Choosing Security Screws
When selecting the right security screw there are arguably two fundamental questions that must be asked:
1. What torque do your screws need to be? (how much pressure needs to be exerted when tightening)
2. Once affixed, will you ever need to remove the screw?
Historically, the most popular screw has long been the snake eye screw (or 2 hole or pig nose screw as it is also known). Primarily this is because of its aesthetics. Of course, this is a matter of opinion, but most feel it looks far more pleasing to the eye.
However, when tightening the snake eye screw, its holes or the dill bit can break if over-tightened in anyway. It is for this reason that in recent years we have seen a real upturn in sales of both our pin hex screws and 6 lobe pins. The 6 lobe pin in particular is a favourite with industry professionals due to its extremely high torque levels.
Of course the problem comes with all of the three screws mentioned above that they can be loosened using the same security screwdriver they were tightened with. This is why we would recommend one-way security screws for fixings that are designed to be permanent.
In terms of one-way screws, the industry standard has long been the clutch head screw. Tightened by a standard flat head screwdriver, this screw is difficult to remove (although our market leading clutch head removal tool is proving to be highly effective). The new player in the one-way screws market is the Sentinel screw. This is proven to be far harder to remove than the clutch head. For this reason, more and more specialists are selecting it over the clutch head. The only thing we must advise is please make sure you really cannot foresee a day when you may wish to remove it!