5" floppy?.

[Dave McGuire]

On Nov 26, 2008, at 3:50 PM, Tony Duell wrote:
>>> I detest Phillips and Pozidriv screws. They always seem to strip or
>>> 'cam
>>> out' when you try to remove them.
>>
>>    Philips screws were in fact designed to do exactly this.  The idea
>> was to prevent overtightening in assembly line environments.  Of
>
> Oh for %deity's sake!. There exist things called torque  
> screwdrivers for
> this problem. And yes I have one.
>
> Using the cam-out of a phillips screw for this is a kludge at best.

   Yes.

> It
> doesn't happen at a precise torque (it depeds -- a lot -- on the azial
> force applied to the tool), it damages the tool, and it damages the  
> screw
> head making it difficult to remove later.

   Yes.  But the design (and the reasoning behind it) dates back to  
the 1930s...were there in fact torque screwdrivers at the time?  Even  
if there were, they'd still be significantly more expensive than  
ordinary screwdrivers (as they are now), and the motivation behind  
the cam-out design was (as I understand it) to allow not-so-highly- 
trained assembly line workers assemble things without destroying  
them.  In such a cost-motivated environment, I expect they didn't  
care too much (as they don't now) for repairability later on.

   Which, of course, sucks the big wazoo with great fervor.

           -Dave

--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL