Driver Bit Issue

[E M Hampton]

Hello All. 

First of all, I am very pleased with all my Kreg equipment...except for one tiny annoyance. Does anyone else have problems with the square heads of the driver bits rounding off and (then of course) stripping out? I suspect technique may be contributing, but I also wish they were perhaps a bit deeper and harder. Anyone else have this problem or abe to offer any suggestions? 

Thanks in advance. 

[Tim Grace]

Mine rounded off quite quickly, as well.  I attributed it to using an impact driver to drive the screws, some of which had space restrictions and required awkward angles.  I did pick up a couple at Rockler that had hardened tips and lasted quite a bit longer.

[E M Hampton]

Thanks, Tim. The only ones I see at Rockler, however, are labelled: Kreg Jig® HD Driver Item #: 47983. Are they the ones you ordered?

[KregCS]

Mr. Hampton, 

When driving in your screws you will want to make sure that the driver is fully engaged with the screw head.  Due to the angle the screw is being driven in at, if this is not fully engaged it will greatly increase your chance of stripping out.  We do not recommend using an impact driver when putting in your screws as this makes it easy to over drive the screws and increase your chance of stripping out as well.  While driving your screw you will want to make sure you are going at a consistent speed allowing the screw to do its work.  

The HD driver you are referring to on the Rockler page you found would not be the correct driver.  This is for our HD jig and is actually a #3 driver instead of the normal #2.  It would be too large to fit into the head of our normal screws.  If you have any other questions please let us know.  

[Glen S]

Mine stripped quickly too. I bought Hitachi bits from Menards & never looked back.

Also rather than holding the drill like you normally would with the handle to the left or right. Turn the drill upside down,, cord or battery straight up. Just doing that helped me a lot.

[E M Hampton]

Thanks, KregCS. I do try to let the screw do the work. Since you can't see the screw head and you driving at an angle, it is a bit more of a challenge to align properly. Will try harder, but will also get hardened tips. I am sure I'll improve over time. 

KregCS said:

Mr. Hampton, 

When driving in your screws you will want to make sure that the driver is fully engaged with the screw head.  Due to the angle the screw is being driven in at, if this is not fully engaged it will greatly increase your chance of stripping out.  We do not recommend using an impact driver when putting in your screws as this makes it easy to over drive the screws and increase your chance of stripping out as well.  While driving your screw you will want to make sure you are going at a consistent speed allowing the screw to do its work.  

The HD driver you are referring to on the Rockler page you found would not be the correct driver.  This is for our HD jig and is actually a #3 driver instead of the normal #2.  It would be too large to fit into the head of our normal screws.  If you have any other questions please let us know.  

[E M Hampton]

Thanks, Glen. Will pick some up and try them. Thanks for the drill position tip. Will try it next time I am using the jig. 

Glen S said:

Mine stripped quickly too. I bought Hitachi bits from Menards & never looked back.

Also rather than holding the drill like you normally would with the handle to the left or right. Turn the drill upside down,, cord or battery straight up. Just doing that helped me a lot.

[Glen S]

You're Welcome. I hope that trick works for you. I also bought some screw wax that I'm going to try on a Tiger Maple face frame.

[Glen S]

The screw wax made driving the screws a whole lot easier!

[Jamil Samimi]

EM, aloha~

I too am a newcomer to the system and I'm finding the same problem. I am using a drill (not impact) with the clutch set low and, despite really pressing to get the tip into the screw (and feeling it lock in), I still get some spin-outs and eventually stripping of the tip. I was able to extend the life of one tip by carefully grinding the very end off, but only once....it seems that the square profile tapers out as it goes up so unless I can also file/grind the square slightly, I'm having to get new/spare tips.

Part of the problem may be that I've been working with 2.5" screws, deep in the pocket and going into teak...

I did find, as Glen S. below says, turning the drill upside down seems to provide more control.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and experience!

[Tim Grace]

Sorry for the delay in response.  The ones I picked up at Rockler were in the store and aren't shown on-line.

[Luis Torcida]

I would LOVE to have Star heads screws instead. Not a big fan of square bit...

[E M Hampton]

Me too!