# Phillips and Brass screws (tips)



## CanuckBeaver (Dec 23, 2004)

Hi all! A couple of things that I'm sure all of the old timers know but being a newby myself I thought I'd pass them on.

We all run into our favorites from time to time, Phillips or Brass screws.  

For Phillips screws try fitting a Rob screwdriver in the head (find a snug fit) and just try it side by side with a Phillips screw driver. It reduces or eliminates damage to a Phillips screw.

On to brass screws, rub some candle wax into the threads of a brass screw before you start to drive it in. When you start turning the screw in the friction melts the wax and lubricates the screw. When you are finished the wax sets and holds the screw preventing from backing out due to vibration or hinge movement. Again try it side by side with and without wax.

I know it doesn't sound like much but every little bit helps.
Good luck,
CB


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

I always drive steel screws of the same size in first, then the brass. That way they go in nice and easy and the heads don't get damaged.


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## ejant (Sep 10, 2004)

Great tips thanks.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

For members in the US, a ROB screwdriver is known here as a square drive. A handy tip for removing partially stripped out Phillips screws: Wet the tip of your screwdriver and dip it in a can of cleanser. The cleanser fills the head and can give you just enough purchase to get a screw out. Reed Prince screwdrivers(often called cabinet makers screwdrivers) look like a Phillips but come to a sharp point. You can use the sharp point to bore a small hole to start your screws. If you need to remove a tamper proof Torx fastener, you can often use a small straight blade screwdriver wedged between the security pin and the sides. "Snake Eye's" fasteners(two small holes) can be removed or installed using snap ring pliers. Since everybody has interchangeable bit screwdrivers these days, buy yourself a set of security bits. Tamper proof hex or Torx drivers will handle standard hex or Torx fasteners.
Now for the part where everyone thinks I'm crazy. Tighten a #2 Phillips screw into metal as tight as you can with a Craftsman Screwdriver. A Snap on Screwdriver will take it right out. But if you use the Snap on to tighten the screw, the Craftsman wont budge it. Try it, you get what you pay for.


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

"Now for the part where everyone thinks I'm crazy. Tighten a #2 Phillips screw into metal as tight as you can with a Craftsman Screwdriver. A Snap on Screwdriver will take it right out. But if you use the Snap on to tighten the screw, the Craftsman wont budge it. Try it, you get what you pay for."

I'd be willing to risk a bet here..... of course you are talking the Craftsman professional line of black screwdrives that beat the "snap-on" ones in just such a test??????

Ed


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Ok Ed. 5 cents cash money. Just to be fair about it, you bring a brand new Craftsman Professional #2 Phillips. Then match it with a 15 year old, well used Snap on out of my roller cabinet. To be fair, neither can have the patented/licensed ACR Phillip's tip, or both need to have it. That way we really will be comparing apples with apples.
Snap on is the company that invented sockets and revolutionized the way we work. They continually improve tools with patented differences like the fact that their sockets and box wrenches grab on the flats of a fastener as opposed to the corners like all others. Wider handles on adjustable wrenches to make them more comfortable to use is another example. Always top quality. Unsurpassed service. I use my tools every day. To me it's worth the difference.


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## pmspirito (Sep 19, 2004)

I got hooked on McFeely's square drive screws a couple of years ago to the extent I threw out all of the screws I had in the shop from Home Depot and Lowes and use the McFeely's exclusively. I order on line and the order arrives within a couple of days. I have never broken a McFeely screw. I recently used a couple of hundred 3 inch stainless steel screws in building some front porch columns for our house in North Carolina that we are restoring.

Check them out at www.mcfeelys.com


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

aniceone2hold said:


> Ok Ed. 5 cents cash money. Just to be fair about it, you bring a brand new Craftsman Professional #2 Phillips. Then match it with a 15 year old, well used Snap on out of my roller cabinet. To be fair, neither can have the patented/licensed ACR Phillip's tip, or both need to have it. That way we really will be comparing apples with apples.
> 
> I just wanted to point out that I think it was in 2000, 2001 they had this contest using a new snap-on vs you name it screwdrivers based on the sales pitch of snap-on ie yours tighten mine takes it out..... Guess who won.... and it wasn't snap-on. Sears used this win as advertising for a while. Yes they all had the ground tips so it was apples and apples at least in that respect.
> 
> ...


