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The Joy of a Japanese Screwdriver - JIS and posidriv and Phillips crosspoint are not the same

LBPete said:
Have you ever noticed how poorly a conventional Phillips screwdriver fits Japanese screws? It's not your imagination. Phillips is actually a trade name for a specific configuration of a + type drive. Although it's the standard for this type of cross point drive in most of the world, it's not used in the Japan Industrial Standard JIS.

All of the cross point screws in Sansui and other Japanese audio equipment and cars are using the JIS standard and a conventional Phillips screwdriver just doesn't fit properly and often leads to damaging the cross point drive.

I recently bought this JIS +2 100 screw driver and I'm in love. It fits these little screws and it's a joy to use. It has a nice magnetic tip to add to it's utility.

This Vessel JIS +2 screwdriver is available on eBay or Amazon. The price varies quite a bit so shop around for the best deal. I got this one for about $8 delivered on a very slow boat from Japan. I've never seen a JIS screwdriver made or distributed by a US company.


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My previous favorite screwdriver is also shown in the picture. It's a knock off of a Craftsman screwdriver that I found in the street when I was in high school. It has no markings on it but fits JIS screws properly. It's from the early 1970s, a time when knock offs were made in Japan. Until now, it was the screwdriver I always reached for when working on Sansui but I like this Vessel better. Get one. You will be amazed how well it works.

- Pete
Click to expand...

I too have bought 2 of the Vessel JIS screwdrivers. Well worth the money.
 
Interesting!

I had always just assumed that my screwdrivers were crap quality - and thats why the screws weren't turning properly!
 
Huh, never new that after 40 yrs in engineering. Even worked alongside Mitsubishi engineers for some years in South Korea and still never noticed...
 
A turning Japanese thread.
Probably related - when Walkman's first appeared on the planet, Sony supplied repair shop with a special screwdriver for the tiny screws which was far superior to all the jewelers phillips screwdrivers that we had. This probably explains why...
 
At this stage in my life, I consider myself fairly handy and thought I knew tools pretty well but I had no idea about any of this. :dunno:

A big Thank You for posting it. :thumbsup:
 
Wiha. Look it up.

Almost 20 years in the fastener and forged part industry, and the only better selection of drivers I've seen was from Apex (the company which made the best punches as part of the die setup for a bolt header). I don't think I've seen an Apex driver for almost 20+ years now.
 
I have used many types of screwdriver over the years: Up to #4 Phillips, square head, Allen wrench and even Torx (Compaq used them). But I never heard of the JIS until now.
 
I have a Pratt-Read #1 JIS. Didn't know that's what is was until reading this post. It was given to me as part of a training class for a Japanese laboratory tissue processor. We were told to ONLY use this screwdriver to remove the 3 screws holding in a valve. I also have spare screws for it, and by golly, they do have a dot on them. I've had to drill and easy out more than one of those screws because the previous tech didn't use the correct driver.

Just ordered another #1 and the #2, just to have them.

I'll add another tip to this post. For very small stripped screws, or even larger screws, a left hand drill bit works well. Don't know about the quality, but Harbor Freight sells them.

Things one learns on AK. :thumbsup:
 
DougBrewster said:
Huh, never new that after 40 yrs in engineering. Even worked alongside Mitsubishi engineers for some years in South Korea and still never noticed...
Click to expand...
I found out from a Japanese engineer I worked with... before that I didn't know. He was also a personal friend of mine, he pointed it out with a playful air of superiority that caused me to think he was joking... and he was having a bit of fun about Japanese machining being superior but quickly said... no, it's true, they are different, grab better. And sure enough... guess what I bought first opportunity. Just as an aside... my Japanese friend gave me ten years of practical experience the first year I knew him... he moved back to Japan quite a few years ago.. a great guy in all ways... bought American cars instead of Japanese out of loyalty to the country of residence.... hope he is good in all things.
 
So if you are in the mood for more JIS trivia, here's another little nugget. Industrial standards like JIS do a whole lot more than just determine screwdrivers. They set things like thread pitches and bolt head sizes. Japanese cars are built to JIS standards and the common bolt head sizes are 10, 12 and 14mm. European cars are built to ISO/DIN standards and the common bolt heads are 11, 13 and 15mm. US auto manufactures are switching over to DIN standards.

- Pete
 
I KNEW it!!!!

I’ve been suspecting a size difference for a long time.

It seems like the huge amount of oddball tools I have has some mix of “Philips” screw drivers. Some work well, some suck. Depending on the victim of the day.

I had a running joke in my head about “metric” Philips screws.

Stardard, Philips, Torx, star, square, hex, clutch, tri-bit. SAE, JIC, metric. That weird ass obsolete British thing half way between SAE and metric. Now JIS and DIN.

I need more tools, dammit.
 
I work in the industrial hydraulics industry and every once and a while I see JIS adapters and fittings.
Interesting fact most of the JIS fittings are in an BSPP or BSPT thread with 60 degree seat or a 30 degree flare.
(British Standard Pipe Parallel / Tapered)
 
I have 2 mangled screw heads in my Pioneer CT-F9191 from using non-JIS screwdrivers (or maybe I'm just a hack). Was about to pull the trigger on this set, but wasn't sure the sizes in this set would be sufficient. The set has sizes #00, #0 and #1. Any screw driver size experts here that wouldn't mind chiming in? Will all three cover it or do I need just one size?

From the ad-
Megadora #900 Series JIS Drivers with comfort grip handle. Sizes include: #00, #0 and #1 which are commonly used in Japanese RC equipment. Larger handle, designed for maximum dexterity. You can't go wrong with this set.
 
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