I do, couple of thousand in fact.

Assuming that got past your SPAM filter...

When I were a lad, we had phillips and slotted, brass and steel, round
heads, countersunk and the old one inbetween in between.

Went to Screwfix with the intent of buying a couple of mega packs of general
purpose woodscrews...

Turbogold, goldscrew, spax, quicksilver...

Ow... I feel like someone just dug me out the ground (I'm 40).

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two principal
uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new products
really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and drilling pilot holes
and countersinking.

Cheers

Tim

On 13 Oct, 20:41, Tim S wrote:
I do, couple of thousand in fact.

Assuming that got past your SPAM filter...

When I were a lad, we had phillips and slotted, brass and steel, round
heads, countersunk and the old one inbetween in between.

Went to Screwfix with the intent of buying a couple of mega packs of general
purpose woodscrews...

Turbogold, goldscrew, spax, quicksilver...

Ow... I feel like someone just dug me out the ground (I'm 40).

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two principal
uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new products
really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and drilling pilot holes
and countersinking.

Cheers

Tim

Turbogold and Spax are excellent. No predrilling in softwood required.
Even 6*100mm will go straight in with an impact driver. Most trades
people use them as first choice.

Turboultra are rather fragile, but leav a nice finish if handled
carefully.

There's a bunch of whatever to masonry fittings now that cut straight
into masonry, no plug required (but you must drill the masonry at the
diameter they specify). Look at the Spax offering and Mulitmonti.

Speed, reliability, ease of use - and barely make any difference to
overall project costs.

coughed up some electrons that declared:

Turbogold and Spax are excellent. No predrilling in softwood required.
Even 6*100mm will go straight in with an impact driver. Most trades
people use them as first choice.

OK - sounds good - I'll pick one at random.

Turboultra are rather fragile, but leav a nice finish if handled
carefully.

I don't quite understand - do you mean the heads look nice and set in the
surface of the material nicely without splintering?

There's a bunch of whatever to masonry fittings now that cut straight
into masonry, no plug required (but you must drill the masonry at the
diameter they specify). Look at the Spax offering and Mulitmonti.

While I don't think I could get my head around not doing it the "old way"
for big heavy things (I'm still brushing the worms off, remember), I might
give these a try for fixing electrical back boxes and pipe clips. I can see
the benefit there and I don't need mentally high strength.

Do they work OK in medium hard brick?

Thanks for that - just the pointer I needed.

Cheers

Tim

Tim S coughed up some electrons that declared:

coughed up some electrons that declared:

Turbogold and Spax are excellent. No predrilling in softwood required.
Even 6*100mm will go straight in with an impact driver. Most trades
people use them as first choice.

OK - sounds good - I'll pick one at random.


One thing though: without the shank and the pilot hole, do they allow the
things being fixed to pull together as the screw is tightened?

Cheers

Tim

Tim S wrote:
I do, couple of thousand in fact.

Assuming that got past your SPAM filter...

When I were a lad, we had phillips and slotted, brass and steel, round
heads, countersunk and the old one inbetween in between.

Went to Screwfix with the intent of buying a couple of mega packs of
general purpose woodscrews...

Turbogold, goldscrew, spax, quicksilver...

Ow... I feel like someone just dug me out the ground (I'm 40).

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two
principal uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new
products really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and drilling
pilot holes and countersinking.

I use either Turbogold or Quicksilver.

Turbogold are wonderful! No pilot, go in right up to edges without
splitting, self countersink, fast to drive, sharp point so easy to start.
Great product.

Only disadvantages - not good at pulling together two pieces of wood with a
gap, most sizes are threaded for all their length - you need to hold the
pieces together firmly, and they chew up plastic plugs IMO.

I use Quicksilver for fixing with plastic plugs - on which subject Rawlplug
'Uno' are brilliant for multi purpose use, plasterboard, block, brick
whatever. I used to carry hollow & solid wall plugs on the van, now I just
carry the 'Uno' plugs.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In article , The Medway
Handyman writes

I use either Turbogold or Quicksilver.

Turbogold are wonderful! No pilot, go in right up to edges without
splitting, self countersink, fast to drive, sharp point so easy to start.
Great product.

Only disadvantages - not good at pulling together two pieces of wood with a
gap, most sizes are threaded for all their length - you need to hold the
pieces together firmly, and they chew up plastic plugs IMO.

