The cross-holes of Phillips-head screws are too tight to turn! Special tool to use in such a case!

When tinkering with old or out-of-print cars, you often encounter screws that have stuck. You can spray lubricant and wait a while before applying a screwdriver, but haven't you ever rushed ahead and crushed (or tampered with) a cross-hole?　It is a pity to look at the spinning screwdriver and the damaged cross-holes, but you still want to loosen the screw somehow. For such a situation, there is a tool made just for loosening a screw that has been nipped. We recommend that you utilize a special tool before the damage escalates.

The cause of a screw that has been screwed up is "insufficient pressing force.

Phillips screws are one of the most popular screws used in motorcycles and automobiles, as well as in our daily lives. Even if you don't have a hobby of tinkering with machines, many households have at least a set of screwdrivers. Although anyone can intuitively understand that a Phillips-head screwdriver is used to turn a Phillips-head screwdriver, it takes a certain amount of knowledge and technique to actually tighten or loosen a screwdriver. First of all, it is important that the cross-holes of the screw and the size of the screwdriver match, as is obvious to DIY motorcycle tinkerers, but there are three sizes of screwdrivers: 1, 2, and 3. These sizes do not indicate the dimensions of the hexagonal head, such as the 8mm or 12mm of a bolt, but if the cross-hole and the tip of the screwdriver do not match, the turning force will not be transmitted properly. Furthermore, when turning the screwdriver, not only must the grip be turned in the direction of rotation, but the entire screwdriver must be pressed against the screw. This is true not only when tightening screws, but also when loosening screws. In fact, the initial input to loosen a tightly tightened screw requires more concentration on pushing than on turning the grip. The reason for this is the shape of the cross-holes. The cross-holes taper toward the tip and provide good screwdriver accessibility. However, when rotary torque is applied, the tip of the screwdriver bit will try to lift out of the cross-hole. This phenomenon is known as "come-out. To prevent this, it is an ironclad rule that the screwdriver should be turned while pressing it against the screw. Therefore, when tightening a screw with excessive torque or loosening a screw that has become stuck due to rust, it is effective to spray the screwdriver with lubricant spray or use a penetrating screwdriver or shock driver (impact screwdriver) to turn the screw while applying impact.

There are also varieties of extractors that can loosen nappy screws.

Despite pushing the screwdriver with great energy, the screwdriver unknowingly lifted up and crushed the cross-holes and nipped ....... If the screw is a pan-head screw with a raised head (nabe small screw) and there is nothing around the Phillips screw, you may be able to turn it with a pair of locking pliers in a firm nipping motion. Alternatively, you may be able to loosen the screw by tapping the head of the screw with a hammer. However, depending on where the screw is installed, locking pliers or a trowel may not be able to be used. In such cases, an extractor comes in handy. At first glance, screw-type extractors look tapered like wood screws, but they are left-hand threaded. Therefore, when it is screwed into a right-hand threaded Phillips screw, a loosening force is applied and the screw can be extracted even if the cross-hole is not made straight. The tool introduced here is a type of extractor, which features an extractor and drill blades on both ends of a hexagonal bit. When using a general extractor, select an extractor of the correct size for the screw diameter, and use the appropriate drill for the tip size to make the pre-drilled hole. If the drill hole is too small for the extractor, the tip can only fit in a small amount of space, so the loosening force is not transmitted sufficiently, and the tip of the extractor may break if turned too hard. On the other hand, if the hole is too large, the extractor will spin around and not bite the screw, making it impossible to loosen. This product is attractive because the extractor and drill come as a set, making it difficult for a mismatch to occur between the diameter of the pre-hole and the diameter of the extractor. Each of the three extractors is clearly labeled with the corresponding screw diameter, so the appropriate choice can be made. Furthermore, this extractor has a finer screw pitch than general products and can be turned with an electric screwdriver. If a large amount of torque is applied all at once with an electric impact driver, there is a risk of the bit spinning or breaking, but by rotating it slowly to the left with an electric screwdriver, it can bite into the screw to be extracted and loosen it. Some people may be reluctant to use an extractor if they have experienced breaking the extractor itself in the process of screwing in a collapsed screw. In many cases, however, the reason for the problem is that the diameter of the pre-cut hole and the size of the extractor do not match. In this respect, this product, which includes both an extractor and a pre-drill, will allow you to bite down firmly on the screw and pull it out with little risk of damaging the tool.

Impact driver to loosen by biting into special tooth tips.

Some impact drivers that loosen stuck screws are also specialized for loosening Phillips screws with crushed cross-holes. The bit (tip) of a typical impact driver is the same as that of a regular screwdriver, but the product introduced here comes with a bit with a special cutting edge, which is used to create a new screw slot by biting into the collapsed cross-hole. The hexagonal shaft of this bit is 6.35 mm on the same side as that of ordinary bits, and it can be turned with an impact driver set. However, bits specialized for loosening Phillips screws have a narrower shaft diameter and a cutting edge that is more suited to the task of loosening screws. While a general tag head screw can be used to loosen a small nabe screw, this bit, which has a screw diameter close to the shaft diameter, is definitely easier to use for the countersunk screw used to secure the brake master cylinder cap. The extractor with an integrated drill and the impact driver introduced earlier are both niche tools focused on the removal of Phillips screws with cross-shaped holes, but they are reliable in situations where the Phillips screwdriver is spinning and cannot be gripped even with locking pliers. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, loosening a Phillips screwdriver with a Phillips screwdriver may seem simple, but it is surprisingly difficult. First of all, be sure to turn the screwdriver while pressing down hard on the screw to avoid the come-out phenomenon. If you still damage the cross-holes and lick them, try to find a way to loosen the screw somehow by using tools such as those introduced here.

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