Realized I was overdriving every screw after an old timer called me out

Some retired cabinet maker watched me sink a deck screw and just said 'son, you're fighting that bit for no reason'. I switched to a countersink bit with the stop collar and my forearms stopped aching by the end of the day anyone else still think they need to bury every screw head?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.dakota4d ago

Yeah that old timer knew what he was talking about. I used to crank on deck screws until the head was below the surface and then some, just thinking that's how it was done. Then I grabbed a set of those adjustable counterbore bits at a garage sale for five bucks and it changed everything. The stop collar takes the guesswork out and saves your wrist from that torque fight. Plus it keeps the screw head perfectly flush or just below without tearing up the wood fibers around it. Have you tried the bits with the built in hex drive instead of the standard round shank? They slip way less in the chuck.

thompson.xena4d ago

Oh man, @king.dakota is spot on about those hex drive bits - I stripped out a round shank bit last week on a pressure treated board and wanted to throw my drill across the yard! The stop collar honestly paid for itself in saved frustration the first day, and my wrist actually thanks me now instead of hating me by lunchtime.