For 4x2 framing I was doing recently I used Screwfix's 5x80 Screw-Tite
offerings, very easy to drive and only half the shank is threaded so it
pulled in any unintentional gaps in the work. I think it might have been
you that recommended them after using them on decking. I'll definitely
be looking for excuses to use them in the future.

After running out of the Screw-Tites I tried some Turbogolds but the
fancy self cutting shank features were actually a disadvantage as it was
really sapping the juice out of my budget tool batteries at a rate if
knots, made me rethink the fancy screw philosophy when driving big
sizes.

I use Quicksilver for fixing with plastic plugs - on which subject Rawlplug
'Uno' are brilliant for multi purpose use, plasterboard, block, brick
whatever. I used to carry hollow & solid wall plugs on the van, now I just
carry the 'Uno' plugs.

I'm drifting back to the more traditional cut of the Quicksilver, I
think it works well in the shorter sizes, a 4x25 turbogold is all spike
& no grip for the first 5mm. I definitely agree on Uno's as being a bit
of a breakthrough in PB fixing although I'd go for longer Fischer stuff
into brick.
--
fred
BBC3, ITV2/3/4, channels going to the DOGs

In article
,
wrote:
Turbogold and Spax are excellent. No predrilling in softwood required.
Even 6*100mm will go straight in with an impact driver. Most trades
people use them as first choice.

I'll take issue with that. They'll still split a floorboard - same as any
other without a clearance hole.
Other thing is if you use these without a clearance hole they won't clamp
up as tight.

--
*A woman drove me to drink and I didn't have the decency to thank her

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Tim S wrote:
I do, couple of thousand in fact.

Assuming that got past your SPAM filter...

When I were a lad, we had phillips and slotted, brass and steel, round
heads, countersunk and the old one inbetween in between.

Went to Screwfix with the intent of buying a couple of mega packs of
general purpose woodscrews...

Turbogold, goldscrew, spax, quicksilver...

Ow... I feel like someone just dug me out the ground (I'm 40).

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two principal
uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new
products really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and drilling
pilot holes and countersinking.

I personally like Quicksilver for general indoors stuff where you'd have
used slotted before. Still need the usual pilot hole etc. But they work
fine on MDF etc as well.

--
*Toilet stolen from police station. Cops have nothing to go on.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:45:37 +0100, fred wrote:


I'm drifting back to the more traditional cut of the Quicksilver, I
think it works well in the shorter sizes, a 4x25 turbogold is all spike
& no grip for the first 5mm. I definitely agree on Uno's as being a bit
of a breakthrough in PB fixing although I'd go for longer Fischer stuff
into brick.

I must be even more traditional, using proper woodscrews; a
countersunk clearance hole in the upper bit of wood and a pilot hole
in the lower.
Unless I'm doing loads of screws for a rough job, I use a proper
cabinet screwdriver of an appropriate size.

--
Frank Erskine

On Oct 13, 8:41*pm, Tim S wrote:
I do, couple of thousand in fact.

Assuming that got past your SPAM filter...

When I were a lad, we had phillips and slotted, brass and steel, round
heads, countersunk and the old one inbetween in between.

Went to Screwfix with the intent of buying a couple of mega packs of general
purpose woodscrews...

Turbogold, goldscrew, spax, quicksilver...

Ow... I feel like someone just dug me out the ground (I'm 40).

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two principal
uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new products
really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and drilling pilot holes
and countersinking.

Cheers

Tim

Any of their coarse thread screws are fine for general timber &
masonry-with-plug fixing - even the ones not designed for wood at all
(self tappers). So if all you want is as said, the cheapest are
variously quicksilver, drywall, twinthread, goldscrew and some marked
as chipboard screws.

Drywall screws haven't been mentioned yet, but have some advantages.
They're on the thin side, reducing risk of splits and cordless tool
energy use, and making piloless screwing more often realistic. Theyre
often black phosphate coated, which gives much better rust resistance
than bzp. And theyre some of the cheapest too.

But whatever you go for you're not gonna go wrong really - unless you
choose slotted head.

Oh, buying packs individually is cheaper than getting their selection
packs, and you can pick your own container then, so it matches other
similar boxes.

Other screw types give advantages but only for specific apps, so if
you want to enlarge your stock I'd look at those once you're stocked
up with basic coarse thread screws in all the main sizes first.

Oh...
http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Screws

NT

Some good ideas there (across several posts)

Thanks folks.

