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What, no love for the Whitworth pattern? 
SCREWDRIVERS (JIS VS PHILLIPS) KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!
- Thread starter chief38
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When I was researching them a year or so ago before I bought the set for my neighbour's son, I recall reading that nowadays not all JIS screws have that dot. Can't recall where I read that, though, or I'd link it here.chief38 said:
BTW, the screwdriver set I got for the neighbour's son weren't Vessel but Sunflag. Good quality and made in Japan.
Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!What, no love for the Whitworth pattern?
The Whitworth thread was the world's first national screw thread standard, devised and specified by Joseph Whitworth in 1841. Whitworth's new standard specified a 55° thread angle and a thread depth of 0.640327p and a radius of 0.137329p, where p is the pitch. The Whitworth thread system was later to be adopted as a British Standard to become British Standard Whitworth.
With the adoption of BSW by British railway lines, many of which had previously used their own standard both for threads and for bolt head and nut profiles, and improving manufacturing techniques, it came to dominate British manufacturing.
With the adoption of BSW by British railway lines, many of which had previously used their own standard both for threads and for bolt head and nut profiles, and improving manufacturing techniques, it came to dominate British manufacturing.
He designed good rifles, too. It is thought that it was a Whitworth rifle fired by a Confederate sharpshooter that killed Major General John Sedgwick at the battle of Spotsylvania at a range of about 1000 yards.
Then there's BA (British Association) screws. I had to get one a couple of years ago for (I think) a rear sight on a Martini rifle.
As someone quipped years ago, "Standards are wonderful. That's why we have so many of them"
I work for a Japanese company and have had two sizes of JIS drivers for a long time and it makes a big difference.
Screws probably came from China and VERY soft........Check the box.....LOW rpm is the only way to use those.
Where is the dot located?
From Chapman Mfg. website:
...the vast majority of them have a tiny dot stamped into them. However, customers have wrote in and said that not every JIS screw has the stamped dot...
DWalt
Member
I have a similar but somewhat more extensive set, must have at least 50 different types and sizes of hex bits. Have never looked at them closely enough to see if any are of the Japanese JIS style. Bought the set at a gun show at least 25 years back. I don’t remember seeing a screw head with a dot, probably because I have never looked for a dot.Here's a tool that I find useful for the occasional weirdly shaped screwhead. (E.g., for tightening handles on some of our cooking pots and pans.)
Think I got the screwdriver bits off Amazon pretty cheap.
I have an inexpensive miniature set, too, that comes in handy for electronics and such.
I checked. My set has over 100 bits. Several may be the JIS style, at least they look different. I can’t really say.
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From the posts above, two depictions of JIS screw heads:
There seems to be some confusion... Post 10 vs Post 27.
There seems to be some confusion... Post 10 vs Post 27.
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charlie sherrill
Member
This is all she needs.
I recently told my oldest grand daughter to bring me a flat head screw driver and she brought me a butter knife. It worked.
charlie sherrill
Member
BTW, re the JIS screwdrivers on Amazon - you can also get interchangeable bits that look like they will fit our 1/4" hex handles, but although the diameter is OK, the length of the very end - beyond groove where the ball bearing secures the bit - is longer and needs to be cut down a little. I don't have an unmodified bit that clearly shows it, but the JIS bit at the top of the pic has been shortened enough to fit my handle.
Ononmea- I have one of those multi-bit sets, too and they are really handy when you encounter the various weird "security head" screws. For everything else, there's Mcmaster Carr.
If you ever have a sudden desire to remove the screws from a public toilet door you're gonna need something special.
DWalt
Member
A Dremel tool works well for that. I did that job once. Just cut a slot across the screw head with a thick abrasive cutoff disc.
I think those are bi-pin / snake eyes / spanner tamper-proof Also used on elevator operation panels (?)
Next-to-last item in the next-to-last row below.
Just went and looked at my set of JIS screwdrivers. I never noticed the brand before, but they are VESSEL. Called Impacta. They twist like an impact driver if you hit them with a hammer. Only works CCW or loosey.
I have a DJI drone, and the screws that hold the props on are micro size. There's a DJI forum and everyone complains about stripping the screws with the supplied tiny screw driver. I bought a micro driver set that has JIS drivers in it. They work like a charm.
This little set has come in handy for a lot of things besides drones too.
This little set has come in handy for a lot of things besides drones too.
What, no love for the Whitworth pattern?
