The opposite “Phillips” head screwdriver you may not learn about
Not each Phillips head fastener is a Phillips head fastener.
I believed this was widespread information till right this moment, once I was talking with one other tech who had no thought what I used to be speaking about, and I relived a lesson from my salad days of wrenching.
Many moons in the past, when rebuilding the carburetors on Japanese bikes, I’d exchange all of the {hardware} for the bowls and carb tops on CV items, for they had been continually stripping. I used to poke enjoyable at them. I stated they had been made from cheese.
An outdated mechanic noticed me doing this on a pleasant older bike, and advised me I used to be an fool. Fairly naturally, I requested him why. He advised me I used to be utilizing the incorrect instrument on them. Nonsense! It’s a easy Phillips-head! Why, I had drawers stuffed with them. He laughed and advised me to convey him one of many screws I used to be throwing away. Along with his tobacco-stained pinky nail, he pointed to a small dot in one of many corners of the cross.
See the dimples? These are JIS shorthand for, “Stroll again to your field and get the proper instrument!” Picture by Lemmy.
“See that?” he requested. “That punch mark is to inform you to not use a Phillips-head driver on it. That is known as a JIS screw. Japanese Industrial Normal.”
I believed he was breaking my horns. Then I appeared into it. Seems, he was appropriate. A real Phillips head screw “cams out” at a reasonably low torque studying—precisely why I believed they had been stripping (and why you’ve in all probability stripped them too). Nobody is certain if the design was developed that means, however the patent was up to date in 1949, when that very cam-out “function” (helpful for machine-driven fasteners in these days) was described.
JIS screws are a bit totally different however look comparable. Many, many gadgets made in Japan use JIS screws, which have a unique profile within the “cross” space, in addition to a extra vertical angle of assault within the head of the fastener. They’re additionally flat within the backside, whereas a Phillips bit isn’t, so it stands out of the slot when inserted, reducing the contact space between driver and fastener.
JIS screwdrivers stop broken JIS fasteners, and so they additionally could be helpful for a Phillips fastener that’s been marred—generally prudent use of a JIS driver can extract the Phillips fastener. (And in case you get it out, exchange it with one thing contemporary so that you don’t sweat the identical factor twice!)
Not all screwdrivers (nor fasteners, for that matter) are created equal. The one on the best is a JIS driver. Picture by Lemmy.
I’ve received a couple of manufacturers of those kicking round in my field, however I believe Vessel makes some very nice ones. They’re costly and all the time have been, and they’re price each penny. I like to recommend them.