The message from "The Medway Handyman" contains these words:
Quit and use something else instead. Screwfix sell alternatives. Pozi, while miles better than Pirrips, is still not great. Hex, Torx, square - all are a lot better.
There are - I had a play with one. Hitachi I think, but it might not have been.
Bits - I use some from Screwplan in Todmorden. Don't know what make they are, but he does mail order! I always get the 50mm long ones - seem to last better and are less fiddly. I still break them with the impact driver, but very rarely with the drill.
Perhaps because Pozi and Phillips are just not suited for power tool use. They are both better than slotted for hand screwdriving, but there are several other head types far better suited for power use.
As such, it makes little sense to spend effort developing more sophisticated ways of stopping camout, and simply adopt Torx, hex or square drive instead.
make the best screwdrivers I have ever come across. Both the tips and the handles are unbelievable, in fact I've just ordered replacements for my lost and abused ones I bought in the mid 90's. They do bit sets - if those are as good as their Rocko series then they should be OK.
Torx bits don't work very well on existing Pozidriv screws though.
:-)
I think the problem is that there are so many variations of 'cross-head' screws. Not only are there the original Phillips (sp?), there are Pozidriv, Supadriv and no doubt others, as well as Japanese versions of these used widely on electronic equipment. Actually some very cheap "stubby" screwdrivers are perfect for these Jap/Korean screws.
I've a) no idea what you're on about or b) any idea what cam out is.
How would that differ from the standard torque limiter on an electric screwdriver? FWIW, I've had luck getting rusted and almost rounded fasteners out by using a very low torque setting and letting it hammer at it.
Cam out is the force that tends to push the bit out of the screw, as it turns, due to misalignment, and geometry of the bit/screw junction.
This is zero with Torx and Square Drive - but can be quite high with some sorts of cross-slot screw/bit combinations.
Basically, the idea is that you don't have a torque limiter as such - but you set a torque/force ratio.
I.E. you push on the screw with 100g force, it will only turn the screw with enough force to make the cam-out push 70g. If you're not applying enough force, and the bit is likely to slip, it simply stops until you push harder.
Especially with soft screws, once it's slipped the first time, it just gets worse. And causes bit wear of course.
The gold plated ones from screwfix are very nice and have never slipped for me --- but at the price I only use them for the more difficult jobs, over £2 a bit (I think it was £14 for a box of 6) and I'm frightened of losing them.
You do know there are two main types of cross points don't you?
What is needed is one screw head type not umpteen
So that you can use the drill on a variety of alloys including the crappy titanium-ally ones that have the cheap look of steel and the cheap strength of brass.
If you are using the wrong driver bits -or those crappy ally ones, do as for brass screws: Pre drill, then use a real screw of the type the bit was designed for, to ream the wood.
Better still, go and get a box of the right screws and throw the ally ones in the bin where they belong.
What are you using to drive them ? If you dont have one already go ou and buy an Impact Driver, you will NEVER go back to an ordinary drive after using one. They literally punch the screw home and cam out i virtually a thing of the past, you need very little pressure on th screw so its easy to drive screws at arms length and as long as yo pull the trigger the screw keeps going it is an amazing piece of kit If you can get into a store and try one you will be converted
wira diamond bits are some of the best I have tried, snap-on with anti cam out ribs are really, really good too, but the real breakthrough comes from not using a drill to do things up but get yourself an electric/battery impact driver, they are an essential as far as I am concerned and they don't mess screw heads up .
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