Vent: My old drill was stripping every screw head until I tried a weird trick

I was putting up some new shelves in my living room last week and it was a total mess. Every single screw I tried to drive in, the head would just get chewed up by my drill bit. I was about to lose my mind. Then I remembered something I saw in a video a while back. The guy said to put a tiny bit of bar soap on the threads of the screw before you drive it in. I was super skeptical, but I grabbed a bar of plain soap from under the sink and gave it a shot. It worked like magic. The screw went in smooth as butter, no more stripping. I guess the soap acts like a dry lubricant and cuts down on the friction a ton. Has anyone else tried this, or do you have a different go-to trick for this kind of thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

valw361mo ago

The soap trick is one of those things that sounds too simple to work but really does. It reminds me of how in cooking, a little bit of salt can change everything, or how in fixing a squeaky door you just need a drop of oil. We always think the solution has to be complicated but half the time it's the little stuff that makes the biggest difference. Rust from soap is a concern if you leave moisture sitting there, but if you wipe it off and let it dry, it's fine. It's like how people overthink keeping tools clean too, a quick dry rag after use goes a long way.

hart.cora1mo ago

Soap? That's just asking for rust later.

phoenix_carter1mo ago

Actually, soap is fine if you dry it right after. The key is getting all the water off, not avoiding soap. Rust comes from leftover moisture, not the soap itself.