3 ms·

Phillips head screws are pretty standard in the US, but pretty much any other non-slot screw head is technically superior (including at least two other plus sha

Phillips head screws are pretty standard in the US, but pretty much any other non-slot screw head is technically superior (including at least two other plus shaped drivers I'm aware of). Most woodworkers I've known prefer a square shaped driver. Unless the costs of the screw significantly impact your margins, Phillips screws suck.

serf 4y ago
>Phillips screws suck. I felt this way through my entire engineering life until I bought a sailboat. Everything on marine stuff tends to be flat-head or similar design -- engaging a flat driver into a slot in a bumpy/roll-y ocean is hell. The self-centering engagement aspect of a cross-socket style drive is absolutely fantastic after a long day of trying to tighten flat-slot fastened tube-clamps and the like at sea during calm conditions, let alone during weather. That said -- yes, phillips head sucks, they round out and won't handle any decent amount of torque over repeated sessions without deformation. Robertson (square)/allen/torx kind of suck at sea, because they lack any form of self-centering without using special taper drivers. In a perfect world I think that I would like to use pozi-driv fasteners and drivers everywhere, but the reality is that there are so many types of specialty hardware in use in the marine-world that it would be difficult -- if not impossible -- to switch it all entirely over.
- aidenn0 4y ago
  Yes, they are better than flathead screws, which are the second (or maybe third after a combination philips/flathead[1]) most common screw I encounter in daily use. 1: Which I just learned last month they make special screwdrivers for! https://www.amazon.com/Combo-Driver-4-Inch-Klein-Tools/dp/B00OJQWWFC https://www.amazon.com/Combo-Driver-4-Inch-Klein-Tools/dp/B0...
- robocat 4y ago
  > flat-slot fastened tube-clamps I am unsure exactly what you are referencing with “tube-clamps”. If you mean hoop-clamps or hose-clamps, then those usually have “self-cantering” hexagonal heads as well as the slot: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=stainless+steel+hose+clamp&iar=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=stainless+steel+hose+clamp&iar=ima... But I can definitely think of places with slot-heads on deck of the yachts I have been on, which would be a bitch in swell. And stripping a thread would also suck!
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  I wonder if the prevalence of flat head screws has something to do with ease of machinability. I imagine there's a lot of custom or obscure fasteners on boats. A flat head bolt or screw has the benefit of being able to be made with not much more than a lathe.
- abudabi123 4y ago
  Everything on marine stuff tends to be flat-head or similar design -- engaging a flat driver into a slot in a bumpy/roll-y ocean is *hell*. Off topic: the hell of a bumpy/roll-y ocean manually controlled lift crane arm operation is improved by a single rotating supporting pillar with an expandable webb-y forklift mechanism that goes in the water and retrieves the dive vessel with a one button push and Ai selfguiding.

serf 4y ago

>Phillips screws suck. I felt this way through my entire engineering life until I bought a sailboat. Everything on marine stuff tends to be flat-head or similar design -- engaging a flat driver into a slot in a bumpy/roll-y ocean is hell. The self-centering engagement aspect of a cross-socket style drive is absolutely fantastic after a long day of trying to tighten flat-slot fastened tube-clamps and the like at sea during calm conditions, let alone during weather. That said -- yes, phillips head sucks, they round out and won't handle any decent amount of torque over repeated sessions without deformation. Robertson (square)/allen/torx kind of suck at sea, because they lack any form of self-centering without using special taper drivers. In a perfect world I think that I would like to use pozi-driv fasteners and drivers everywhere, but the reality is that there are so many types of specialty hardware in use in the marine-world that it would be difficult -- if not impossible -- to switch it all entirely over.

aidenn0 4y ago
Yes, they are better than flathead screws, which are the second (or maybe third after a combination philips/flathead[1]) most common screw I encounter in daily use. 1: Which I just learned last month they make special screwdrivers for! https://www.amazon.com/Combo-Driver-4-Inch-Klein-Tools/dp/B00OJQWWFC https://www.amazon.com/Combo-Driver-4-Inch-Klein-Tools/dp/B0...
robocat 4y ago
> flat-slot fastened tube-clamps I am unsure exactly what you are referencing with “tube-clamps”. If you mean hoop-clamps or hose-clamps, then those usually have “self-cantering” hexagonal heads as well as the slot: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=stainless+steel+hose+clamp&iar=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=stainless+steel+hose+clamp&iar=ima... But I can definitely think of places with slot-heads on deck of the yachts I have been on, which would be a bitch in swell. And stripping a thread would also suck!
sgtnoodle 4y ago
I wonder if the prevalence of flat head screws has something to do with ease of machinability. I imagine there's a lot of custom or obscure fasteners on boats. A flat head bolt or screw has the benefit of being able to be made with not much more than a lathe.
abudabi123 4y ago
Everything on marine stuff tends to be flat-head or similar design -- engaging a flat driver into a slot in a bumpy/roll-y ocean is *hell*. Off topic: the hell of a bumpy/roll-y ocean manually controlled lift crane arm operation is improved by a single rotating supporting pillar with an expandable webb-y forklift mechanism that goes in the water and retrieves the dive vessel with a one button push and Ai selfguiding.