Ever have a problem starting an aluminum or Stainless screw?

Ever have a problem starting an aluminum or Stainless screw when the hole is deep down some crevice? They are not magnetic, so they present their own set of issues.

I make my own rod holders. A piece of 1 1/4 light-weight PVC; a heat gun ( or your wife's hair dryer)..and a wine bottle is all that I need to make any length holder.

I like to mount them on my little tinny with two Stainless Steel screws. I drill a large hole in the face side and a starter hole in the back of the rod holder. Then, the fun begins. How to hold the Stainless (non-magnetic) Phillips screw head onto my driver???? It is an inch or two away from the face side when I start it into the tinny's metal.

Many years ago, "they" made a device that slipped over the end of your screwdriver. It had two little pinchers that held the screw long enough to get it started. I lost the one I had and haven't seen a similar one in twenty years or so. Since then, I've used forceps; long-nose pliers; held the screwdriver head against the screw and tried to move the whole mess into place. I've dropped a ton of screws that usually fall into an unreachable tight spot. One time, I used my hot-melt glue-gun to stick the screw onto the end of the driver. That worked, too.

A week or two ago, a light bulb went off in my nearly empty head. TAPE!

I took a small piece of masking tape and stuck the point of the screw through it. I then wrapped the sticky side of the tape around my screw-driver. Voila! A screw holder that works with Stainless and aluminum screws! I can reach deep into any crevice and start my screw with this simple deal. See picture below.

I hesitated to post this, because some smart $$$ will, no doubt, post some much simpler way to accomplish this task. Heck, I'd like to hear it....

regards, richg99

I have a screw starter like you had. They should still be available.

Well, you are correct. A quick Google for "Screw Starter" brought up a number of them. Guess my ingenious idea isn't necessary. Ha Ha richg99

I prefer to use a bolt, washer and nylock nut whenever possible. I've mounted pvc pipe onto a small furring strip with pvc pipe clamps and wood screws, then mount the furring strip to the metal with boat & nylock. I've never had good luck with the sheet metal screws holding for very long, usually strip out.

grease on the tip of the screwdriver

TNtroller.....I share your concern with sheet metal screws stripping out. I find that I have to try two or three different drill sizes to get one that I am comfortable with. However, a big fish might make me wish that I had used bolts and nuts.

Unfortunately, at least on the rod-holder project that I did this afternoon, I cannot reach the back-side of the tinny's seat, precluding the use of the bolt/washer and nut.

To show that I fully agree with your concern, just this afternoon I remounted two cleats on the tinny. I had put them on a couple of weeks ago so that I would have SOMETHING to tie a temporary line to at the dock.

Today, when tied to the dock while I went for my trailer, the wind was blowing at nearly 20 mph..... and I thought about those little sheet metal screws pulling out and allowing my tinny to float away!!!!

When I returned home, I replaced the temporary sheet metal screws with bolts/washer/and nylocks, just as you suggested. Luckily, on the cleats, I could get to the back-side.

regards, richg99

Capt.....see....I knew someone would come up with a far simpler way to deal with the problem. Thanks. richg99

A dab of caulk works too.

I knew you guys would have all of the answers. thanks richg99

Back in the day we used a thing called dum dum. It was like play dough for adults in the automotive field. Mainly used it to fix rain leaks or to stop something rattling in cars and trucks. Many times I put it on a screwdriver to hold a screw or in a socket for a bolt.