Think I will definitely try the masonry screws as mentioned, get some proper
brass woodscrews for the bits on show that need to look nice (eg
floorboards) and try one of the new types for general purpose use - I'll
take note and look for the more rust resistant types as I'll probably want
a few to use outside too.

Cheers

Tim

One thing though: without the shank and the pilot hole, do they allow the
things being fixed to pull together as the screw is tightened?

If you're screwing thin to thick, and the pull-up distance is small,
then yes. The force of an impact driver helps, as does the self-
countersinking action of the screw.

However if you're pulling something into shape, best to clearance
drill the attached part.

Turboultra are rather fragile, but leav a nice finish if handled
carefully.

I don't quite understand - do you mean the heads look nice and set in the surface of the material nicely without splintering?

Turboultra are stainless steel, so can be snapped or the heads damaged
rather more easily than turbogold or spax.

I've just remembered Screwfix Select have a "try a free box of
turbogold" offer, but I'm not sure who they're letting sign up to the
select thingy (I got a mailing about it):

https://www.screwfixselect.com/app/s...promotions.jsp



There's a bunch of whatever to masonry fittings now that cut straight
into masonry, no plug required (but you must drill the masonry at the
diameter they specify). Look at the Spax offering and Mulitmonti.


While I don't think I could get my head around not doing it the "old way"
for big heavy things (I'm still brushing the worms off, remember), I might
give these a try for fixing electrical back boxes and pipe clips. I can see
the benefit there and I don't need mentally high strength.

Do they work OK in medium hard brick?

Hmmm - the direct masonry fixing are more for the big stuff - this is
the smallest I could find:

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js...=12531&x=0&y=0

It seems Screwfix has dropped the Spax frame anchors - pity, they were
excellent.

This is what I use for the big stuff:

http://www.screwfix.com/cats/101217/Fixings/Multi-Monti

I've used multimonti in concrete, so hard brick should be no problem.

coughed up some electrons that declared:


While I don't think I could get my head around not doing it the "old way"
for big heavy things (I'm still brushing the worms off, remember), I
might give these a try for fixing electrical back boxes and pipe clips. I
can see the benefit there and I don't need mentally high strength.

Do they work OK in medium hard brick?

Hmmm - the direct masonry fixing are more for the big stuff - this is
the smallest I could find:


http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js...=12531&x=0&y=0


Hmm, pity...

Thanks for the answer though

Cheers
Tim

On 13 Oct, 22:45, fred wrote:

For 4x2 framing I was doing recently I used Screwfix's 5x80 Screw-Tite
offerings, very easy to drive and only half the shank is threaded so it
pulled in any unintentional gaps in the work. I think it might have been
you that recommended them after using them on decking. I'll definitely
be looking for excuses to use them in the future.

After running out of the Screw-Tites I tried some Turbogolds but the
fancy self cutting shank features were actually a disadvantage as it was
really sapping the juice out of my budget tool batteries at a rate if
knots, made me rethink the fancy screw philosophy when driving big
sizes.


I found the Screw-tite ones rubbish - stripped the heads really easily
(even with nice shiny new DeWalt PZ2 tips) and quite a lot of the
screws weren't perfectly straight.

Bought Deck-Tite screws instead and they were brilliant. (But about
4x the price).

Matt

In article
,
writes
On 13 Oct, 22:45, fred wrote:

For 4x2 framing I was doing recently I used Screwfix's 5x80 Screw-Tite
offerings, very easy to drive and only half the shank is threaded so it
pulled in any unintentional gaps in the work. I think it might have been
you that recommended them after using them on decking. I'll definitely
be looking for excuses to use them in the future.

After running out of the Screw-Tites I tried some Turbogolds but the
fancy self cutting shank features were actually a disadvantage as it was
really sapping the juice out of my budget tool batteries at a rate if
knots, made me rethink the fancy screw philosophy when driving big
sizes.


I found the Screw-tite ones rubbish - stripped the heads really easily
(even with nice shiny new DeWalt PZ2 tips) and quite a lot of the
screws weren't perfectly straight.

Bought Deck-Tite screws instead and they were brilliant. (But about
4x the price).

How strange, I must have used 300 in that framing build and I thought
they were great. I used DeWalt Pz2 tips too after some hardened tips I
was using started to break. Don't think I had a single head strip, they
were a joy to use compared with the torque required on the larger
Turbogolds.
--
fred
BBC3, ITV2/3/4, channels going to the DOGs

On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:32:14 -0700, wrote:

One thing though: without the shank and the pilot hole, do they allow
the things being fixed to pull together as the screw is tightened?

