Phillips is the cross-head almost everything used before Torx, and it was designed to slip. This is the complete list of 4 Phillips bit sockets in 1/4 inch drive, with the Teng part number for each size.
Cam-out is a feature, not a fault
The tapered flanks of a Phillips recess convert torque into an axial force that pushes the driver out of the screw. That was deliberate: on 1930s assembly lines with no torque control, a driver that ejected itself at a predictable load stopped operators shearing screws off in castings. On a workbench eighty years later the same behaviour is simply a driver that jumps out and chews the head, which is why Phillips has been steadily replaced everywhere torque accuracy matters.
Getting the most out of it anyway
Since cam-out rises with torque and falls with axial pressure, the technique is to push harder rather than turn harder. A bit socket helps directly: with a ratchet doing the turning, both the weight of your upper body and a free hand can go into keeping the bit in the recess. Choosing the largest size that fully seats matters too — an undersized bit rides on the outer part of the recess where the taper is steepest and cam-out is worst.
All 4 sizes
| Phillips size | Teng part number | EAN |
|---|---|---|
| PH0 | M141300-C | 5020385132139 |
| PH1 | M141301-C | 5020385131842 |
| PH2 | M141302-C | 5020385131859 |
| PH3 | M141303-C | 5020385131866 |
Where this list comes from
Every row is read from the live Teng Tools USA catalogue on the day this page was generated — product record, part number and size taken from the record itself, never transcribed from a printed catalogue or inferred from a pattern. Sizes use the PH designation as marked on the tool. A size that has been discontinued disappears from this list rather than lingering as a part number you cannot order, which is the failure mode of every static spec sheet.
If the head is already chewed
A rounded cross-head cannot be recovered by pressing harder. What sometimes works is a fresh, sharp bit of the correct size seated with a sharp tap from a hammer, which re-forms enough of the recess to bite once. Beyond that the options are a screw extractor, cutting a slot across the head for a flat blade, or drilling the head off and dealing with the shank. All three are quicker than a further twenty minutes of the driver spinning in place.
Bit sockets are in sockets and accessories; drivers and bits are in bits and drivers.