Usually, companies stop selling an item when people stop buying them.

 

Slotted screws still have a huge advantage over other types in one specific application and that’s for the attachment of marine or other outdoor hardware that may need to be removed after being heavily painted or varnished. When you fill the detent in a philips, star drive or roberston screw with multiple coats of hardened finish there’s nothing you can do to get a driver in there and remove it again. But no matter how caked on a finish is on a slotted screw or bolt (even to the point where you can’t tell at first where the slot is) you can chip the finish off the head and then drive a screwdriver the length of the slot and clean it back out. Once it’s cleaned out it‘s as easy to remove as when it was new. It’s still pretty common for craftspeople who understand this to use them in those particular applications.

Also, and to a smaller extent, they’re the only fasteners that look correct on restoration or recreations of historic pieces. I still buy un-plated slotted screws and bolts for these jobs at Blacksmith bolt and rivet supply-

Slotted Flat Head Steel Wood Screws

Jack

 

I agree. One great use for the discarded dental tools that I have collected over the years. Necessary tools when you have lived in previously owned homes over the last 50 years, so paint, glue encrusted fasteners, including bolt threads can be overcome with patience

 

Thanks for the information

 

Hate square drives, as the bits tend to round over, making them useless...

The only time I have used a Torx bit, is working on my cars....otherwise, meh..

I did use a Torx for about a week....as the large screws for the Deck I was building used a version of them...with a hammer drill to drive them....

 

Same as philips and straight blade - they get rounded edges and you re-dress them or replace them - all tools get replaced as they wear - the quality of the material and build are what determines the longevity.

 

Square drives only round over for two reasons. Cheap bits or cheap screws.

In the profession , companies buy what works till the next thing.

I used square drive on my deck and have zero regrets..

 

Just going from what I learned using them..putting the square drives right down there with those "Figure 8" POS one found in Mobile Houses and Campers...

Well aware of HOW to "dress" the end of slotted screwdrivers....as for Phillips? I just get a new one...

Have 2 sets of Torx Bits....3/8" drive and 1/2"....and a set of Torx Screwdrivers....in case that I MIGHT need them in my car.

Just VOE, YMMV, of course..

 

Most "normal" people probably don't have a torx or square drive screwdriver--but just about everyone has slotted/philips somewhere banging around in their junk drawer. That could be one explanation.

 

I think they do in Canada where they were invented.

 

Here is what I learned knowing the differenc. Milwaukee and Bosch did not stand up as well as the square drive bits from CH hardware, etc. At the time they were red.

If you are comparing them to tge big box, I can see why they fail.

I had to drive 3” in stallion screws and Phillips won’t cut it..

 

Ive driven many thousand Robertson -AKA- Square Drive, as stated above cheap screws and cheap drivers will fail with any style. I love Robertson because a good screw and bit will hold the screw whilst trying to reach and drive.
If I need structural or strong lags or screws I go with GRK Fasteners.
The only application I can ever see for slotted screws is for aesthetics.

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/robertson-screwdriver-the-biggest-little-invention-of-the-20th-century-so-far-feature

 

For removing painted screws find the next smaller screwdriver place it over the screw hole and give it a whack, clean out the paint with a pick, then unscrew. This technique works for Phillips, Robertson, and Torx.

The problem I've found with cheep screws is that they easily round over and crack. Add to that some cheep bits and you have an absolute mess. Buy quality fasteners and quality bits. Go get a can of Grandpa's screws and compare them to what is sold in the BBS today.

 

Well, in the small boxes I build....the screws are No. 0 phillip's drive...
As in a 1/16" drill bit for the Pilot Hole....

YMMV, of course.....not all of us here work in a Pro Shop....

I really doubt that there is a square drive bit for these screws....

Worked construction for many a year...concrete form work.....required 5/16" Hex head screws..by the pound...SDST ones. Duplex headed spikes merely needed a hammer....

Anchor Bolts merely needed a BIG Crescent Wrench...( 15" ones)....and plenty of Phillip's headed screws to build fillers for the Form work....that we needed to tear back apart after the concrete had been placed....

 

AMEN!

No joke, I almost started this same exact thread a few months ago. If I were king for a day, I'd mandate all fasteners be torx. With square drive being the only approved alternative.

You also didn't mention hex. Which I absolutely hate; as they always seem to strip if you actually need to apply some force. Especially with smaller fasteners. Phillips drive doesn't really need to be expounded upon.

 

AMEN!

No joke, I almost started this same exact thread a few months ago. If I were king for a day, I'd mandate all fasteners be torx. With square drive being the only approved alternative.

You also didn't mention hex. Which I absolutely hate; as they always seem to strip if you actually need to apply some force. Especially with smaller fasteners. Phillips drive doesn't really need to be expounded upon.