If you're screwing thin to thick, and the pull-up distance is small,
then yes. The force of an impact driver helps, as does the self-
countersinking action of the screw.

However if you're pulling something into shape, best to clearance drill
the attached part.

If it's decking/chipboard/roofing to metal, look at the ???* screws.
Pilot hole in the steel, clearance in the wood, self tapping and
countersink all in one shot. Saved me ages when putting a conservatory
floor on a steel frame.

* Balls. I just went to look up the name and I couldn't find them
anywhere. dead clever design - had a drill point on the end with steel
'wings' - the wings drilled the clearance hole in the wood, then snapped
off/folded flat when they got to the steel. The drill point then did a
pilot hole until the start of the self tapper hit then it pulled itself
in. Flanges under the head then self-countersunk into the chipboard and
pulled *tight*.

Anybody know what they were/are?

Tim S wrote:

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two principal
uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Quicksilver twinthread

I used to buy these exclusively. Recently I have tried some of the
Turbogold as well. These are better closer to the edge of timber if not
piloting, and they start very easily (the quicksilver also start pretty
easily compared to traditional screws).

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new products
really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and drilling pilot holes
and countersinking.

The classic woodscrew is really dead and gone IMHO. The modern screws
are easier to drive, work well in modern plugs, cut a proper thread (old
style screws partly destroy their own thread due to the taper).

If you want two bits to really "pull in" then either drill a clearance
hole on the top one, or just self countersink *deep* into the top with
plenty of brute force and ignorance.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Tim S wrote:

Some good ideas there (across several posts)

Thanks folks.

Think I will definitely try the masonry screws as mentioned, get some proper
brass woodscrews for the bits on show that need to look nice (eg
floorboards) and try one of the new types for general purpose use - I'll

Handy tip for trad brass screw usage - screw in a matching size steel
screw first, then remove and replace with the brass. Makes the driving
of the brass much lighter, and hence far less likely to damage the
softer head.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
Tim S wrote:

Some good ideas there (across several posts)

Thanks folks.

Think I will definitely try the masonry screws as mentioned, get some
proper
brass woodscrews for the bits on show that need to look nice (eg
floorboards) and try one of the new types for general purpose use - I'll

Handy tip for trad brass screw usage - screw in a matching size steel
screw first, then remove and replace with the brass. Makes the driving
of the brass much lighter, and hence far less likely to damage the
softer head.



The other day I dropped a brass screw from an electical fitting (wire
clamping screw from a scoket). Fell near a screwdriver. And moved
towards it. Realised the magnetised screwdriver was attracting it. Must
be steel with a brass finish of some sort.

Kind of surprising I've never seen woodscrews which are similarly
constructed. Anyone seen such things?

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

John Rumm wrote:
Tim S wrote:

So whats the best general purpose screw these days? I have two
principal uses:

Screw to wood and screw to masonary walls with plugs.

Quicksilver twinthread

I used to buy these exclusively. Recently I have tried some of the
Turbogold as well. These are better closer to the edge of timber if
not piloting, and they start very easily (the quicksilver also start
pretty easily compared to traditional screws).

Should I just go with the screws I know and love, or are these new
products really better? I don't mind being old fashioned and
drilling pilot holes and countersinking.

The classic woodscrew is really dead and gone IMHO. The modern screws
are easier to drive, work well in modern plugs, cut a proper thread
(old style screws partly destroy their own thread due to the taper).

If you want two bits to really "pull in" then either drill a clearance
hole on the top one, or just self countersink *deep* into the top with
plenty of brute force and ignorance.

I've found that if the pieces don't pull together, backing out the Turbogold
& screwing it in again works a treat.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:40:05 +0100, Rod
wrote:

The other day I dropped a brass screw from an electical fitting (wire
clamping screw from a scoket). Fell near a screwdriver. And moved
towards it. Realised the magnetised screwdriver was attracting it. Must
be steel with a brass finish of some sort.

Kind of surprising I've never seen woodscrews which are similarly
constructed. Anyone seen such things?

A lot of those little packets of screws you used to get from hardware
shops in the 70s were like that, and usually marked as "brassed"
screws.

--
Frank Erskine

wrote:


This is what I use for the big stuff:

http://www.screwfix.com/cats/101217/Fixings/Multi-Monti

I've used multimonti in concrete, so hard brick should be no problem.

