I kinda miss a few opinions on the topic of “screw taste” here. 🥲

old version:

  • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    44
    ·
    edit-2
    2 days ago

    Hex is amazing, actually. Perfect for mechanical systems that need precision adjustments and/or precision tightening torque. The driver grips solid and is really hard to accidentally strip.

    Slotted / flat head is a joke and I can’t take you seriously if you claim it deserves a top spot in any ranking.

    Phillips is great for layman end user applications that need protection from over-torque, as it’s designed to reject a driver when torqued out. But it’s the wrong head to use in like 90% of the places you encounter it.

    • craftrabbit@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      2 days ago

      Yes, screw Philips, all Philips heads should be turned into Torx heads. And slotted heads can go straight into the bin.

      • HejMedDig@feddit.dk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        edit-2
        2 days ago

        Slotted are sometimes the only option, when working in small scales, like M1 and M1.2 because there is so little material in the head of the screw On larger scales, I totally agree

          • HejMedDig@feddit.dk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            2 days ago

            Okay, I never encounter them through my work as an optician. I guess slotted are just cheaper then.

            • fractalizard@feddit.org
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              1 day ago

              It could be a similar issue as with electricians and electrical contacts: in principle there are far better alternatives to slotted, but because literally every electrician has a number of slotted screwdrivers anyway, slotted is cheap and changing the screw type for a product like a circuit breaker is just a huge hassle for everyone involved nobody bothers.

              Edit: actually for circuit breakers the combo of slotted and pozidrive is becomming more common recently. i guess that doesn’t work for small screws though.

    • rtxn@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      2 days ago

      My only issue with hex is that the angles between the sides are too flat and easy to round off, especially if the screw is small or cheaply made (soft steel or aluminium). Speaking from experience, if the screw head is 3mm across or smaller, Torx or JIS (which is still better than Phillips) are more reliable.

    • BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 days ago

      Hex could have been great, but along came the Americans with their units, and since hex was in mm, then they had to make their own hex in fractions of inches. I’m involved in archery, where you meet both without warning. Almost as annoying as having ISO, UNC and UNF threads.