 Ed


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

pmspirito said:


> I got hooked on McFeely's square drive screws a couple of years ago to the extent I threw out all of the screws I had in the shop from Home Depot and Lowes and use the McFeely's exclusively. I order on line and the order arrives within a couple of days. I have never broken a McFeely screw. I recently used a couple of hundred 3 inch stainless steel screws in building some front porch columns for our house in North Carolina that we are restoring.
> 
> Check them out at www.mcfeelys.com


 Great place to shop and lots of good information on screws in the catalogs. In fact I have taken pages out and put them in my folders out in the shop for reference.

You know I have a large collection of screwdrivers, my wife thinks it's excessive, of size 0 and up I maybe have 75 or 80..... now this is not count bits etc. I still have my Marples flat blades from the old days..... I just about never part with a screwdriver, some get ground into other things or end up in the shed or what ever....

Ed


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## JamesEMc (Nov 4, 2004)

aniceone2hold said:


> Reed Prince screwdrivers(often called cabinet makers screwdrivers) look like a Phillips but come to a sharp point. You can use the sharp point to bore a small hole to start your screws.


Back before Christmas, I looked for Reed & Prince screwdrivers to use on the small brass screws that come with small hinges. Everywhere I went I just got blank stares. Home Despot, Lowes, Ace - I finally found a couple of #1 Phillips screwdrivers that worked well enough, but I did drill pilot holes first - little bitty ones.

If anyone knows a source for true R&P screwdrivers, I'd like to know it.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Try here:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=2748652/mode=googlegfhg


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Both Grainger.com and McMaster.com have reed and prince insert bits for your hand or power driver. McMaster Carr calls them Frearson Bits, but I have never heard of that term before. 

As for Snap-on Vs. Craftsman,etc., As someone who uses hand tools in an extreme environment at work, the only snap on tools we buy are ratchet handles. The price/quality curve in my opinion gives PROTO tools the nod. They are good enough to do most any job, but cheap enough to not kill someone when they are lost, or replace when the finish is damaged and they start to corrode. (Plus snap on tools don't come in the BIG sizes I need)

Comfort is important, because I do not use my craftsman ratchets at home because the logo inset into the handle is a little hard on my hands. I use the oval shaped Proto's because they get into tighter spots and feel good in the hand.

The right tool for the job is often the tool in your right hand right when you need it..... (sorry if I offend any leftys). If it works for you, and you like it, there is no need to use anything else. I don't have the budget to buy the best for home, so I buy the best tools I can justify for my needs at home. I have even bought used tools from the pawn shop because they were good tools in good shape at a very reasonable price. (plus they came without another Blow Molded Plastic Case to have to get rid of)

Just my humble opinion.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

James, You may have to order it from the catalog but Sears does carry them. This will be the least expensive choice. Snap on offers them as "cabinet makers screwdrivers".


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Doug, what "big" sizes are you talking about? My wrenches go to 2-1/2", my sockets to 3-1/2" and they are all in stock at Snap on. I still have my Proto box set from Motech, 30 years and going strong. Proto(Ingersol Rand) tools have always been a good value, but they are tougher to replace(here). IR air tools are my choice since they are rugged and dependable.
Lets face it, there are many quality brands of tools out there. None of the companies make the right tool for every job. I suspect you have had to modify or build special tools for some jobs the same as I have. Perhaps grinding a wrench for clearance, cutting a slot into a socket to turn a hard to reach drain valve, even building your own specialty socket for a difficult job. I am happy there is a place where we can share our knowledge of what works and what doesn't.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

2-1/2 are about the biggest we normally need, and I guess it was my mistake, I don't have a full line catalog. Still, I can just imagine how much one 2-1/2 box end would cost!

As for modifying wrenches, that is a necessity and a curse. We have a bin for special tools, modified wrenches, and it seems no one will check there first, they'll just cut on a brand new wrench. Most of our wrenches that are modifed are for sneaking into the tight spots on our cranes to work on hydraulic hoses. 

I agree that Ingersoll-rand Air products are the best, period. That is what we use in our inside shops. Our outside shops use Chicago Pneumatic, because they are "disposable." We used to use IR outside and inside, but the cost of an IR overhaul kit versus the cost of a new CP impact wrench was about even when you factor in the cost in time/money to overhaul them. (especially when the tools are being abused by those who don't have to fix them...)

If there is a forum where we can share our knowledge of what does and doesn't work, I can certainly be the expert on the 'doesn't' part, I get more than my fair share of that.


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## JamesEMc (Nov 4, 2004)

Thanks for R&P info - I used to buy from both Grainger and McMaster-Carr back in the days when I had to work. I'll get some.


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