I think it might have been you who put me on to Multi Monti's in the first
place. Incredible fixings.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Oct 14, 11:20*pm, Frank Erskine
wrote:
On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:40:05 +0100, Rod
wrote:

The other day I dropped a brass screw from an electical fitting (wire
clamping screw from a scoket). Fell near a screwdriver. And moved
towards it. Realised the magnetised screwdriver was attracting it. Must
be steel with a brass finish of some sort.

Kind of surprising I've never seen woodscrews which are similarly
constructed. Anyone seen such things?

A lot of those little packets of screws you used to get from hardware
shops in the 70s were like that, and usually marked as "brassed"
screws.

Theres still a lot of 'brassed' stuff about. Its cheap, but rusts
quickly, even indoors.


NT

It's probably worth mentioning for newcomers that you need to be
tooled up - sds drill, correct diameter bit (no substitutions) and
ideally an impact driver to place them - to gain the full benefits of
speed and ease of use.

In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
If you want two bits to really "pull in" then either drill a clearance
hole on the top one, or just self countersink *deep* into the top with
plenty of brute force and ignorance.

I've found that if the pieces don't pull together, backing out the Turbogold
& screwing it in again works a treat.

Don't try that with stainless....... they break!

regards



--
Tim Lamb

Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
If you want two bits to really "pull in" then either drill a clearance
hole on the top one, or just self countersink *deep* into the top with
plenty of brute force and ignorance.

I've found that if the pieces don't pull together, backing out the
Turbogold
& screwing it in again works a treat.

Don't try that with stainless....... they break!

regards



Something very funny going on. At least two of you have said something
about stainless (at least Turbo Ultra) breaking/failing.

I don't think a single one I have used has been a problem - except a
couple of graunched heads which were probably entirely my fault. (I had
more problem with slotted s/s screws I bought which had lousily formed
slots and a few did break.) Maybe it is certain sizes? Or luck of the
draw? I have used both mini Mak impact driver and main drill to screw
them, and have certainly done them up very tightly. (Goodbye head as it
disappears... :-) )

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

"Rod" wrote in message
...
Tim Lamb wrote:
In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
If you want two bits to really "pull in" then either drill a clearance
hole on the top one, or just self countersink *deep* into the top with
plenty of brute force and ignorance.

I've found that if the pieces don't pull together, backing out the
Turbogold
& screwing it in again works a treat.

Don't try that with stainless....... they break!

regards



Something very funny going on. At least two of you have said something
about stainless (at least Turbo Ultra) breaking/failing.

I don't think a single one I have used has been a problem - except a
couple of graunched heads which were probably entirely my fault. (I had
more problem with slotted s/s screws I bought which had lousily formed
slots and a few did break.) Maybe it is certain sizes? Or luck of the
draw? I have used both mini Mak impact driver and main drill to screw
them, and have certainly done them up very tightly. (Goodbye head as it
disappears... :-) )

I have snapped the head off some 6 x 100 in the past.

They also bend.

In article
,
wrote:
A lot of those little packets of screws you used to get from hardware
shops in the 70s were like that, and usually marked as "brassed"
screws.

Theres still a lot of 'brassed' stuff about. Its cheap, but rusts
quickly, even indoors.

I bought a very expensive front door night latch - rare in that if
conformed to the BS for mortice locks. Made by Yale. And the outside part
very soon lost its brass finish showing some form of cast light coloured
metal underneath - probably muckite. Just with normal use - no polishing.

--
*Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , Rod
writes
I've found that if the pieces don't pull together, backing out the
Turbogold
& screwing it in again works a treat.
Don't try that with stainless....... they break!
regards



Something very funny going on. At least two of you have said something
about stainless (at least Turbo Ultra) breaking/failing.

They do. 6.0x100 in Oak framing. Even with a pilot hole.

OK forward but they don't do backwards.

regards
--
Tim Lamb

I bought a trade case of turboultra on an introductory offer. I now
use the small ones for trims (for which they're great), and the rest
for temporary work where broken fasteners in timber don't matter (as
it's all destined for the woodburner).

Frank Erskine wrote:
On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:40:05 +0100, Rod
wrote:

The other day I dropped a brass screw from an electical fitting (wire
clamping screw from a scoket). Fell near a screwdriver. And moved
towards it. Realised the magnetised screwdriver was attracting it. Must
be steel with a brass finish of some sort.

