Tek used Pozi screws in all of their equipment as far back as the late 1960s. At casual glance they look like Phillips Head screws with four little marks at 45 degree angles to the slots. There is an important difference between Pozi screws and Philips screws.

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Pozidrives are not something you can get at your local hardware store so I never bought one before now. After years of using a Phillips screwdriver on my Tek equipment I finally decided I had to find out whether a Pozidriv screwdriver would make a difference. The difference is apparent immediately!

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I paid $2.00 + $2.25 shipping for one on Ebay. Now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long. This is definitely worth it. The one I bought (I have no affiliation with the seller) is called “GearWrench 80084 #1 x 3-1/8" Pozi Insulated Screwdriver”. The seller has 362 of them at this ‘Buy It Now’ price so he is not likely to run out any time soon.

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This excerpt from Wikipedia explains the difference between a Pozidrive and a Phillips drive:

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“The Pozidriv, sometimes misspelled Pozidrive, screw drive is an improved version of the Phillips screw drive. It is jointly patented by the Phillips Screw Company and American Screw Company. The name is thought to be an abbreviation of positive drive. Its advantage over Phillips drives is its decreased likelihood to cam out, which allows greater torque to be applied.

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Phillips drivers have an intentional angle on the flanks and rounded corners so they will cam out of the slot before a power tool will twist off the screw head. The Pozidriv screws and drivers have straight sided flanks.

The Pozidriv screwdriver and screws are also visually distinguishable from Phillips by the second set of radial indentations set 45 degrees from the cross recess. The manufacturing process for Pozidriv screwdrivers is slightly more complex. The Phillips driver has four simple slots cut out of it, whereas in the Pozidriv each slot is the result of two machining processes at right angles. The result of this is that the arms of the cross are parallel-sided with the Pozidriv, and tapered with the Phillips.

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This design is intended to decrease the likelihood that the Pozidriv screwdriver will slip out, provide a greater driving surface, and decrease wear. Phillips screwdrivers will fit in and turn Pozidriv screws, but will cam out if enough torque is applied, potentially damaging the screw head.”

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Dennis