And don't forget clutch head screws. In trailers and campers. There may be a more correct name for them.

 

Folks should use the screws with which they are comfortable. I had no idea that this was such a contentious issue.

 

There are many contentious issues on this forum. While sometimes erroneous information is spread, mostly, it’s just opinions. I suppose that what makes the forum fun!

 

Oh yeah, this one keeps me up at nights…
Worst of all, the combo screws-slotted Robertson or slotted Philips. Guaranteed misery.

 

I don't know how torx or square drive would work on a # 4 screw but Phillips works pretty good for me. cant imagine a torx for a #1 screw

 

Smallest torx drive I could find: T1

T1

.031

.02 to .03 Nm

Yes, the measurement point to point is point zero three one that's just a smidge under 1/32".

I don't mind any particular driving system, just don't mix them in a project. I once worked on a DIY carport (wood with fiberglass panels) that had more than 10 different types in it. Good thing I had my 100 piece " I got that one" screwdriver tip set with me.

 

Smallest torx drive I could find: T1

T1

.031

.02 to .03 Nm

Yes, the measurement point to point is point zero three one that's just a smidge under 1/32".

I don't mind any particular driving system, just don't mix them in a project. I once worked on a DIY carport (wood with fiberglass panels) that had more than 10 different types in it. Good thing I had my 100 piece " I got that one" screwdriver tip set with me.

I used those daily when I was working as a Machinist.

 

Sigh.
What bugs me is the many sizes of star drive bits. You can't reliably tell by eye a T15 from T20, a T20 from T25, or a T25 from T27. Frigging GRK screws sometimes have different bit sizes for screws that are near identical and used in the same project. At least the proliferation of driver types seems to have slowed.
I carry over a dozen bits in my pocket to survive. Also have at hand two flat blade & a #2 phillips screwdrivers.

Second rant is painters who remove the 4"brass door hinges with #2 phillips, screwing up the bronze finish screws. They may have never heard of #3 phillips but in any case don't have one.

Third rant: JIS screws & drivers. These seems to work like crap no matter what. Uncharacteristic of Japanese stuff.

This has become a highly valued and often used screw assortment- 7+lbs:

 

And then there’s 5 Point Torx or Security Bits AKA Pentalobe

 

I have a Reed-Prince screwdriver that’s worthless. Can’t even give it away.

 

Me too, I needed it long ago for something, used it once and never again. Also have a full set of Posidrive (European Phillips) that got a lot of use on Swedish cars.
BilllL

 

Motaru

 

This kind of thing is sadly very common. There is no one perfect screw, perfect driver, perfect sharpening stone, perfect table saw, perfect measuring system, perfect USB connector, or for that matter perfect anything. Different types of screws and driving methods have different intended purposes, purposes that utilize the advantages of the screw/driver design. Look for reasons with that in mind and one will find them.

Sure keeps a forum alive arguing about it all though!

 

Ok..how many here still USE a Yankee Screwdriver...

Or one by Greenlee?

Or..Chucked a screwdriver bit into a Brace Drill?

 

I have a couple of those hanging in my workshop that my dad owned. I no longer use them, but 40 years ago before cordless tools came along I used them every day in construction .

 

What is real handy...

Not only can this drill the pilot holes way back in a corner...the chuck will accept a driver bit and drive the screw home...
Sometimes..Olde School Tools just seem to work better.....

 

German woodworker here. For three decades I used to live with Pozidrive, which is (or has been till the advent of Torx) the standard for European wood screws. Like Philips, but with four additional side blades. Probably seldom found west of the Atlantic Ocean. But already a lot better than Philips. Torx became a thing in the 2000s, and I see its benefit because the ejecting forces that ruin PH/PZ screws so quickly are zero and the grip between bit and screw is much greater than with any other. Allen (hex) are only found in applications where a threaded hole is present (metal, hard polymers). I often use them for building jigs. I have a great aversion to lag screws; cannot count how many heads just sheared off when trying to UNscrew them after a time when corrosion has set in.

Recently I had my first contact with square hole screws (pocket hole) which are largely unknown in Europe. I have to say I am not impressed with the system and would prefer Torx anytime if there is a choice. The tight fit and absence of ejecting force allows for unparalleled power transmission. Surely one needs quality bits and fasteners, as always you get what you (don't) pay for.

Slot screws still have their niche, for classic application and certain hardware. But for halfway efficient mass application they're just not suitable.

 

I use slot head screws, both brass and steel on my reproductions; for the same reason as I use hide glue - authenticity.

Not so easy to find in small sizes. I recently wanted some brass #4s in 1/4" length; found them from a company in NYC that has been making screws for 100 years.

I have on occasion, removed zinc plating with acid to get back to the basic.