Kind of surprising I've never seen woodscrews which are similarly
constructed. Anyone seen such things?

A lot of those little packets of screws you used to get from hardware
shops in the 70s were like that, and usually marked as "brassed"
screws.


Known as EB I think. Electro brassed

Just to follow up, being a coward I've ordered a selection of mixed packs

Quicksilver twinthreads
Goldscrew Plus (Wasn't mentioned by anyone IIRC but they were on a clearance
deal)
Brass countersunks (for things on show like hinges and cupboard latches)
Black quicksilver roundheads (cheap deal, good for backboxes and random
jobs)

At least I won't be short for a while, and when I find what I like I'll
replenish those. Hell of a lot more than I would have got for the money in
B&Q buying as I needed

Cheers

Tim

"AJH" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:35:28 +0100, Tim S wrote:

At least I won't be short for a while, and when I find what I like I'll
replenish those.

Which are the most useful sizes?

I've just come away from helping set up a temporary kitchen. I was
delegated the task of making a frame and 4 legs to carry a ss sink.

I decided to just pin joint a frame of 2 by 2s with screws. Now these
were just standard gold coloured screws from a shed, not quite like
the screws I remember but they did drive with no clearance/pilot hole
but then not unexpectedly didn't pull the joints tight.

I've used some other, black screws recently that might be the
screwtite type, a thinner shank with screw flights considerable wider
and a bugle head rather than simple countersink. As long as the
unthreaded part is the same length as the batten being screwed these
will pull tight.

Given that you probably only need 30mm of screw in the anchor part is
it possible to buy screws like this but with only 30mm of thread and
then various shank lengths?

I'll need to address this when I next visit unless the sink has
already collapsed.

AJH


With no clearance hole I cannot see how a screw can pull two pieces
together. Imagine if you created a deliberate space and then drove a screw
through and tightened it - then the thread would be good in both pieces and
they would not pull together. Your idea of a long plain section is a sound
idea but in the meantime I think a clearance hole is the answer.

John wrote:

With no clearance hole I cannot see how a screw can pull two pieces
together.

I agree

Imagine if you created a deliberate space and then drove a
screw through and tightened it - then the thread would be good in both
pieces and they would not pull together.

Which is exactly what happens.



Your idea of a long plain section
is a sound idea but in the meantime I think a clearance hole is the
answer.

I know that's the proper way to do it with convebntional screws but these
newer screws seem to have wider flights, which would lead to a wider
clearance hole which would then not support the narrower shank.

Anyway I was just asking, I'd probably have been better off tosh nailing.

AJH

John wrote:
"AJH" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:35:28 +0100, Tim S wrote:

At least I won't be short for a while, and when I find what I like I'll
replenish those.
Which are the most useful sizes?

I've just come away from helping set up a temporary kitchen. I was
delegated the task of making a frame and 4 legs to carry a ss sink.

I decided to just pin joint a frame of 2 by 2s with screws. Now these
were just standard gold coloured screws from a shed, not quite like
the screws I remember but they did drive with no clearance/pilot hole
but then not unexpectedly didn't pull the joints tight.

I've used some other, black screws recently that might be the
screwtite type, a thinner shank with screw flights considerable wider
and a bugle head rather than simple countersink. As long as the
unthreaded part is the same length as the batten being screwed these
will pull tight.

Given that you probably only need 30mm of screw in the anchor part is
it possible to buy screws like this but with only 30mm of thread and
then various shank lengths?

I'll need to address this when I next visit unless the sink has
already collapsed.

AJH


With no clearance hole I cannot see how a screw can pull two pieces
together. Imagine if you created a deliberate space and then drove a screw
through and tightened it - then the thread would be good in both pieces and
they would not pull together. Your idea of a long plain section is a sound
idea but in the meantime I think a clearance hole is the answer.

You can do it by brute force - just keep driving so that you strip the
thread created in the top bit of wood - then they will pull together.
Much depends on the actual wood though. You may find that you end up
just countersinking the screw head right through the top bit.

--
Cheers,

John.

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John Rumm wrote:

With no clearance hole I cannot see how a screw can pull two pieces
together.

You can do it by brute force - just keep driving so that you strip
the thread created in the top bit of wood - then they will pull
together.

Or, slightly more subtly, drive the screw through the top piece into
the lower, then back it out of the lower one, pull the two bits tight
together, and drive again. More of a faff to describe than to do (at
least with a power driver) and tight enough for most purposes.

--
John