BE A BETTER DRIVER

I really enjoyed the tools article by Marga Pretorius (“What’s In Her Bag,” April 2021) and appreciate her insights. Without question, I picked up a few hints, so in the interest of sharing, let me offer one. Never, never, ever use a Phillips screwdriver for anything! This tool was developed for one-time screw installations by unskilled labor. The head is designed to slip if too much torque is applied. Fine for putting a screw in, not so good for removal. After years of stripping screw heads while restoring Japanese and European motorcycles, I finally learned of JIS drivers. These look like Phillips and come in the same sizes, but the crosshatch is just different enough to keep them from stripping the screw head. All those years when I thought Japanese screws were made of cheese, it turned out it was the drivers that got it wrong.