No, they don't just seem to: Phillips was specifically designed to cam out. It was invented for this very purpose. When you're cursing with a Phillips screw that's stripped-out, you need to know that the fastener is doing exactly what it was designed to. The problem is people expecting these screws to be easily removable; that was never the intention. And the other problem is people using them for applications where they might want to remove them one day; that again is contrary to the design goal and intended use of the Phillips screw.
The linked article says that there isn't a lot of evidence that was a deliberate design decision.
"There has long been a popular belief that this was actually a deliberate feature of the design, for the purpose of assembling aluminum aircraft without overtightening the fasteners. Extensive evidence is lacking for this specific narrative, and the feature is not mentioned in the original patents. However, a 1949 refinement to the original design described in US Patent #2,474,994 describes this feature."
Re:List of screw drives
by simonbarker87 on Tuesday May 08, 2018 @10:42AM
(#17021204)
My issue with kreg is that the driver isn’t a perfect fit for the screws so when you take them out you have to knock them off the driver tip somehow. It’s like it’s an imperial metric mismatch but they are all official kreg parts so don’t know.
Re:List of screw drives
by mattmaroon on Tuesday May 08, 2018 @06:38PM
(#17025952)
I think that's a feature, not a bug. You can stick the screw on the driver, and even though it's not magnetic, it'll stay on, allowing you to get into a tight space easily one-handed.
You don't really remove pocket hole screws much (though you certainly can with much less cam-out than Phillips head) so it's optimizing for the presumed one-way trip. I would assume anyway.
Almost every time I remove a pocket hole screw it's because I'm trimming something glued up (like a table top) and didn't plan for the saw blade when I put in the screws. Every time I think "heehaaw" and then I do it again the next time.
A good flat head screw is better than a crappy Phillips but a bad one is worse. The bad ones seem to strip by design.