One of the original advantages of the Phillips screw was that the wedged cruciform shape would cam out under high torque, which helped achieved the proper torque in early automated manufacturing. Today, torque feedback accomplishes this in modern machines, but we're still left with camming screws that are a pain to use with hand tools.

Many Phillips screws today feature both a Phillips indentation in the center and a standard slot going through the whole head, making it possible to use either a Phillips or a standard slotted screwdriver with the same screw. The Phillips screwdriver self-centers, but it cams out. The standard screwdriver supports a higher torque without camming out, but it slides off-center.

In the prior art, Torx and square screws are well-baked, but they're not as common as the Phillips, unfortunately.

Proposed is a screwdriver specifically designed for combination Phillips/standard screws. It would feature a Phillips cross in the center with two longer wings to catch the standard slot. It would only support two orientations instead of the four supported by a standard Phillips, but the additional torque before cam-out would be well worth the extra precision, and the self-centering capability would be worth the advantage over a standard screwdriver.
-- kevinthenerd, May 07 2016

Baked http://www.mcmaster.com/#6087a26
These bits provide a secure grip on the Phillips/slotted combination-drive screws in electrical equipment. [Aq_Bi, May 08 2016]

Just use a hammer.
-- 8th of 7, May 07 2016


The problem with this is that it would be useless for either regular Phillips or regular slot-head screws, which still make up the majority of screws. Useful if you use a lot of the twin-mode screws, I guess, but I wouldn't buy one - I spend enough time cursing as it is.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 07 2016


I was hoping this would be a screw with the Phillips cross not centered over the shaft of the screw, but off to the side.
-- bungston, May 07 2016


Angels have wings, and now so do screwdrivers.

Since it is baked, now is the time to film the late night tool commercial featuring screwdrivers with wings.
-- popbottle, May 09 2016


And this wouldn't make the Posidriv faction happy
-- hippo, May 09 2016


I sit next to someone called Philip, and am now planning a sequence of events, ruses and setups that will give me the excuse to say something along the lines of "No, that's not Philip's screwdriver, it's mine."

(N.B. This may however simply be an instance of procrastination taken to an extreme.)

//In the prior art, Torx and square screws are well-baked, but they're not as common as the Phillips, unfortunately.//

That can be solved relatively simply by purchasing lots of torx screws and leaving them around the house.
-- zen_tom, May 10 2016



random, halfbakery