OK I will admit it, I am thick!
But can someone explain why there is not one standard for crosshead screws and therefore only one type of screwdriver needed to fit?
I am fed up having to work my way through my screwdriver bits to find the one that fits a particular screw.
So why are there different ones and what is the easiest way to see which bit fits which screw?
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Don't know whose screws you get , Bobby.
I get mine in full boxes from Selco and I always keep a fair stock in the workshop.
I rarely have to change bits, all the way from 1x6 up to 4x12. That includes wood, chipboard, drywall and self-tappers. The ' hole ' seems to be the same. I can't figure the sizes out in metric...thank God they have Imperial as well on the boxes.
Perhaps it's just the particular make they stock.
Ted
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IIRC the cross-head screw was meant to be an improvement over the slot-head, then someone came along and improved it........................
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Lord bobby, you only have a choice of two! it cant be that hard!
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But in fairness there are different sizes too. But you're right they are likely to be Phillips or Pozidriv.
Edit.... if one is Pozidriv then there's a set of marking on it showing it's that sort. Another cross at 45 deg angle to the actual slot.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 00:11
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Perhaps I shouldn't post this (!):
tinyurl.com/3mcvlh4
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Unless of course you have a Scania.
They have their very own star shaped screws but they do give you a screwdriver kit when you buy one new.
Pat
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If I could go back in time I would kill Messrs Phillips, Crosshead and Possidrive, and pass a law enshrining the good old-fashioned slotted head for all time.
Who on earth thought that picking paint out of a clogged up phillips head was an advance on a simple hacksaw blade to clean up a slotted head?
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A fair point Cliff, but on the other hand screwing at funny angles is much easier with a Posi or Philips as the screws don't fall out of the screwdriver so easily.
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Posidrive screws are great in wood when you are screwing in 50 at a time.. wham bang... No faffing around nonsense..
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It was Posidriv screws I recently used for decking (I think). Don't think they were Philips. It would have been a lot slower with crosshead screws. It would have also been a lot slower without a power drill.
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There is something very satisfying about driving a Pozidriv screw with the correct sized bit.
The snug fit and positive feel is something you just don't get with any other screw.*
* That's a sentence BBD should have some fun with.
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The decking screws came with their own, correct sized, bit. Hence I didn't actually check if they were Posidriv but I am sure they were.
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Most crosshead wood screws are Pozidriv - Philips tend to be used more for metal and plastics.
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Most timber screws are Pozi these days as are about half of decking screws. The rest of decking screws are usually Torx for an even surer grip.
One area where Phillips heads live on is with plasterboard screws.
Maybe it is because if you burr and bodge them on the way in you are only going to skim over them and never have to take them out.
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>> There is something very satisfying about driving a Pozidriv screw with the correct sized bit.
>>
There is something very satisfying about driving in a cross head screw with a sweep brace knowing that an ordinary screwdriver probably will not touch it if it needs removing.
None of this elektricky bits.
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>>I am fed up having to work my way through my screwdriver bits to find the one that fits a particular screw<<
I quite often use a flat headed screwdriver on crossheads, so the problem doesn't apply.
:-)
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"I quite often use a flat headed screwdriver on crossheads, so the problem doesn't apply."
Use a hammer - its quicker and easier
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It amazes me how many people use a rechargeable screwdriver for the simplest of jobs,
I've got a Worx, but I rarely if ever use it, I'd use it alright on decking and the like of course.
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>> It amazes me how many people use a rechargeable screwdriver for the simplest of jobs,
>>
One screw is a simple job by hand, 50 are a pia by hand.
I have two power drills- one 3volt Lion (tiny but £7 from Tesco) and one 14V.. When you are building roofs for bees, screwing is soemthing you can to loathe...
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>>One screw is a simple job by hand, 50 are a pia by hand<<
Yep! - I'll go along with that OK.
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>> >>One screw is a simple job by hand, 50 are a pia by hand<<
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>> Yep! - I'll go along with that OK.
X 2....and the other advantage is that, in softwood, you don't need to drill first....just line it up and spin it through both bits of wood.
It don't not 'arf save time !
Ted
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>>and the other advantage is that, in softwood, you don't need to drill first....just line it up and spin it through both bits of wood<<
I've orften found it wood split the would doing that, so I'll always pilot it first, m8y.
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>> >>and the other advantage is that, in softwood, you don't need to drill first....just line
>> it up and spin it through both bits of wood<<
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>> I've orften found it wood split the would doing that, so I'll always pilot it
>> first, m8y.
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>> Agreed, if I'm working near an end or it's thin.
But my 14volt Ryobis shove the screws through 3X2 scant like a hot poker through lard.
No longer ' fabulous ' ,by the way ? Doggo.
Ted
Last edited by: Ted on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 17:33
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...But my 14volt Ryobis shove the screws through 3X2 scant like a hot poker through lard...
I have a 12v Ryobi, nice tool.
It does what little I ask of it, but it's not got as much poke as I thought it would have.
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Not sure why the number of volts makes a difference... I think it's mostly marketing.
Had an 18V Woolworth's own brand (cost me £5 at a boot sale, new) which certainly beat the 12V Lidl own-brand one I now have. But realistically I'll always choose my Bosch electric drill if there's a lot to do.
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>> Not sure why the number of volts makes a difference... I think it's mostly marketing.
Not really, its all down to ohms law. Its easier + cheaper to get more watts on the job with higher volts cos less amps required.
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Well of course that's right, but I'm sure there's marketing in it too.
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well of course, it always helps sales to say you have more of something.
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>>No longer ' fabulous ' ,by the way ? Doggo.<<
I'll have half :)
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...Use a hammer - its quicker and easier...
I've seen carpet fitters use a hammer to drive screws in metal joining strips.
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>> I've seen carpet fitters use a hammer to drive screws in metal joining strips.
So have I.
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Screwdrivers are for taking screws out?
Is it still possible to get bits for a 'yankee'?
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 16:54
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>> Screwdrivers are for taking screws out?
Exactly. If you have fixings like this.
www.screwfix.com/p/fischer-nylon-hammerfix-6-x-60mm-pack-of-50/28374
Last edited by: Crocks on Tue 7 Jun 11 at 16:55
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>> >> Is it still possible to get bits for a 'yankee'?
>>
I have one lying in the garage unused...A Yankee 135B in original plastic wallet..
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>> ...Use a hammer - its quicker and easier...
>> I've seen carpet fitters use a hammer to drive screws in metal joining strips.
Some of them even use their wretched hammer and nails to fix gripper to concrete floors. It works, but only for a short while.
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The one I saw hammered screws into wood.
One clout and it was in.
Didn't mark the head, and seemed to fix OK.
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Carpet fitters use hammers for their metal rails as - one told me - it means that you don't scratch the metal rail as you would if you used a screwdriver.
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Crosshead screws - Ted
