Screw removal

[mudhen]

I am attempting to remove screws on my K-27, witch hold on the tender road switcher long steps,
under the rear coupler, witch are no long required and on the C-19, again removing the
tender switcher steps, witch are again, under the coupler, and no longer required.
My problem is removal of the tiny, little screws that hold them on, and replace with proper road steps.
I have tried using phillips #0 and the smaller #0-2 with almost not luck upon extraction of the screws
holding the steps on. Usually 2 screws per side.
Short of using a vice grip on the head of the crew, and twisting them out. witch to date is my only option,
so far, does anyone have any suggestions or instruction of how you have removed these little buggers,
and without ruining the heads of them so they can be reused to put on steps.

[jviss]

I do not know, not being an authority on the train.  But it's my guess that those screw heads are not Phillips, but JIS (Japan Industrial Standard).  They look like Phillips, the the form is different.  I learned this from R/C aircraft made in China, and Japanese motorcycles.

JIS drivers are readily available.

[jviss]

I confirmed yesterday that the screw heads that look like Phillips head screws are actually JIS, as I had suspected.  Well, I can't confirm it with absolute certainty, since the maker of these screws didn't put the dot on the head that the standard requires.  I suspect this is because of cost, and that the Chinese don't feel obligated to adhere to the letter of the standard.

The way I confirmed is that my JIS No. 2 driver fits most of the screws on a BBH loco or tender - and fits perfectly.  For example, the screws securing the bottom cover on the loco chassis, and the screws holding the tender shell to the tender chassis.  I can't find a single Phillips driver among my vast collection that fits these screws properly.

The tiny screws, like the ones securing the struts to the pilot on the 4-6-0, are smaller than my smallest JIS driver, which is a No. 00.  I will try to buy a smaller one today. 

Here's a great site describing screw drives:
When a Phillips is not a Phillips]https://www.instructables.com/id/When-a-Phillips-is-not-a-Phillips/]When a Phillips is not a Phillips

[mudhen]

Thanks for your help, I will now look to purchase some JIS screw drivers and see how they work to remove those screws

[jviss]

You are welcome, best of luck to you.

[jviss]

Just received my new jeweler's size precision JIS driver set.  I can now confirm that a JIS #000 perfectly fits those tiny screws on the 4-6-0, P/N 10402.

If you want me to try any other screws that might be on a 4-6-0 or freight or passenger rolling stock, just let me know.

jv

p.s. the driver set I bought is the Vessel No. TD-56S, on Amazon for about $15.   It includes JIS drivers #0 through #0000 plus 0.9mm and 0.7mm flat blade drivers.  They are very nicely made.  And there's nothing like a perfectly-fitting screwdriver!