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It might be a technique thing, although you are correct that those maligned "modern" screw designs do not strip as easily.

It is crucial to get the right type and size of screwdriver - look for the markings on the screw to differentiate Philips from Pozidrive (mixing them up will chew up screws). Give a test wiggle before trying to turn the screw - there should be minimal slop, and the bit shouldn't immediately try to "cam out".

Apart from that, the trick is maximal downward force. Push the screwdriver into the screw as you're turning - most cross-head designs will try to "cam out" due to tapered sections of the interface, and that's what chews up the screws. I rarely strip screw heads, even on cheap consumer products.

I learned the difference between Philips and Pozidrive at school, thank goodness, and this has saved countless stripped screw heads. I am surprised how few people know about it, even professionals.

It’s particularly important when using power tools. An electric drill with Philips bit will instantly munch a Pozidrive screw.

It is the 45 degree markings you’re looking for, in case that isn’t clear: https://shop4fasteners.co.uk/blog/pozidriv-vs-phillips/

Thank you for this. As an amateur I knew the difference existed, but I was never sure how to tell them apart. And if I had ever actually thought about it I would have googled, but it's one of those things that never occurred to me until I was knee deep into a repair.

JIS is still a thing as well. Look a lot like Philips except that it's way easier than normal to cam out.

Easier to cam out than Philips? Yuck!

It's generally better to cam out without wrecking the head than to cam out only under sufficient force as to tear up the slots.

Philips usually damage the head when camming out because as they cam out the total contact surface slowly goes to zero, so at some point the pressure exceeds the strength of the metal.

Right. In my experience, JIS screwdrivers lose contact faster if you're off-angle so they don't have the same opportunity to trash the head.

Exactly this - camming out as a protective feature is hugely over-blown and possibly totally false. In my experience, only the very cheapest of cheese-grade screws (a la Aliexpress) chew up without camming out.

camming out wasn't to protect the screws, it was to protect the sheet metal...

It's supposed to be much harder to cam out with JIS, unless you try to use a Philips screwdriver on a JIS screw (which will most definitely cam out and chew up). I treated myself to a JIS screwdriver, for the rare occasions I adjust my (Japanese) bicycle groupset.

JIS, as far as I know, is the technically superior cross-head design.

JIS screws will strip/cam out if you use a Philips, where I misunderstood this when replacing a rear lamp assembly on a 2016 Subaru, destroyed the JIS screw head where it had to be removed using the 10mm socket instead.

I've now used JIS bits for JIS screws and had no issues further than the initial.

Thanks for the tips and for the more or less confirmation of my terrible technique. You're right that I pay no attention to Philips vs Pozidrive, will definitely need to start taking that into consideration. When following a guide, I do pay attention to exact bit sizes when they are mentioned , but for guide-less jobs I just go with "this looks like it fits". Will try out wiggling before committing.

I imagine it'll take a while to start to get a feel for it, wonder what's the best way to get a good amount of practice without damaging (useful) things.

Damage useless things? Seriously though, practice and experience are necessary, go and get some! Sadly that sometimes also includes learning how to figure out when you're out of your depth, which can be an annoying lesson to learn when you break something nice.

If you doing a lot of small screws I would suggest getting a Wiha precision screwdriver set. The iFixit set has great cost/value ratio, but there are much better tools on the market.

> Give a test wiggle before trying to turn the screw - there should be minimal slop, and the bit shouldn't immediately try to "cam out".

This is the number one trick I've learned working at a repair shop. If you learn to do this, you can almost always get the screw out. In a worst case scenario, I've found that a flathead can sometimes get out a stripped torx screw, though don't try this unless there's no other option.

We switched everything to Torx at one of the companies I do work for (from Phillips) because too many screws would strip out. This is SATCOM stuff, mostly maritime. You get a tiny bit of gunk seizing the thread, and you wouldn’t be able to get screws out because you couldn’t apply enough torque to loosen them without camming out and stripping them. Torx has basically completely solved the problem.

At the factory all the structural screws and bolts go on with torque wrenches (not really necessary for covers etc.). But you can get the feel pretty easily when required in the field - we’ve had so many fewer problems, it’s crazy. I’d never design something with a Phillips screw in it again!

The "stripping in seconds" bit makes me think you might be using a drill / driver to do it instead of a screwdriver. With the former it takes a fair bit of practice to notice imminent slippage, while the latter makes it much easier so that you can avoid it.

