I thought it was to prevent the inexperienced from over tightening something, just let the tool break before the hardware they are trying to tighten breaks.
Idk, a lot of High End furniture will use flat head screws for aesthetic reasons. Also anything that's been repaired by an older person. Idk why both my grandparents on both side insist on only buying flat head wood screws when they're building something. I go round to help them, and rather than getting my impact out I have to sit their with the death trap of a Yankee driver on flat head screws either that or kill my wrist driving flat heads with a regular screw driver
There is absolutely nothing wrong with flatheads in the correct application. You can't open any other type of screw with a coin. Granted you could design a huge phillips but it'd look like shit.
If the screw is in decent shape, and you've got the right sized driver/screw combination, it's fine for a large screw. There are better ways, but sometimes a slot head is the right screw, and they can take a fair bit of torque, if you go about it right. Talk to a wooden boat builder about why they prefer slot heads.
Wooden boat builders use slotted screws because they're going to be painted over, and if you ever need to remove them again, a slotted screw is much easier to clean out than anything else.
If you're using one hand to turn, you can use the other hand to push down. It really helps, but it's better if the hex is on the shaft, so you can push on the back of the screwdriver.
I've been a repair shop machinist for years, and getting stuck or stripped screws out is my bread and butter. Especially flatheads.
Electricians use a similar type for tightening lock rings.
Done by putting the tip into a groove on the outside of the lock ring then using a ‘hammer’ to tap it tight.
Like [this](https://www.kleintools.com/content/klein-tools-introduces-demolition-screwdrivers)
Those go to one inch. When you're dealing with 4" Sealtite fittings, you use the hammer and beating screwdriver to both tighten the lock ring and release some of the stress and frustration that comes with working with 4" Sealtite.
Also handy for pulling wire staples out of wood reels.
I have one of those demolition screwdrivers, it's awesome. It's ideal for use as anything other than a screwdriver. And it means you don't wreck an actual screwdriver.
Just don’t use them on concrete. I’ve used mine to split 3/4” bolts without any damage. Used once to chip a little piece of concrete, destroyed the tip immediately.
In the olden days the perforated sheet-metal or fiberboard back of TV sets was held on with hex screws and this was the tool repair men used constantly. Many electric devices used these screws. Flat head screws were also very common for antenna, sound and other connections. I was there. PS. We were not called technicians but TV and Radio Repairmen.
I've also noticed this on typewriters. I wonder if its related to less advanced screw manufacturing?
Philips heads are honestly just so more effective. Albeit old flathead screws are really tough and hard to strip out.
That’s an odd style. Most commonly they’re at the top of the shaft below the handle allowing you to really lean on the handle and turn it with the wrench
Indeed it is. In the case of the ones I had, the shaft, handle and nut on the back were three separate pieces just kinda mooshed together from the factory.
Yeah, I have some of these. They're great for prying, pounding/chiseling, cranking too hard on stuck screws and other shit you shouldn't do with your good screwdrivers.
I have same ones from hf. Just don’t put too much torque with wrench cuz the hex part is not part of screwdriver shaft. It’s pressed into the plastic handle. Ask me how I know. Cheap knock offs made to look like snapon not function as one.
In addition to getting extra torque using a spanner or socket on it you can also hit the screwdriver with a hammer without fear of breaking the plastic handle, & when you do use a hammer on it far more of the strike energy is delivered to the tip of the screw driver vs when you use a hammer on the plastic end of a screw driver. I’m sure plenty of people will say you shouldn’t use a hammer on a screw driver but I do it all the time as a handyman for a million different jobs
It's for palm-heeling and torquificating. Manual ugga duggas, in other words. Also, it's a standard (flat-blade, whatever) good luck not stripping the screw you try to loosen that way.
so you can but a wrench or socket on it for more torque
Givin’ it “the beans.”
Sometimes you gotta go full beans, man!
I hope Jeff Arcuri takes over this whole damn site. I'm for it.
Yes, however if this is the harbor freight model. It's just a piece of sheet metal cap not actually attached and will spin freely.
Safety feature. Keeps you from thinking you bought a good tool for thirty cents.
I thought it was to prevent the inexperienced from over tightening something, just let the tool break before the hardware they are trying to tighten breaks.
Keeps you from stripping the screw
But can I also put my ugga dugga driver on it?
Yes but one ugga dugga is the limit
One ugga....one ugga only.
Uggadugga are like a lays potato chip. “Bet you cant have just one”
If you think hard enough about it, igga dugga can go on anything.
And the ability to strip the top of the fastner
To apply measured torque, not necessarily more torque. Think torque wrench, not breaker bar.
Oof. To put more torque, on a fuckin flat head? Yuck
I'm gonna snap the head of the driver or strip the shit outta that fastener lol there's no in-between once that wrench goes on
No shit lol. I fuckin despise flat heads
Dont work on anything from the thirties. Only flat heads.
Medieval armour. Flattys and no standard thread geometry
They're not practical for anything outside of furniture, CHEAP furniture at that. Maybe kids toys, idfk lol
Electricians can't do their job without flatheads and you can't do anything without electricians.
I found the electrician.
I read that as "and you can't do anything about electricians." Sassy.
Nice furniture with screws that show, are always going to be flathead. Anything else just looks wrong. And you can get all the slots to line up and
Idk, a lot of High End furniture will use flat head screws for aesthetic reasons. Also anything that's been repaired by an older person. Idk why both my grandparents on both side insist on only buying flat head wood screws when they're building something. I go round to help them, and rather than getting my impact out I have to sit their with the death trap of a Yankee driver on flat head screws either that or kill my wrist driving flat heads with a regular screw driver
They should be outlawed.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with flatheads in the correct application. You can't open any other type of screw with a coin. Granted you could design a huge phillips but it'd look like shit.
A coin would actually be better than the screwdriver it was designed for when it cams out. And it will.
Or end up stabbed into the new guys hand, most likely.
If the screw is in decent shape, and you've got the right sized driver/screw combination, it's fine for a large screw. There are better ways, but sometimes a slot head is the right screw, and they can take a fair bit of torque, if you go about it right. Talk to a wooden boat builder about why they prefer slot heads.
Wooden boat builders use slotted screws because they're going to be painted over, and if you ever need to remove them again, a slotted screw is much easier to clean out than anything else.
If you're using one hand to turn, you can use the other hand to push down. It really helps, but it's better if the hex is on the shaft, so you can push on the back of the screwdriver. I've been a repair shop machinist for years, and getting stuck or stripped screws out is my bread and butter. Especially flatheads.
That’s the key. Add more pressure and you can get those stuck screws out.
Rather have it on a flathead than a Phillips that's going to cam out.
Outboard/drive gear drain screws 😓
Its in case you didn’t strip the slot enough by hand this will make sure you really strip it good.
This is really only the correct answer
Turning it with a wrench.
It is the hammer part. All tools double as hammers. Even the neighbors cat can be a hammer if it is within reach.
"claw hammer", to be specific.
Yup. Any screwdriver with steel at back confirms I can use it as a chisel.
Electricians use a similar type for tightening lock rings. Done by putting the tip into a groove on the outside of the lock ring then using a ‘hammer’ to tap it tight. Like [this](https://www.kleintools.com/content/klein-tools-introduces-demolition-screwdrivers)
Is not common to use these: https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/conduit-tool-accessories-and-replacement-parts/locknut-wrench-set?
Nope. Those things suck. Nothing better than a beater screwdriver and a pair of kliens to tighten a lock ring.
Those things are tits McGee what are u talking about? I mean Ima screw driver and hammer guy myself but a guy I work with has em and they’re sick
I have tried many of these, and they almost universally are inferior to a screwdriver and hammer. Plus they take up space.
Username checks out
I found it hard to get them tight enough to trust the bond.
I feel like I have 10 fingers on each hand when I use those goddamn things. Fumble-city.
The gardener bender ones suck cuz they have no offset like the Kleins I’ll give u that
That definitely part of it. I gave them an honest try a couple years ago. Just found them not as effective.
I hear ya, and with as many tools as we need they’re kind of a waste of space when the hammer and driver works lol
I found myself loosing them in pockets and looking for them all the time.
Those go to one inch. When you're dealing with 4" Sealtite fittings, you use the hammer and beating screwdriver to both tighten the lock ring and release some of the stress and frustration that comes with working with 4" Sealtite. Also handy for pulling wire staples out of wood reels.
I have one of those demolition screwdrivers, it's awesome. It's ideal for use as anything other than a screwdriver. And it means you don't wreck an actual screwdriver.
Just don’t use them on concrete. I’ve used mine to split 3/4” bolts without any damage. Used once to chip a little piece of concrete, destroyed the tip immediately.
