How to Stop Stripping Screw Heads
Intro: How to Stop Stripping Screw Heads
This instructable is a quick modification for drill drivers done at Techshop that will help the drill bit driver to seat into a screw head better so you can avoid stripping out the heads of your screws. The taper (point) on a driver bit sometimes gets in the way of it seating snugly into the flat bottomed screw head. As always start with the correctly sized driver for screw you are using.
Materials/Tools Needed:
Driver
Screw
Cordless Drill
Disc Sander (Techshop!)
Metal File
Materials/Tools Needed:
Driver
Screw
Cordless Drill
Disc Sander (Techshop!)
Metal File
STEP 1: Load Driver Into Cordless Drill
Load the driver bit into your cordless drill.
STEP 2: Square Off the End of the Driver With Disc Sander
Turn the disc sander on and then using the table to rest the drill on, hold the drill at a 90 degree angle to the disc sander face and carefully flatten the point off of the driver end.
STEP 3: Inspect Your Work and File If Necessary
Inspect your work and test fit your drill bit driver. If some of the metal burrs get in the way of a good fit, just file them away with a metal file and then enjoy frustration free screwing!
21 Comments
TheCommander 9 years ago
I have read in a book once that modifying the end of a tool with a grinder will leave you with a undesirable change in the metal do to the heat accumulated during the process. What was suggested was that you use a hand file instead so as to avoid the heat build up there by maintaining the hardened edge of the tool. Good post none the less.
dll932 11 years ago
1) slot the screw head with a Dremel and cutoff wheel.
2) Get a product called Screw Medic (basically emery dust in oil - like valve grinding compound). Put a little on the driver tip, gives more traction.
3) Squirt Rem Oil or Pblaster or WD40 on the screw head. Wait a moment. put the driver in the head and tap sharply with a hammer on top of the head. Then, TIGHTEN the screw slightly to break loose and then loosen.
4) Look for "anti-camout" bits from those tool-store-in-a-trucks. These have teeth cut in them so they tend to stay in as you extract the screw.
mickryobe 11 years ago
Check Robertson screws on Google to see their many advantages.
I have a set of three Robertson screw drivers that have been used for over 50 years and still hold the screw securely in any position. The tips show no signs of wear. Phillips screwdrivers self destruct in a relatively short time.
They are ideal for use in power screw drivers or drills. One hand is always free as there is no need to hold the screw.
They have never damaged a screw head.
They are colour coded, red green and black for the original three sizes of head recesses available. There are now other sizes each having its own colour code.
Quanah 11 years ago
kill-a-watt 11 years ago
Because it was so successful, it became the de facto standard, even in applications where the cam out feature is undesirable.
shannonlove 11 years ago
These days, torq limiting in maintenance is almost always signaled by a regular/single-slot screw. Those are heck to put in during manufacture but you really have to work at them to over tighten them.
The days of phillips head are clearly numbered. Despite the cost, I have begun to go out of my way to buy square or torx head screws in my own work simply because they are so much easy to work with and way more reliable to remove. I believe everyone should try the new styles out if they haven't already.
shannonlove 11 years ago
Since you're only removing a couple of millimeters (1/16") of material you don't really need a one-meter/one-yard in diameter stationary sander. ;-)
If you do find yourself with a stripped screw like the one in the first photo, a square drive bit usually a #2 will actually fit snugly because when the phillips strips out, it leaves a diamond shaped or square hole.
I am ashamed to say I never thought of that until one day I accidentally chucked a square bit while removing a stripped phillips and it came right out. *Sigh* Hate to think how many man hours I blew over the years not realizing that.
tim_n 11 years ago
lime3D 11 years ago
shannonlove 11 years ago
caarntedd 11 years ago
popewill 11 years ago
lime3D 11 years ago
http://www.harborfreight.com/phillips-2-insert-bit-90843.html
doo da do 11 years ago
Dr Qui 11 years ago
waldosan 11 years ago
curious youth 11 years ago
i dont think that small amount of sanding/grinding/whatver you wish to call it would have affected the tempering
chromebones 11 years ago
That's what she said.
richms 11 years ago
I wont buy fasteners other than square or metric hex drive for my personal use. IMO its a shame that torx didnt get more use on fasteners since its the most superior one.
CaseyCase 11 years ago