Head Stripper Frustrated Over Screw Quality

I bet you wonder what this article is all about, and NO it's not about those places that men frequent where women dance around a pole and take off all their clothing...

This article is about the Head Stripper, which is ME!

This story was inspired by some DIY work that I had to do in our bedroom over the weekend. It's not actually about the DIY work... Well it is but it isn't... Anyhow, just read on and I will get to the purpose of the story sooner or later...

Since we inherited my wife's son's dog (sounds like one of those distant relatives doesn't it) a few weeks ago, we have had to find ways to stop our bedroom door from being pushed open in the middle of the night, as he wants to come in and be with us.

The catch on our bedroom door doesn't work, and so we have had to use a magazine rack with some heavy catalogs in it to keep the bedroom door shut, and during the day when we are out at work, my wife pulls the magazine rack against the door on the inside, and then pulls the chair from our office against the outside of the door, so that the dog can't open it.

Well it's just got rather frustrating, and since it seems as if we will be looking after the dog (a very large German Shepherd) for a while yet, we decided that it was best to fix the bedroom door handles and catch, so that we can shut the door properly.

We went to a store that sells all sorts of door handles and locks, and they hadn't got what we needed, and we were told that this type of catch was obsolete, and the only place we were likely to get one would be a reclamation yard, somewhere that sells things from houses that have been modernised.

Ours is a 1950's house, and having looked around our local Wickes store, we found a pack of door handles and a catch that was a similar size, and decided to get that.

I came to fit the handles, and after much chiselling I got the new latch part to fit, but the hardest part was actually screwing everything together.

Here dear reader, after a long preamble, is the purpose behind the story... I could have just come straight out with it I know, but then that couldn't have been me, and you might have ended up disappointed, knowing how much I love to waffle on about nothing at all... Oh boy - I could have been a writer for Seinfeld...

But anyway, back to the plot and the purpose behind this article...

Why oh why do they make things like screws that are so cheap, the slightest bit of pressure makes the heads strip?

Well now you have it... Does the headline make sense now? I am the "Head Stripper"... I spent hours yesterday stripping the heads off cheap quality screws...

These screws were not only cheap and shoddy, they were also slot headed, so it was much harder to get the screwdriver bit into the slot, and actually central to the slot as well.

I had to put so much pressure on the screws to try and stop the screwdriver from slipping and mangling the heads, that it made what ought to have been a simple task, a long hard sweaty one.

I ask you, how much does it cost to make a screw?

Why do they make and sell cheap screws that are useless and that cost practically nothing, when they could just make decent quality screws that cost a fraction more, and that don't strip when you try to use them.

I don't see the point in making something that is so cheap and useless, especially as the cost of something that does a decent job is hardly any more.

I bought this pack of door handles, hinges, latch and screws for under £8, less than $12. How much did the screw part of that cost? I imagine less than 10 cents. If they had used decent screws instead of cheap useless ones, let's say the cost doubled, and they cost 20 cents. Would that deter anyone at all from buying this? I very much doubt it.

So why do they actually make really cheap screws? What is the purpose? Well other than to annoy people like me of course...

Another item that I really have trouble with is Tweezers.

I am sure many women can identify with this too, since so many tweezers you buy, even for a higher price, are not made well enough to trap small hairs, and are therefore pretty useless.

Now how hard is it to make a decent pair of tweezers, where the ends align properly, and where the metal is strong enough to not bend when you try and pluck out a hair.

It isn't exactly rocket science is it!

Yet another product - you know the one - the nicely packaged tool-kit or grooming product that you find on sale in the department stores around holiday season.

Almost always the screwdrivers don't work, you insert the attachment that you want, and it either won't fit, the plastic fitting cracks when you try to use it, or it's a battle between the screws and the head to see which one strips first.

Those little adjustable wrenches in the kits. What is it with those? The adjustment doesn't hold, no matter what you do, they are a complete waste of time.

As for the grooming kits... Oh look - cheap tweezers...

I am sure most of you can identify with these items, but there must be a whole lot more that really wind you up as well.

Feel free to leave a comment to let others know what sort of cheap products wind you up. It's always good to air things and to get them off your chest.

There is a good lens on Squidoo about this too. It's called My Pet Peeves, and it's where people can sound off about all those things that annoy them.

Ok everybody, breath in... breath out... time to de-stress...

I'm ok - I don't think I have any more screws to do battle with until at least next weekend...