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20 years as a repair guy and I just figured out I was stripping screws wrong

I always used a regular phillips bit and would go full torque until it slipped. Last month I was fixing a neighbor's old Maytag dryer and kept stripping the same screw. He came out and handed me a square drive bit and said try this. Turns out I was using the wrong driver for the job and making way more work for myself. Anybody else have a moment where a simple switch like that made you feel dumb after all these years?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewsullivan22d ago

lol dude I swear half of being good at something is just figuring out which tool is actually supposed to be used. It's like when people keep using a flathead screwdriver as a pry bar or a chisel and wonder why things break. There's this weird pride thing where we think we can muscle through anything with the wrong tool instead of just taking two seconds to grab the right one. I had the same moment you did but with socket wrenches, took me way too long to realize a 6 point socket grabs way better than a 12 point on rusty bolts.

sageallen22d ago

Nah I get what you're saying but sometimes the right tool isn't about what it's labeled for. A flathead screwdriver makes a great pry bar when you're in a pinch and you know your limits with it. Half the skill is just knowing which rules you can bend without breaking stuff.