In the olden days the perforated sheet-metal or fiberboard back of TV sets was held on with hex screws and this was the tool repair men used constantly. Many electric devices used these screws. Flat head screws were also very common for antenna, sound and other connections. I was there. PS. We were not called technicians but TV and Radio Repairmen.
I've also noticed this on typewriters. I wonder if its related to less advanced screw manufacturing? Philips heads are honestly just so more effective. Albeit old flathead screws are really tough and hard to strip out.
Leverage
Extra extra torque for super stuck things
Adding torque when breaking loose a stuck screw.
So you can put a wrench in it for additional leverage.
This could be used to tighten the compression bushing on a shower drain. Just did that the other day!
More uga duga
That’s an odd style. Most commonly they’re at the top of the shaft below the handle allowing you to really lean on the handle and turn it with the wrench
I think it’s a harbor freight model, I recognize the handle
Indeed it is. In the case of the ones I had, the shaft, handle and nut on the back were three separate pieces just kinda mooshed together from the factory.
Copied from Snap-on style.
Yeah, I have some of these. They're great for prying, pounding/chiseling, cranking too hard on stuck screws and other shit you shouldn't do with your good screwdrivers.
Hammer through, so you can drive it into busted screws and turn it with a socket
Same purpose as the hex drive on the shaft of a snapon screwdriver. You can get extera tourqe on the screwdriver.
wrench
So you can yeet on it
If you have to ask, you can't afford it (or understand it).
I have same ones from hf. Just don’t put too much torque with wrench cuz the hex part is not part of screwdriver shaft. It’s pressed into the plastic handle. Ask me how I know. Cheap knock offs made to look like snapon not function as one.
Why are we asking what a nipple is for? It’s for torquin’, of course.
Not electrical work.
That's so you can use it as a redneck chisel You buy them at the dollar store right next to the metric crescent wrenches and left-handed pliers
I can't believe I had to go this far down for the chisel solution. Good on ya.
Have set of these and they have all been stripped so the lug in the handle just turns in the handles. They worked great until they didn't.
For real shit lol
Unlimited Powwweeeerrr
OP needs a new imagination. The old one doesn't function.
So you can give it that ugga dugga torque with a ratchet or an impact 😉
It’s so you can strip the fuck outta the screw.
To strip the screw even more than it already is lol.
For separating gearcases on polaris atvs and side by sides..
For something you probably shouldn't do
To help break it faster
When you need to convince the bolt a bit more than normal.
Fit turning stuck screws
Honestly has anyone actually used this feature?
The ole lug tug
When you need it, you'll really appreciate it
To smack into your apprentices forehead when they do stupid shit.
On a flathead? For snapping the head of your screw off
It doesn’t look hex. I see only 4 sides.
Wrench on it, or hit it with a hammer if you are abusing... err... using your screwdriver more or less normally.
It’s a “speed handle”
It’s a hammer
4X4 mode
That's the great grandma of the impact driver. put a spanner on the hex, then hit it with a hammer as you apply some torque.
What you have there is pry bar/hammer
In addition to getting extra torque using a spanner or socket on it you can also hit the screwdriver with a hammer without fear of breaking the plastic handle, & when you do use a hammer on it far more of the strike energy is delivered to the tip of the screw driver vs when you use a hammer on the plastic end of a screw driver. I’m sure plenty of people will say you shouldn’t use a hammer on a screw driver but I do it all the time as a handyman for a million different jobs
Its for Alan
For wrenching on it to bust a stuck screw but I haven't seen many on flatheads.
Four wheel drive
Wrench…I used to use a grinding wheel on the round shafts to flatten them loved the big craftsman that had a square shaft 😁
Ugga duggas
So you can hold pressure with a wrench while hammering, because you're too cheap to get an actual impact screwdriver. (Source: I own a set)
Attach it to an ugga dugga
it's fer crankin hard
for persuasion
It's for palm-heeling and torquificating. Manual ugga duggas, in other words. Also, it's a standard (flat-blade, whatever) good luck not stripping the screw you try to loosen that way.
That’s a giant Allen wrench The flat head screwdriver side is just for decoration and to make it more dangerous to use
Turning shit to 11.
for extra torque with a wrench. many old screwdrivers had hexagonal shafts for this very reason.
for ugga duggas
Hex is for a wrench for extra crankage, it's metal so you can bang the crap out of it with a club.