You absolutely need to use the correct sized screwdriver for the screw. And then make sure to press the screwdriver firmly into the screw while you turn so it can’t climb out.

You can get away with close enough or lower pressure if the screw is loose. If it is not, one size off and you’re asking for trouble.

If it seems like this is annoying, think of the screw as an interface. One typically works to comply with an interface’s specification, otherwise they likely get unexpected results.

Not only this, but the correct driver head is designed to spin out before stripping the screw threads or over tightening.

The head stripping instead of the threads or hole is a feature, as the desired point of failure.

A quality screw can spin out without too much damage, but often today cheap screws mean trashing it once that's happened.

If it comes to the worst, there are still things you can do.

1) If the stripped fastener is accessible (i.e., not down a hole) you can try cutting a new cross slot in a screw head or new flats on a nut using a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel (or a small file, if you're old-school). This is also an option for any special fasteners that you can't get a driver for.

2) You can (carefully) drill the screw head off, then, once the piece immediately below the screw head is loose and has been removed, grab the stub with a pair of vise grips and turn it out.

3) If it's in plastic, you can heat the screw head with a soldering iron until the plastic surrounding the screw body melts and the whole thing can be pulled off (obviously this is going to result in damaging the plastic to some degree... you may need to use a larger self-tapping screw to put it back together, or you could put a small amount of hot-melt glue down the now-oversized hole, in case you need to do it again).

As others have said, hand drivers are a better choice for this than powered drivers. If you do use a power driver and it has adjustable torque, start at the lowest setting. And yeah, as much downward pressure as you can apply without breaking the case is a good idea.

If you are stripping Phillips head screws a lot try finding a screwdriver one size larger. I tell people to find the screwdriver that looks like the right size and then go one size up. The head should be snug in the screw, if it is not you are far more likely to strip it.

Also pay attention because some Phillips head screwdrivers are pointy and some are more flat tipped. Using a pointy screwdriver on a flat type screw is a good way to strip them.

With the right tools you will almost never strip a Philips head screw that isn't rusty or glued in. In the latter case you're more likely to snap the head off entirely than to strip it. Finally, when removing the screw remember to push down on it (yes this seems counterproductive) to avoid slipping out of the hole.

Guarantee doesn't include cases where the knucklehead before you used the wrong screwdriver and rounded the crap out of the screw head.

Guarantee doesn't include cases where the knucklehead before you used the wrong screwdriver and rounded the crap out of the screw head

For those cases, there's the manual impact driver. Hand-held, whack the end of it with a hammer and it drives the Phillips/whatever bit into the fastener while giving it a little twist. A couple of whacks will remove the most stubborn screw. Or it will tear the head off. Those are the only two outcomes I've ever seen, it never just sits and spins in the rounded slots.

> some Phillips head screwdrivers are pointy and some are more flat tipped

Some Phillips are not Phillips at all. They are JIS. Or pozidriv.

For me the fragile flat ribbon cables are hindering repair: they either break too easily or they are super hard to put back into their slot. And getting too close with a soldering iron will just melt the whole thing :)

How do you repair a broken flat ribbon? They are often custom sizes, including weird shapes going around corners.

Yes- death to Philips and slotted screw heads. Torx, square/Robertson, or (internal or external) hex heads are all so much better.

Slotted (flat) screw heads at least enable the user to use a 'non-tool' to remove the screw in the case they do not have the necessary tool on hand.

Take for example my front license plate, the flat head screws enabled a random while I was at work to remove the plate from the car, without any specialized screwdriver.

So in some instances flat heads may prove to be useful. Philips however has often led to the screws I need out getting stripped. Torx all the way.

Torx are really good screws actually, I believe you can apply more torque to them without stripping them and they're a staple in any repair kit these days.

Similarly I have screws (and adapters) in my toolkit that look a bit like torx, they inspire me with a lot more confidence than Philips heads.

And my TV is mounted to the wall with 8cm deep screw-bolts. That one didn't come with any tools, but we have a set of ratchet bolt thingymajigs that did the job just fine. My drill bit just was a little too short and the hole was on the wonk so it still took far longer than I would like, but, lessons learned.

Torx and starheads are great for things like soft wood, but too much torque screwing into metal or plastic is going to crack the casing or strip the threads or hole instead of the head.

Similarly they work well for bolt applications with a lock washer or other point of weakness to handle over tightening.

Torx screws really should be used with a driver with an adjustable torque setting, which is pretty standard on most cordless drivers now, but rare for manual ones.

