The trouble was, and still is with many old screws and screwdrivers, that the screw often wouldn't turn. The straight screwdriver was hard to twist, and the groove in the screw could quickly become damaged and sometimes useless. Fortunately, both screws and screwdrivers have improved. Straight screwdrivers with flat tips are still available, but there has been a virtual revolution in screw-driving technology in recent years. Phillips screws are the more common of the two, but people who have used both types often prefer square-drive screws because they give a better grip to the screwdriver.
Pilot holes are important both to ease driving the screw and to help prevent splitting the wood.
An old trick, which makes screw driving even easier, is to coat the threads of the screw with wax before driving it into the wood. Screw-driving tools also have undergone vast changes. The driver also has interchangeable bits, so that screws of different types and sizes can be turned with the same driver. Extra bits often can be stored in the handle. The driver has a magnetic tip, which helps steady screws before they are started.