# How do you use this screw starter?



## Easy Gibson (Dec 3, 2010)

I have this thing and I can't for the life of me figure out how you use it.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-5-8-in-screw-starter/p-00941024000P

Please post detailed instructions on how this thing physically works. The one side has a magnet which I use to pick up stuff I drop into small holes. Other than than, I'm clueless.


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## kwunch (Apr 27, 2014)

Looks like it'd be pretty handy to pick stuff up when you drop it into a small hole. :whistling

That nub on the end near the clip is the magnet of which you speak, I'm assuming? If not, does it press in and activate a punch or something that might bury the screw like 1/8" into whatever you're screwing into? Is it just a magnetic screwdriver/screw holder in one? The reviews seem to make a few mentions of attaching outlet covers with it, so I'm leaning towards that.


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

It is used to place standard slotted screwsin hard to get at places.

it has a spring loaded outer rim with 2 ribs working aginst a center rib, you lock itin the straight position and place a slotted screw into it and engage the spring this will hold the screw well enough to get it started in a tight place


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

That was a worthless video


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

The description of it at the site didn't help? :blink:



*Description Item* # 00941024000P Model # 41024
*Create the Perfect Pilot Hole for Screws with the Craftsman 5-5/8-in. Screw Starter
*
*Sometimes starting a screw into a piece of wood can be challenging, *_but Craftsman’s 5-5/8-in. Screw Starter eliminates any difficulty. Made with a flat blade, you can create the perfect pilot hole in wooden or plastic objects with this handy screw starter. Whether you need to install a new switch plate for an electrical outlet or put together a new coffee table, this screw starter makes it easier to quickly screw in hardware. *By starting a pilot hole, you eliminate a screw’s tendency to “walk,” and you prevent it from entering the material at an incorrect angle.* Additionally, a properly guided screw will remain in place for a strong, trusted hold.

Occasional do-it-yourselfers greatly benefit from the Craftsman 5-5/8-in. Screw Starter, as it helps to ensure that hardware enters objects at the correct angle for optimal performance._


Personally, I use the tip of the screw to do the same thing by giving a little push to create it's own pilot hole... if it's at a weird angle... use a sleeve to keep it straight after making the pilot hole...

.


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## jaydee (Mar 20, 2014)

It's spring actuated. you line the slots up. place the screw in the slot and push.
it gives a little twist in the slot and holds the screw. don't use as a screw driver, they're not that strong.


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

I had that same screw starter years ago, I used it for working on auto ignition points and condenser replacement.

You'd put the screw on the tool and it would not drop off the end of the driver and fall into the distributor, if it did get dropped the magnet would help you fish it back out.

It was handy for carburetor rebuilds as well.

I don't believe it was ever intended to be a screw starter for wood screws, whoever wrote the description for Sears doesn't know what they are looking at.


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Slotted screws.....never mind.:whistling


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## jaydee (Mar 20, 2014)

Robie said:


> Slotted screws.....never mind.:whistling


they make them for slotted and the other type with the "X"...:laughing:


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

I always marvel at how the old-timers were able to get slotted screw in door hinges without any marring/damage to the slot shoulders. I drill pilot holes, wax the screw...I still don't end up with a perfect looking screw. I hate them.


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

jaydee said:


> they make them for slotted and the other type with the "X"...:laughing:


I like them "X" ones better.


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## jaydee (Mar 20, 2014)

Robie said:


> I like them "X" ones better.


me too. metric "X" screws are the best..:no:


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Best style screw starter for Ford and Chrysler ignition point screws.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIZGNvhuIYg

Tom


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## Easy Gibson (Dec 3, 2010)

Thanks dudes. I read the description but couldn't figure out how to create a pilot hole with the twist lock top. I was looking at it the wrong way.

Just by the by, I love slotted screws. They look so much nicer than P or R bits.


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

I used to use an awl for starting before all of my wonderful modern self centering bits.


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## Railman (Jan 19, 2008)

Tom M said:


> I used to use an awl for starting before all of my wonderful modern self centering bits.


 What we used to do when we installed strike plates was hold the strike in place, & run the Phillips bit in reverse to make a centered divot. The screw would then be perfectly centered in the strike, and would relieve the jamb for the screw head. It also virtually eliminated the jambs from splitting. 

The reason for running in reverse was to not burn up the bit prematurely, and the back side was usually faster cutting than the worn leading/tightening edge of the bit.
I'm confident it worked better than using a centering device.:thumbsup:
Joe


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Railman said:


> What we used to do when we installed strike plates was hold the strike in place, & run the Phillips bit in reverse to make a centered divot. The screw would then be perfectly centered in the strike, and would relieve the jamb for the screw head. It also virtually eliminated the jambs from splitting.
> 
> The reason for running in reverse was to not burn up the bit prematurely, and the back side was usually faster cutting than the worn leading/tightening edge of the bit.
> I'm confident it worked better than using a centering device.:thumbsup:
> Joe


It's a dandy trick for screwing into plastic and on angles, run the screw in reverse to make a divot in the direction you want.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

Railman said:


> What we used to do when we installed strike plates was hold the strike in place, & run the Phillips bit in reverse to make a centered divot. The screw would then be perfectly centered in the strike, and would relieve the jamb for the screw head. It also virtually eliminated the jambs from splitting.
> 
> The reason for running in reverse was to not burn up the bit prematurely, and the back side was usually faster cutting than the worn leading/tightening edge of the bit.
> I'm confident it worked better than using a centering device.:thumbsup:
> Joe


I've done that, but not in reverse (Thanks!). It makes it seem more professional.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Robie said:


> I always marvel at how the old-timers were able to get slotted screw in door hinges without any marring/damage to the slot shoulders. I drill pilot holes, wax the screw...I still don't end up with a perfect looking screw. I hate them.


