When a Phillips is not a Phillips!

Step 19 Phillips II®

A recent evolution of the Phillips design resulted in a next generation, patented Phillips II. The ACR improvement is basically a Phillips screwdriver that has ACR ribs, making it ideal for assembly line and home use. Phillips II screws have ribs in the recess of the screw. The ribs mate with the ribs found on the Platinum tipped Phillips II ACR driver bit. This rib-to-rib connection allows for driving in and backing out the screw. The ribs are on either or both the driving and removal faces on the wings. The patented anti camout ribs (ACR) guarantee stick fit, easier drive and less fatigue. Deck Mate screws are a good example of these and the Deck Mate driver bit often comes with the screws. Screw heads are marked with double hash marks 45 degree to cross recess.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Phillips II

The rib-to-rib connection allows for more torque, off-angle driving, heads that will not snap off, and screws that will not strip. You will never have another stripped screw that can not be removed! You can not drive a square drive or a star drive off angle! Proprietary threads means faster drive. Patented anti-camout ribs (ACR), guarantee stick fit, easier drive and less fatigue. Deck Mate screws can be driven with #2 Phillips or #2 square driver bits but for best performance use Deck Mate driver bits with ACR. You will never have a stripped screw that cant be removed.

Comments

[Phillips Fastener]

You may have noticed that the Deck Mate screws in your area are now a star drive. These screws are not made by Phillips the manufacturer of the patented Phillips Square Driv with the blue bit. Home Depot owns the name Deckmate and they have chosen to have a different vendor supply the screws that are inside the box in part of the country. The original, patented Phillips Square Driv screws are available at www.phillipsfastener.com No charge UPS shipping. We are calling them Phillips II Plus. YOu will recognize the drive, the bit and the box.

[ceknight]

Firstly, let me say... a fascinating instructable! Sure I knew there were specialty screws, but had no idea the extent of the "Philips" type screws out there. Sheds new light on why I've had some trouble with odd screws/drivers with what I thought were perfectly fine philips (hmm, or were they?) drivers.

Secondly, in my dozen plus years as a camp ranger and caretaker, I have driven literally thousands upon thousands of these "Deck Mates" and they are my go-to screw, even though they are a bit pricier and I can only find them at Home Depot. I do find that even though they are marketed to be driven with standard philips bits, it has to be a very good bit to have with success with it. Standard square drives are no problem however. Stick with the matched Philips II bits with the ACR and you can't go wrong. Good thing they're included with a full box of screws. I've managed to shatter a few of them driving hard.

[gentry]

Re: The Philips II section. I notice you also call these "Deck Mate" in the description, and that's what I remembered. They're sold at Home Depot, where each box comes with a matching bit. They are significantly better than low-quality philips screws (i.e., the ones you buy by the pound), but I've also found that good quality deck screws with ordinary philips heads are pretty good. The two advantages I have found to the Deck Mates are that you can drive them a little bit offcenter (good for kids) and the bits last longer and are less likely to shatter than philips. They're a bit expensive, but they have probably saved me as much time in not messing around with stuck/bent cheap screws.