.com/pd_217891-353-T4047_5003697__?productId=1235227&Ntt=driver+bit+s et&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_15%2B25_5003697__s%3FNtt% 3Ddriver%2Bbit%2Bset%26page%3D2&facetInfo=$15%20-%20$25

There's also a chance that the screws you're buying aren't any good. A
lot of the stuff that you find in chain hardware stores is real crap.

That can be an issue, too. I've had some wallboard screws that about one
in ten would snap off half way into a pine 2x4.

Hardened screws would help with that.


Gary

On 06 Jan 2011 13:45:07 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

There's also a chance that the screws you're buying aren't any good. A
lot of the stuff that you find in chain hardware stores is real crap.

Thanks for the suggestion, but these aren't screws I'm buying.
They're screws that come with the towel rack or window blinds or
shelf or whatever.

Not that that necessarily invalidates your point, but I'd think that
the manufacturer of something to be mounted would provide decent
mounting screws or none at all.

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

Stan Brown wrote
Bert Hyman wrote

There's also a chance that the screws you're buying aren't any good.
A lot of the stuff that you find in chain hardware stores is real crap.

Thanks for the suggestion, but these aren't screws I'm buying.
They're screws that come with the towel rack or window blinds or
shelf or whatever.

Not that that necessarily invalidates your point, but I'd think that
the manufacturer of something to be mounted would provide decent
mounting screws or none at all.

Or they provide what they believe are useful and you are
welcome to use something different if you dont agree with that.

Most of us would rather have the screws included so we can use them if
we decide they are satisfactory and can bin them if we decide they arent.