Hands up anyone working on reels (or any device for that matter) who has managed to destroy the heads of those cheesemetal screw heads? Anyone? Yeah, me too – and I did for many a year working on everything from reels to cars to motorcycles to aircraft. Then I happened upon a mention of JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screwdrivers, and suddenly it was obvious why I had so much trouble (and had to go through so many Snap-on left hand drill bits on airframes) for the previous 30-odd years! Go and have a quick read of this article: https://bike.bikegremlin.com/10583/phillips-vs-jis-vs-pozidriv/ then come back here and we can edjumacate you!

It was a revelation getting hold of a set of JIS screwdrivers. Now (especially with smaller M2 – M6 screws) I am more likely to wind the head off the screw than to strip out the slots in the screwhead. Also note that you cannot go wrong if you use JIS tools; you can use JIS on either Phillips or JIS, but you cannot use Phillips on JIS. Another little trick that I learned from having to remove hundreds of SS screws from the wing panels on aircraft (manually, before the days of battery tools. I had forearms like Popeye!) is to STOP if you feel any resistance, and try to “crack” it by tightening it slightly. This also works well if the gorilla before you failed in his/her attempt to completely destroy the screwhead trying to remove it! Most screws have more damage in the “loosen” direction than the “tighten” due to previous butchery (and it was probably inflicted with a phillips driver!).

I use both Vessel and Hozan (Japanese makers) tools, but Wera (too expensive around here) might be available where you are. Just search for JIS screwdrivers; I have purchased from MonotaRO in Singapore and RJR Cool Tools in the US. If you need a set of drivers to work on reels I suggest cross head drivers in JIS 00,0,1 & 2 sizes (000 & 3 are used VERY rarely) and a couple of blade drivers to suit. Hollow ground blade drivers are best, and some gunsmithing drivers seem to be very suitable. Another way to go is to buy screwdriver bits in a kit and use a suitable driver handle. Many reels will also require both Torx and Hex drivers in the smaller sizes, usually from about T7 and H1.5 up (except for Shimano spool support collar setscrews that need a 0.9mm allen key). You can find quality sets of single drivers from Wera and Wiha if you use them often, but you can also find bits that come in 80+ piece kits from Kinchrome and the like which you may find more versatile for other work as well.

To steal a line from the TV undies ad: “Step one: Get some…”