On 24 Mar 2007 16:56:10 -0700, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

On Mar 24, 4:35?pm, Gene Kearns
wrote:
Since everybody is posting OT, I thought I would revisit a topic that
we discussed a year or so ago.

I was doing some deck work and had bought some stainless deck screws
with the Robertson square drive. I thought they sucked, since they
were hard to drive and tended to strip out and break off.... /thers
suggested that I should be pre-drilling holes. That seemed like a
unnecessary and labor intensive task.

The local building supply has stopped carrying the Robertson headed
screws and now supplies an exterior plated screw (Grip Rite) with star
drive. They are excellent! I've driven a whole box of 4 inch screws
and not one single stripped head or broken screw (and no predilling,
either).

They worked for me.....

I haven't done decks, but often pre-drill to avoid splitting.
Non-issue with decks?

--Vic