Reed & Prince anyone?
aka Frearson. From Screw Head Types and their Uses:
The Frearson, which is also known as the Reed and Prince Screw head type, is somewhat similar to Phillips, but the only difference is that it features a pointed 75° V shape.
It is superior to Phillips drive in one way, as its bit can fit all screw sizes. It is mostly found in marine hardware and needs a specialized screw driver under the same name. Its tool recess features sharp cross, thereby enabling higher torque to be applied, unlike the rounded Phillips head type.
And from yet another website:It is superior to Phillips drive in one way, as its bit can fit all screw sizes. It is mostly found in marine hardware and needs a specialized screw driver under the same name. Its tool recess features sharp cross, thereby enabling higher torque to be applied, unlike the rounded Phillips head type.
The Frearson screw drive, also known as a Reed & Prince (R&P) may look similar to a Phillips, but the shape is different in a beneficial way to the wood boat builder. The Frearson has a sharper tip and large V-shaped angle. The recess in the fitting is a perfectly formed, sharp cross and that allows for a higher amount of torque to be applied before stripping out. They're common in the marine industry, and boat builders wanting to apply larger amounts of torque on screws in hardwood timbers tend to prefer using them with power tools. Frearsons have a much greater amount of resistance to "camming out" or stripping when torque is applied.
Who opened this can of worms anyway? The drive dates all the way back to 1873 when it was invented by British engineer, John Frearson and it's still a favorite of boat builders today. Many classic boats, including Chris Crafts and Gar Wood for example are fastened with Frearson wood screws. Frearson drive are also commonly referred to as Reed & Prince drives, or R&P, as they were well known during their time being manufactured by Reed & Prince Manufacturing Company of Worcester (prounced wooster of course!), Massachusetts.
Well, since we're part way down the rabbit hole, here's yet another article on the subject, from the website Tedium:We Screwed Up
Standardization has long ruled the world of screws. Despite that, screw standards differ between North America and the rest of the world. Here's why.
They say about Reed & Prince/Frearson:
“It is well known to persons who use screws that if the nicks are narrow and shallow it is difficult to drive the screw without the screw-driver slipping out of the nicks, and if the nicks are wide and deep to afford a good gripe, the head of the screw is weakened, and the screw-driver is liable to slip out sidewise and deface the finished surface of the work, and if the screw-driver is the same width as or wider than the head of the screw, the countersink work is liable to be defaced, and the angles of the screw-driver are often broken.”
— Engineer John Frearson, in his patent application for a screw drive head that used a cross style very similar to the more commonly known Phillips head screwdriver. The Phillips screw, however, has a slight curvature in the center, which makes it so that when the screw is in all the way, the screwdriver would inevitably fall out (or if you’re me, you would continue twisting anyway until you’ve fully stripped the metal and made the screw useless). Frearson screws, a 20th-century innovation based on John Frearson’s 19th-century work, are popular with boating types.
— Engineer John Frearson, in his patent application for a screw drive head that used a cross style very similar to the more commonly known Phillips head screwdriver. The Phillips screw, however, has a slight curvature in the center, which makes it so that when the screw is in all the way, the screwdriver would inevitably fall out (or if you’re me, you would continue twisting anyway until you’ve fully stripped the metal and made the screw useless). Frearson screws, a 20th-century innovation based on John Frearson’s 19th-century work, are popular with boating types.
Reed and Prince
This thread took a long time to get to Reed & Prince. Saved me having to bring it up.
Both my parents worked at Reed & Prince so I grew up hearing the benefits of them; a common driver that would work on any size of their screws.
They sold railcars full of the screws to the folks building submarines down in Connecticut during WWII. I had some boxes of bronze R&P screws that I used when re-fastening to bottom of my '47 Century 19' Sea Maid.
I had some vintage R&P drivers for a long time, but have since misplaced (lost) them.
This thread took a long time to get to Reed & Prince. Saved me having to bring it up.
Both my parents worked at Reed & Prince so I grew up hearing the benefits of them; a common driver that would work on any size of their screws.
They sold railcars full of the screws to the folks building submarines down in Connecticut during WWII. I had some boxes of bronze R&P screws that I used when re-fastening to bottom of my '47 Century 19' Sea Maid.
I had some vintage R&P drivers for a long time, but have since misplaced (lost) them.
Well, I'm glad we got there. Interesting connection!
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The Norseman
Member
JIS
Man! This is the best Thread I’ve read
in a long time. Thank you for all that
have contributed.
Man! This is the best Thread I’ve read
in a long time. Thank you for all that
have contributed.
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