WWA Info Exchange

Is there any *&)^%#)%^& way to drive a brass screw without stripping the phillips drive slots???? I am doing a small thing nothing worth a picture but I will be d*****d if I can get a screw set without stripping. I even install a steel screw first and still no joy, It's personal now, I don't care if I use a hundred screws, but I will find a way to do it first time every time. What methods do you use??????????????

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Paul G
"To the last I grapple with thee, from heqq's heart I stab at thee, for hates sake I spit my last breath at thee."

Shun those studies in which the work that results dies with the worker.
-- Leonardo da Vinci

I usually end up breaking the heads off, rather than trashing the slot. Consider yourself lucky.

Try sticking the threads in wax before you drive it. That will reduce the friction and should help.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Another vote for wax. I keep an old candle in the shop for just such cases.

Paul, I feel your pain and your aggravation! Using the steel screw first is a needed first step.

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C J K
in beautiful -
Oxford GA, USA

Keep some steel screws of the same size around. Drive the steel screws in then remove. The brass ones will go in like butter.

Sometimes I take use the edge of triangular needle file to turn the steel screw threads into something like a tap. It cuts the wood rather than just pushing it aside. A good fresh screw driver bit that fits perfectly helps the stripping problem. Maybe an oversize steel screw would reduce the driving torque... Good luck!

1.Pre drill holes.

2.Use a steel screw of the same size with wax or soap first.

3.MAKE SURE that your driver fits the size of the screw
(there are phillips screwdrivers from #00, #0, #1, #2, #3, #4.)

4.Then use wax or soap on the brass screw also.

5.Push on the driver (either hand or power) like you want the screw to go into the wood.

6.Use epoxy when the above fails.

Rog

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Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Just like Roger says only I try to shy away from power drivers with brass. Hand driven screw drivers work the best. The steel screws are fine for power drivers, but when you go to insert the brass one, do it by hand.

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Frank
WWACOAUX#1
"I love the smell of Sawdust in the morning, it smells like, victory."
WWA'ers I've met: Popeye, Ed Avery, Stephen Wolf, Rockfish, Rodedon

Ditto RR and Frank. Might add, go slow.

Bill

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Amateur Bill
O'Fallon, MO
______________________________
If a man speaks in the forest, and no woman hears him, is he still wrong?

I'm in shape, round is a shape.

I once worked with a carpenter in East Hampton Mass who told me the thread was only for removing them

Nothing useful to add I do think older brass screws were "harder" or something. I have had the same problem, and only perseverence has prevailed.

Good luck with it Paul

Hey Paul,

The way Pop taught me was:
Use a taper drill, or step drill the hole.
Soap (not wax) the screw.
Use a brace and bit, or a hand screwdriver.

Good luck,
Tom

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"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."
Mohandas K. Ghandi

Pretty much the same here, I use a Vix bit to drill a pilot hole and run in a steel screw and install by hand with a screwdriver. Slowly and carefully.

That bar of Dial soap is in the workshop to help with screws.....not for personal hygiene

Verna

Ditto on the soap and pilot holes. Drive slowly and with a little pressure. I also set the torque on the power driver at minimum.

Wayne

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My father was my Mentor for my WW hobby. luv ya dad.

WW'ers I have met.
Guroo
Verna
Wooder
Paul, (brother,)
Falcon1.
Gene and his friend George

In addition to making sure you use the correct size driver, be sure the tip of the driver is in good condition. A torn up driver will destroy the slots every time.

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John

Paul - I can't add alot to the information already posted - the responses are spot on.

I would emphasize that for brass a manual screwdriver is best. It sounds
like wallowing out the head socket is the problem. That being the case, the correction lies with the driver or the screw. As has been suggested, a
tight fitting screwdriver tip that is properly sized is one solution. The other
has to do with the quality of the brass screw. Brass screws that I have purchased at Lowe's and HomeDepot are generally poor and very soft. Brass screws that I have purchased from McFeely and even Rockler are
significantly harder and less prone to the problem you have described.

Hope you find a solution - I understand your frustration.

Tom

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T-n-T

Spax screws. good German stuff. if it starts getting "tight" stop for a couple seconds then partial turns. Lots of pressure on the screwdriver

I made 6 big doors last year for the entrance to a meeting hall. I told the cust. that I was a woodworker and not a carpenter so I would build the doors but NOT hang 'em. I'd assist but he had to find a good cartenter.

I'd had considerable problems driving the brass screws that come w/ the hardware (predrilled, soaped, you name it) and had to find the right screws at a dealer here in town. BIG difference. Made in America screws seemed to have none of the problems that the for east scres did.

When I got the install stage I cautioned the boys that there would be problems w/ the Tiwan screws that I'd not replaced and I would replace them if they got into trouble. They already knew that and said they'd take care of it.

They did. Impact driver. I bought one the next day. And would not be w/o it again. Size of the screw seems to make no difference. W/ the right bit it won't ruin the slots and it won't snap off the heads.

I've posted my experience on this here before w/ most folks thinkin' I was crazy. While that may be true, my experience says I'm crazy like a fox.

Good luck.

_________________
Joe T

I should have added that I am driving a No 10, 1-1/2" long screw, so it not exactly a lightweight, in red oak.
OK wax or soap I have, and I am irked that I did not think of it.
Did the steel screw of the same size, check my op, and I am sure that helped but not enough.
Triangular file thing??? very clever indeed.
Did predrill the holes, did use the steel screw, not the wax or soap but will. driver fits well.
Could not push any harder on the driver.
Epoxy?????
Hand drive a screw??? I am a power tool junkie. If it can't be done with a power tool it don't need doing.
Slow I can do, just ask Debbie
Not sure right now where screws where made, but will check and adjust as needed.
Tapered drill I can and will get, brace I have, not sure if I have a bit for it.
Vix bit?? for centering screws in a hinge???, not applicable here, just attaching two pieces at 90 degrees.
We use Dove soap lately although I don't like the filmy feel it leaves on my skin Debbies shin is nice and soft
Quality of the screw could be suspect,
Where to acquire Spax screws, not heard of them.
Impact driver, now where talkin, have been looking at the Bosch as I already have the non-impact model and I don't screw without it.
I will be back at this tomorrow as I am off work until Tuesday, will let you know.
Thanks

_________________
Paul G
"To the last I grapple with thee, from heqq's heart I stab at thee, for hates sake I spit my last breath at thee."

Shun those studies in which the work that results dies with the worker.
-- Leonardo da Vinci

There is a lot of variation in threaded fasteners, even in the aerospace industry, so I would not be surprised if you had some weaklings. Btw, 99% of all threaded fasteners for civilian use come from overseas and are imported by distributors who in turn sell to wholesalers, who then sell to retail outlets. Since fasteners are wholesaled by weight, it pays the manufacturer to make them using methods that get him the most per pound, rather than per fastener. This leads to manufacturing shortcuts that often are related to substandard heat treat, substandard materials, etc.. There was a big problem with this back in the late '80's and '90's in the military and aerospace, and a couple CEO's went to jail as a result. As a pure quality control issue, the "Acceptable Quality Level" (AQL) for even aerospace fastners has been 2.5% defective for decades. This gets pretty technical, but trust me that the real percent defective in any given batch can be far worse than 2.5%.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

http://www.mcfeelys.com/spax
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/spax ... crews.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Spax-410102000076 ... pd_cp_hi_2
I get them at the local HW store OSH