They had screwdrivers that fit. The older slotted screws had a very narrow slot that newer screwdrivers just don't fit properly. Plus, practice makes perfect. They had those push actuated screwdrivers that if you were good at it could sink a screw in a half second.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAScEGXHnmA


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

I've got all those old screwdrivers and more than a few Yankee screwdrivers.

But yeah, when that's all you had available, you made it work.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

The yankee drivers with a straight bit used to make nice designs in the wood or your hand when it would cam out of the screw. I still have scars.


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

Robie said:


> I've got all those old screwdrivers and more than a few Yankee screwdrivers.
> 
> But yeah, when that's all you had available, you made it work.


But when was the last time you used it? I used to use them as a kid with my old man putting storm windows in or other light duty applications.

A 3 " screw would suck.


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## Easy Gibson (Dec 3, 2010)

I tried the thingy today.

It makes sense now.

It's definitely not a punch or centering device to me, but I could see it being really useful in small engine work or with an electronics machine screw as others mentioned earlier.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Easy Gibson said:


> Just by the by, I love slotted screws. They look so much nicer than P or R bits.


Yebbut, then you have to spend all that time making sure all the slots are lined up precisely in the same direction. :detective:


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Tinstaafl said:


> Yebbut, then you have to spend all that time making sure all the slots are lined up precisely in the same direction. :detective:


Why?

Tom


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

Anal retentive



Tinstaafl said:


> Yebbut, then you have to spend all that time making sure all the slots are lined up precisely in the same direction. :detective:





tjbnwi said:


> Why?
> 
> Tom


The term anal retentive (also anally retentive), commonly abbreviated to anal,[1] is used to describe a person who pays such attention to detail that *the obsession becomes an annoyance to others*,


That's why.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

tgeb said:


> Anal retentive
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Does not annoy me at all. The crasftman of days past did not align the screws. 

Tom


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## Xtrememtnbiker (Jun 9, 2013)

tjbnwi said:


> Does not annoy me at all. The crasftman of days past did not align the screws.
> 
> 
> 
> Tom



Are you one of those hacks that leaves cover plate screws all different directions? :laughing:


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

tjbnwi said:


> Does not annoy me at all. The crasftman of days past did not align the screws.
> 
> Tom


Many of them certainly did, you just have to look for it to see. When I first started doing electrical work when I got out of high school it was drilled into me that all screws were to be vertical and the proper way to wrap up an extension cord. The 2 other companies that I worked for after that also said they should be the same way not necessarily vertical could be horizontal.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Xtrememtnbiker said:


> Are you one of those hacks that leaves cover plate screws all different directions? :laughing:


Yes, horizontal or vertical.

Tom


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

rrk said:


> Many of them certainly did, you just have to look for it to see. When I first started doing electrical work when I got out of high school it was drilled into me that all screws were to be vertical and the proper way to wrap up an extension cord. The 2 other companies that I worked for after that also said they should be the same way not necessarily vertical could be horizontal.


Cover plates is about the only place you'll see it. 

How do you get proper torque on a screw if you have to stop short to get the slot to align? What do you do if you need 3/4 of a turn to get a hinge screw to align when it tightens? If they were meant to be aligned every screw would have the pitch indexed off the screw slot.

Tom


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## dsconstructs (Jul 20, 2010)

I can still remember the first job I did in which I lined up all the screws, not something I was taught early on. Anyway....happened to be a kitchen remodel for a widow who noticed afterwards. She was praising a job well done and mentioned she noticed that even the screws were all the same direction, apparently something that she had picked up from her husband who had been an electrician.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

tjbnwi said:


> How do you get proper torque on a screw if you have to stop short to get the slot to align? What do you do if you need 3/4 of a turn to get a hinge screw to align when it tightens?


Haven't done much plumbing work with threaded pipe, have you? :whistling

[I do agree; the debbil made me do it]


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

tjbnwi said:


> Cover plates is about the only place you'll see it.
> 
> 
> Tom


Nonsense

We used to do it al all of the F/A panels and control systems we used to put in.


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

why would you need 3/4 turn with slotted screws ? less than half turn


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Tom M said:


> But when was the last time you used it? I used to use them as a kid with my old man putting storm windows in or other light duty applications.
> 
> A 3 " screw would suck.



Ditto. They were fun to play with as a kid. Now they are nice to look at and remember who used them.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

rrk said:


> why would you need 3/4 turn with slotted screws ? less than half turn


You're correct.

Tom


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Tinstaafl said:


> Haven't done much plumbing work with threaded pipe, have you? :whistling
> 
> [I do agree; the debbil made me do it]


10's of thousands of feet of threaded pipe, from 1/8" to 4". Entirely different animal. There is nothing to index off of. Turning to seal is totally different than turning to align.

I do know about aligning bolt heads, did it on entire cars to get all the bolts to align when properly torqued. Difference was we would use shims, machine the bolt boss or machine the head to get the bolt to stop where we needed it.

If it's that important why aren't Phillips, Pozi drive, Prince Reed cross patterns aligned to a set position? 

Tom


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## rrk (Apr 22, 2012)

If you notice that most piping that is installed by union plumbers the writing is on the side and right side up. My plumber also does it that way, he said thats the way professionals do it.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Otherwise the water might come out upside down. :whistling


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