Any idea where to buy?

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Hello,

Any idea where to buy 6BA x 1/4" (min) CSK Phillips drive screws?

Thanks.

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

BA screws needed.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Bags of hen's teeth also available

Unlikely to find any as Philips x head screws were not available in BA sizes.(afaik)

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

E-Bay is always worth a try.

Was asked to find 50 or so oddball head and length size combination 6BA for a piano guy. E-Bay came up trumps with something so close that he was happy. Had to get a pack of 100 but the price was very good. I really really didn't fancy cutting down 50 of a more standard size.

Clive

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

How many do you need? Mine are 7/8

Edited By bernard towers on 26/05/2023 16:03:29

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Hi KWIL, that's what I'm begining to think.

Failed with Ebay Clive. That was my first port of call.

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Thanks Bernard,

See pm.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

You may have better luck looking for Countersunk BA Allen screws.

Howard

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Bo'sun, don't know about Phillips, but there is some Pozi ones 6 BA x 1/4 pozi on ebay.

Regards Nick.

[Brian GParticipant @briang]

Will Pozi do?

eBay Link to 6BA x 1/4 Pozi CSK

Brian G

Edit: Nick beat me to it

Edited By Brian G on 26/05/2023 18:36:08

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Yes guys, that may be the way to go. I'll need to change quite a few as I want to keep them all the same.

[Paul MercerParticipant @paulmercer13838]

Having read this post, I have some BA bolts/nuts that I’m never going to use. I’ve also got BA taps and dies.
I only use metric, but have a lot of other taps/dies that I’ll never use as well.
I’ve added them all in the classified section – they’re all free, all I ask is that you cover postage.
(and ideally take all of my non metric stuff listed in one go)

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Thanks Paul,

Job done now.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

For new work, M2.5 and M3 Phillips CSK would be better.

Both are nothing-special current production, whereas BA is becoming ‘new old stock’ only.  If someone has to fix Bo’sun’s thingy in 50 years time, them having to find BA in that configuration will be a right pain.  Metric will be easy to source for the foreseeable future.

Dave

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Slightly off topic, but which do you guys prefer, Phillips or Pozidrive and why?  I guess Pozidrive, because they appear to be more readily available in the UK.

Just curious.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Depends on the context, Bo’sun

The Phillips recess was designed to cam-out, to avoid jamming

The Pozidriv recess was designed with parallel sides, specifically to avoid cam-out.

MichaelG.

 

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Some imperial stuff should still be ok to obtain because the Chinese make it for the USA market

I’ve had Lidl stuff screwed together with 1/4″ fasteners, …kinda annoying if you lose one

[Michael Gilligan]

On Michael Gilligan Said:

Depends on the context, Bo’sun

The Phillips recess was designed to cam-out, to avoid jamming

The Pozidriv recess was designed with parallel sides, specifically to avoid cam-out.

MichaelG.

 

So for most manual workshop jobs, Pozidriv is better because there’s less chance of chewing the head.   Phillips were designed for factory work where a machine drives the screw in and automatically stops when the bit cams out.  Ideal for repetition work, including home power tools.  (More-or-less, factory screwdriving can be tightly controlled, whereas DIY conditions vary,).   Controlled cam out is good, but unwanted camming is a problem.   The air turns blue every time I remove a tight or corroded Phillips screw!   Pozidriv screws in the same condition are far more likely to come out gracefully.

Although Phillips and Pozidriv look similar, their screwdrivers aren’t interchangeable, and using the wrong one mangles the screw.  It’s impossible to avoid tooling up for both because they are so common.

Other alternatives: Allan hex, which is a good system.  Increasingly common are Torx and a host of security system heads.   Torx is a shade better than Pozidriv, but only used I think on posh machine screws.   The security systems are intended to keep casual intruders out of equipment,  making having a set of special drivers essential  for many types of repair work.  Outside the UK, probably a few local systems too. Though I’ve never seen one in the UK I believe Robertson heads aren’t unusual in North America.

Dave

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

A couple more things to consider when trying to loosen any internal drive fastener:

clean out all of the dirt, paint and other detritus from the slot/whatever before getting a tool out of its box. Picks, solvent and wirebrushes are the things to start with.

Check that both the fastener and tool are in good condition. No matter how good/expensive(not the same thing!) your #2 Philips screwdriver was, it’s a consumable. There are a lot of really crap drivers and allen keys out there.

Giving each fastener a good whack before you attempt to loosen it is well worth doing.

As soon as you feel the tool start to slip, stop and re-evaluate. Swapping to a different tool, or adding some grip paste might be enough to get the job done. If you do manage to remove the fastener this way, dispose of it immediately so you won’t be tempted to reuse it. The expensive grip paste my boss acquired worked well, but was indistinguishable from fine grinding paste that we already had, came in bigger containers and were a fraction of the price.

The traditional hit-it-with-a-hammer impact driver is well worth using from the start, whenever possible. That’s not a good idea when depanneling an aeroplane, which is a pain because whatever you do you never get all of the screws out without extra work. They’re probably the worst combination of small, countersunk, phillips head, steel screws into delicate aluminium kept in poor conditions.

 

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Dave you are a bit behind the times, Torx are now common for wood screws as they stay engaged far better when driving with a cordless impact driver which just about every tradesman now has. Square drive is the usual for pocket hole screws and if you can get hold of “pro” bits they fit pozi and Phillips though not seen them in the usual 1/4hex drive

[Robert ButlerParticipant @robertbutler92161]

Don’t forget JIS crosshead screws used by the Japanese and the cause of much trouble if using Posidrive or Phillips drivers which results in damaged screw heads.

Robert Butler

[Robert Butler]

On Robert Butler Said:

Don’t forget JIS crosshead screws used by the Japanese and the cause of much trouble if using Posidrive or Phillips drivers which results in damaged screw heads.

Robert Butler

Agreed, and they’re often found on Japanese motorbikes, bicycle components (e.g. Shimano) and garden power equipment. A small punched dot on the fastener head usually identifies a JIS screw, or at least used to.

One recently evolved area of confusion in all of this for the home mechanic is that the JIS and JCIS standards were absorbed in 2008 into the same ISO standards as Phillips screws (ISO 8764-1 PH  and ISO 8764-2 PH), so manufacturers of JIS/JCIS compatible drivers and bits are being anachronistic if they advertise drivers and bits as being to JIS/JCIS standards. Even Vessel, who were involved in the creation of the JIS standard, no longer promote or mark their crosshead drivers/bits as JIS, but as PH.

Whether every driver or bit manufactured today to the current ISO 8764-1/2 PH standards is as compatible with JIS fasteners as Vessel ones (and those of other Japanese manufacturers such as NAC) still are is uncertain. I suspect the answer is no.

[Ady1]

On Ady1 Said:

Some imperial stuff should still be ok to obtain because the Chinese make it for the USA market

I’ve had Lidl stuff screwed together with 1/4″ fasteners, …kinda annoying if you lose one

You can also get Grizzly documents.

[File HandleParticipant @filehandle]

The cam out isn’t always a bad thing. It stops screws being forced in so tight that they break. Even self drilling wood screws are often better used with a pilot hole.

When I bought my first Honda bike, nearly 50 years ago now, I replaced all of their soft screws with ones using allen keys. kits to do that were sold at the time. it was also when I bought my hammed impact wrench, which is still good for removing screws.

[Author]

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