J.I.S. Screw Drivers

[Jimo]

I’ll bet that not too many Muppets know about J.I.S. Screw drivers..... Japan Industrial Standard, - they’ve been around for many, many years but seldom get a mention in instruction manuals - even Japanese one’s, even Haynes Manuals do not mention them and yet the screws are used on virtually all Japanese products, bikes, cars, to name but a couple.
Owners of new bikes/scoots may have experienced difficulty removing them and may have wondered why the screws get damaged through using a ‘Phillips’ type of driver which are not the same
J.I.S. Screw drivers have a well earned place in every tool kit and are a boon for releasing stubborn screws due to the angle of their blade heads which is very different from the Phillips type.
Volumes could be and have been written about them, far too much to be written here - so for further information on where to get them just google: J.I.S. Screwdrivers and get introduced to a new world at Amazon.co.uk
I bought mine some 15 years ago and would not be without them!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=




Jim

[Waldorf]

Thank you; I'll take a look.

[2wheelover51]

Wow. All these years working on Japanese bikes and scooters and never even heard of them. Explains a lot though, why I've found some screws which just won't come out without butchering the head. Seized master cylinder screws are a case in point, I've always blamed the alloy.. I have to say though, I've manage to do all these years without them..
Will have to get a set just in case...

[Normsthename]

Many years ago before I heard of JIS Screwdrivers I always used to use my Impact Screwdriver with one of the bits to undo Japanese Screw heads, it always seemed to fit the screw heads much better.
Took me years before I realised that it was a JIS bit that I was using.

Andy

[Dave Weller]

I got a couple of sets of them from Halfords some years ago from their professional range, they were not advertised as JIS

[capitano]

Many years ago before I heard of JIS Screwdrivers I always used to use my Impact Screwdriver with one of the bits to undo Japanese Screw heads, it always seemed to fit the screw heads much better.
Took me years before I realised that it was a JIS bit that I was using.

Andy

Likewise. I had a set of screwdrivers bought me as a present in my late teens that just seemed to fit where regular Phillips and cross heads didn't on bikes.

Thankfully I still have them!

(PS I also realised years on how expensive they must have been, and how ungrateful I must have looked receiving them in ignorance! )

[abitmad]

According to this guy, who does know his stuff, JIS drivers make no difference even though they are slightly different to Philips.



Having said that I do own a set. Incidentally, in the vid posted by Jim above, the picture is the wrong way round. It is the JIS screws that have the rounded corners at the centre of the cross. The Philips are squared. For this reason I'd question that fellow's knowledge.

[Data]

Yes that's a good one Jim. Many have never heard of jis. And some that have heard of them don't realise there is a difference between philips and jis and it does matter. I'm guessing the guy in the video is not a professional or has been lucky not to have stripped out a head with the wrong driver. As a young apprentice we were told to get rid of just about all our philips screwdrivers or leave them at home as everything on Nissan and Honda cars was jis at the time (I'm Nissan and Honda trained). Even my Vespa GTS has jis in many places.

[newscooter]

Interestingly enough, on my chromeheads forum someone insists that BMW use JIS standard screws on our machines which were produced In the nineties . I would have thought that our German friends would have stuck to DIN standards but who knows ?!

[2wheelover51]

I popped into Halfords for some Waxoyl and a set of JIS screwdrivers the other day. The sales guy in there had no idea what I was talking about. They had some nice screwdriver sets labelled "Advanced" but no mention of JIS. I'll get the Sealy set off ebay. Only £13.49 with free postage.