Have I ever told you guys that I have a thing for Fillister head screws.

I like them, too. They still look good on higher end firearms. I’ve made a bunch of Fillister head screws for the restoration of the deck guns on the battleship USS Texas. Some were brass to substitute for the original bronze; others have been steel. We couldn’t find commercially manufactured 1/2” Fillisters in any material. We’re trying to maintain the authenticity of the 110 year old ship as accurately as possible.

There are some places where straight slotted screws are superior to other styles. Any time a screw is subject to multiple coats of paint, fairing material and general crud, slotted heads are far easier to clean than other styles. Badly rusted slots are still more likely to be useable than Phillips or hex sockets.
 
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The period accessory necessary for their use, at least in the larger sizes is the period knife handle screwdriver with square shank for tightening with a wrench; I seem to accumulate them ---
 
Button head socket screws are my thing. I replaced all of the pan head phillips screws on my VW with stainless button heads. Even the slotted cheese head screws on the engine tin got replaced. I spent better than a year tracking down all those metric sizes in stainless button heads.
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They're not bad if you grind the screwdriver for a perfect fit. I've done that on some of my ancient stuff. Mike
 
FOMOGO said:
They're not bad if you grind the screwdriver for a perfect fit. I've done that on some of my ancient stuff. Mike
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I've had nothing but great experiences with hollow ground screw drivers from Chapman Tools. Bought my first "gunsmithing" set in 1985.
https://chapmanmfg.com/products/8900-standard-set-12-slotted-bits
Bought their expanded set a couple of years ago. (Mity Master #1000). Replacement bits are readily available and not much money. Real ball detents lock into place into the handle. Quality pieces. Haven't buggered up a screw since I bought the first set.

Small US business since 1936. I have no financial connection with them, just think they are a company that continues to make a top shelf product. Pleasant to communicate with as well.
 
one of the nice things about fillisters vs regular screws, is the depth of the slot, and beefiness. It's harder to mar a fillister. No doubt a slot is a MINUS but they are very nice on the eyes. not like most screws. button heads are nice, but there's something about a polished fillister.
 
I've always had an affinity for a different kind of screw. Seemed to start when I hit puberty. Decades later, hasn't changed. The affinity, that is.
 
I view them the same way as a very attractive woman. Very nice sitting there with all the bobbles, trim etc. As soon as you touch it all heck will break loose and you will spend a good deal of time trying to figure out how to fix it.

Pleasing to the eyes doesn't mean it is always pleasing to deal with.
 
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