WHAT KIND OF SCREWS SHOULD I USE

WHAT KIND OF SCREWS SHOULD I USE

WHAT KIND OF SCREWS SHOULD I USE 

If you've ever been to the fastener section of a hardware store or Home Center, you know how embarrassed this experience can be at times you may only need a few screws. But what kind should you get? There are a bazillion different kinds of screws. So in this article, we will classify and summarize some basic screws.

 

We highly recommend using premium or multi-purpose screws, such as spam. Getting the flat-headed screws the ones with the tapered heads for countersinking. If you can use square or star drives, they work way better and will save you a lot of frustration. If you can't find them or don't want to spend the extra money, Phillips is okay but your driver will probably slip off the head, and that gets aggravating.

Usually, we use wood glue which is stronger and leaves no visible fasteners. The downsides to using glue are that you have to wait for it to dry and once you've assembled something you can't take it apart.  

 

We often use screws for chopped projects and jigs with these we are not concerned as much about the appearance as we love the time-saving that screws allow us. Screws are also used to hold together things where expansion and contraction of the wood can be an issue. 

 

The common use is to attach a tabletop to a base. The screws will usually be sent into a slot allowing the wood to move as the humidity changes. For some projects that are sort of in the middle ground between making an heirloom dresser and a workbench, we like to use pocket screws. They're great for making cabinets and other casework they make assembling these types of projects say a bed frame much easier and quicker. Of course, you want to position the pocket holes on where they won't be visible.

 

 

 

Bolts are cylindrical fasteners with threaded threads for use with nuts. It is made of a head and a screw and belongs to a detachable connection.

The choice of screw size is equally important. Diameters of different sizes are usually numbered. The larger the number of screws, the larger the diameter. It is important to know the machine screws or bolts that need to be turned nuts.

 

Sometimes wood screws come in coarse or fine threads. Use fine threads for hardwoods and coarse threads for softwoods and plywood. So when you're reading a box,the first number will tell you the diameter of the screws and this will sometimes be followed by the threads per inch.

 

Then the length of the screw. There are two components to a screw head its head shape and its drive type. There are lots and lots of different types of drives. But there are only a few common ones that you need to know about. slotted screws are the original method for driving a screw like a name implies it's just a slot that a flathead screwdriver turns. For this reason, these types of screws are commonly referred to as flat head screws way more often than they're called slotted screws.

 

Flathead screws require a lot of patience to use and are very difficult to drive with a drill or an impact driver. It's really weird how common they still are and they're still readily available at hardware stores.

 

Robertson screws are most common in Canada. And that's where they were invented they're harder to find. The square shape greatly reduces almost eliminating cam out and drivers slipping. You'll mostly find these in pocket screws.

 

 

Most wood screws are still only available with Phillips heads instead of a star or square drives. A lot of woodworkers like to use drywall screws. mostly for the projects and jigs, they're inexpensive usually cheaper than wood screws, and they're easy to find.

 

 

 

 

Deck screws are made of hardened steel. They have a corrosion-resistant coating for even better corrosion. Resistance especially on boats, in salty marine environments, you could use stainless steel screws while they offer the best protection.

The above is the introduction of several common screws, hope to help a lot of people have no experience in screws.

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