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Your favourite screw head

Arran Cameron

What is your favourite screw head for small machine and self tapping screws? Is it Slotted, Pozidriv, Torx, JIS B 1012, or do you prefer something more exotic like Pentalobe or Tri-Wing?


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    I never really thought about screw heads before, just found a Wikipedia entry "List of Screw Drive", never realised there were so many types, quite interesting really, thank you for the steer.
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    Hex and Torx are good for fiddly little things where other types of screw keep camming out.  But for general screwing things together, I tend to stick with Pozidriv.
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    Depends on the hardness of the material of the screw, if it's a decent steel then hex socket or (for bigger screws) torx, for brass slotted, and for anything in between (which is most screws) pozi. But then I do tend to go for hex when I use stainless screws, which are pretty soft, so it's slightly more subtle than that.


    Torx should be brilliant, but the slight slope on the drivers means they can still tend to cam-out, which hex socket doesn't. It would seem that a "straight sided torx" would be superb, but maybe there's a subtle reason it wouldn't work? (Maybe hard to locate the tool in automated assembly?)


    Or the other answer: whichever I've got most of in the drawer that are the right size!


    And just occasionally I see my absolute favourite even in small screws: hex head. Not beautiful, but can nearly always be undone (because you can get a grip on the blessed things) however old they are.


    Most hated? Probably Philips...you get one shot at undoing them and if you muck that up you're doomed...
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    Philips are an old fashioned screw head deliberately designed to cam out when inserted using powered screwdrivers that did not have a torque limiter. They are no longer recommended for new products.


    I have mixed feelings towards hex sockets because they are produced in both metric and imperial sizes (that are almost impossible to tell apart by eye) and they can round off, especially if the wrong size tool is used on them.


    For some reason or other the square Robertson screw heads have never caught on.


    Does anybody know why the JIS B 1012 screw heads are rarely used on products developed outside of the Land of the Rising Sun? I have the correct screwdrivers for these screw heads and prefer them to Pozidriv. The screwdrivers can also be used on both Philips and Pozidriv screws.
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    When I was boarding out my loft, I picked up a big box of Easydriv screws from Wickes.  They conveniently came with the right driver bit.  They do seem to work well with a small electric screwdriver.
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    Well both JIS and Pozidrive are attempts to improve on the American  Phillips.

    JIS have retained the same angles of attack  (26.5 degres cone angle) but have the point removed and vertical wings, not tapered so a JIS driver can be used on a Phillips screw and will go all the way in, but a Phillips driver will ride high in a JIS screw and not engage well.
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    Simon Barker:

    When I was boarding out my loft, I picked up a big box of Easydriv screws from Wickes.  They conveniently came with the right driver bit.  They do seem to work well with a small electric screwdriver.


    It's noteworthy how many boxes of screws come with a screwdriver bit for them nowadays.


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    I kicked off a discussion here on screws for domestic electrical fittings, which seem to be exclusively the dreadful slotted head. It seems the chief attribute of these is that you can align the slots....

    Pozi and similar are very good for most applications.
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    Alex Barrett:

    I kicked off a discussion here on screws for domestic electrical fittings, which seem to be exclusively the dreadful slotted head. It seems the chief attribute of these is that you can align the slots....

    Pozi and similar are very good for most applications.


    Electrical fitting screws are M3.5 and are available with tamperproof Torx heads. If you look in the right places, you can buy them with 2 hole tamperproof heads. This head design is only suitable for relatively low torque applications.


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    Arran Cameron:
    Alex Barrett:

    I kicked off a discussion here on screws for domestic electrical fittings, which seem to be exclusively the dreadful slotted head. It seems the chief attribute of these is that you can align the slots....

    Pozi and similar are very good for most applications.


    Electrical fitting screws are M3.5 and are available with tamperproof Torx heads. If you look in the right places, you can buy them with 2 hole tamperproof heads. This head design is only suitable for relatively low torque applications.




    Of course "tamperproof" just means that someone has to buy a new set of tamperproof screwdriver bits if they want to tamper with it.  Failing that, rummage through your toolbox until you find something you can mash into the hole in the screwhead.


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