FYI, Phillips screwdrivers are often referred to as "star" in my experience by average people. Best to just use the proper terms.

>FYI, Phillips screwdrivers are often referred to as "star" in my experience by average people.

FYI, that's wrong. The proper generic term for Phillips, Frearson, Posidrive, and similar is cruciform or cross drive, not star.

>Best to just use the proper terms.

"Star drive" is the proper generic term inclusive of the trademarked Torx, its security Torx version, and similar 6-sided drivers.

Just as Robertson is a tradename for a type of square drive.

A quick search seems to only list Phillips as "star" drive for some Indian web sites.

[0]The hexalobular socket screw drive, often referred to by the original proprietary brand name Torx or by the alternative generic name star drive, uses a star-shaped recess in the fastener with six rounded points.

[0]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives

Also: https://www.sizes.com/tools//screw_drive.htm

FYI, it's not wrong, because it's my lived experience: all my life a Phillips screwdriver has been called a "star screwdriver" by everyone around me (I'm in Ontario). I'm not saying to use the generic terms, but the actual terms; that is, Phillips, Torx, Robertson, etc., because those are unambiguous. The generic or "official" terms are irrelevant, just as the generic term for velcro, hook-and-loop, is irrelevant, because everyone calls it velcro.

Also, as far as I know, Robertson is the only tapered square drive.

I, too, struggle with stripping screws. It gets better, but you have to be careful. For one, don't ever use a power tool. Second, find a screwdriver that fits the actual screw's dimensions--not just the screw type and rough size, but actually fits the depth of the (e.g. Philips) head. Too narrow/sharp of a screwdriver can easily strip screws. I found a magnetic tip helps a lot too, if only because the driver is a different, grippier material.

There are ways to recover stripped screws, e.g. by using a bit of rubber band between the screwdriver and the head. There are tons of YouTube videos. But if you can't, you are probably better off drilling it out than destroying the case.

> The much maligned in right-to-repair circles Torx and Apple pentalobe screws

I have no idea why they invented those; hex (Allen) screws are better. I don't have these tools and neither does practically anyone else. Oh, that's why they invented them.

Torx can take more torque than a hex (due to the much smaller driving angle at the tool/bolt contact point). Bolts that take the same torque can thus have a thinner head.

Hex screws strip extremely easily and if you use a bit too much force the hex bit easily gets stuck in the screw and you have to wiggle it free, further damaging the screw.

Torx bits are much better, and they are very common, at least in Europe.

Pentalobe on the other hand, is just Apple being Apple. They don't want you opening their devices (with some exceptions, like the remarkable RAM upgrade mechanism in the old 27" iMac, or the various fancy ways of opening Mac Pros.

Was going to say this - there are a lot of hex head screws out there whose slots are now nearly perfect circles.

I use some in the shop, but they're exclusively ones where the head can be a full-depth socket, at least as deep as the screw threading is wide. And when I have to tighten or loosen a hex head, it's always with a T-handle wrench to ensure I've got the thing squared.

Pentalobe is simply there to make repairs harder.

Torx was specifically designed to allow transferring more torque with less wear and not meant for user hostility. It was certainly used that way for some time in some applications (while in others Torx was chosen mainly for its original intended purpose), but I'd say nowadays the bits are so common that it's not really effective as an annoyance for the user.

The patent on Torx ran out a few years ago if I remember correctly, and I have any Torx bit at home for small devices, while only missing the bit for wood screws and larger.

Aluminium is weak as piss. I get verbally abused by our machinist for simply asking for an M2 tapped hole. Even on a CNC, your tap can break during a run and you will have a vey bad day. How any of those tiny screw holes is machined in mass production is beyond me.

I did a fair amount of threads as small as M1.2 in aluminium and brass by hand. You absolutely want to use two number sets of taps (undersize and finishing) for that.

Second the call for quality screwdrivers.

You might be encountering thread locker too. You’ll notice a residue on the threads of screws.

I’ve used a narrow tip on a hot air reflow gun to heat up fasteners I know have a thread locker on them. Do need to be aware of what is heat sensitive and how the hearts spreading. Is sometimes not an option.

Give rusty screws a shot of WD40 and let soak for a while. Overnight if it's really bad. Clean the WD40 off the screw before starting to unscrew, then proceed as required.

I use Wiha screwdrivers for that very reason. Buy some good, German ones; inspect your old ones, and give most of them away.