Wood Screws

downsizingnow48 · Nov 27, 2018

When I first starting working as a teenager, "wood screw" was a clunky triangular thing with a flat blade head. Hard to remove, even harder to drive.

There has been so much progress in this area, and so many excellent screws. I can remember when long "drywall" style Phillips head screws came in, that was a game changer, especially for hanging cabinets.

Today I used wood screws to attach stools to the new windows. They are #7 x 3" stainless steel, with a small trim head, and a T15 socket. Easy to use and extremely strong. Used to be, 10d finish nails were the only choice for this kind of application.

ovrszd · Nov 27, 2018

The choices in fasteners have grown tremendously. I can wander around in a Fastenall store and find things that I can't figure out their use for.

ArlyA · Nov 27, 2018

I like Fastenall too. The correct fastener for the job, is your friend...

ovrszd said:
The choices in fasteners have grown tremendously. I can wander around in a Fastenall store and find things that I can't figure out their use for.

Wagtail · Nov 28, 2018

I haven't seen a 'torx' head screw down here... which isn't to say that they aren't available.

The common heavy duty screw head around here are 'hex' or 'Allen'. Light duty is 'Philips'.

check · Nov 28, 2018

All I ever use is Robinson, especially for the 3” decks screws. Would love the Torx, but they are too expensive.

fried1765 · Nov 28, 2018

check said:
All I ever use is Robinson, especially for the 3” decks screws. Would love the Torx, but they are too expensive.

Robertson screws (not "Robinson") were invented in Milton, Ontario in 1908.
I like them, but they are not commonly found in the USA.

Gunny · Nov 28, 2018

I keep a large assortment of the torx type screws, except for my trim finish screws which are square head. The torx are a great improvement over the slotted and phillips screw heads. They're almost always my "go to" screw for just about anything.
I've got coated or treated screws for outdoor word, had to replace some fence boards I put up years ago and the torx screws all back out with no problems.

oosik · Nov 28, 2018

I'm still pretty old fashion. I bought large boxes of Phillips heads and still have a few years worth left. Then it will most likely be the torx head screws. I"ve had to get a complete set of torx drive sockets to work on the motorcycle and to a more limited extent - some of my tractor implements.

The torx system is certainly an improvement over the Phillips head system.

ArlyA · Nov 28, 2018

Sorry to say that "Robertson" screws are called square drive in the states. When Check said "Robertson" I had no idea what that was. They are available here and I've used them, but seems that Torx are overtaking them in popularity. Pozidriv are are also popular here.

RBLapham · Nov 28, 2018

Back about 1985 or so where I worked they wanted to switch screw heads so the robots could more easily assemble the units. I was in the home office service department and a big concern was the service personnel may not have screwdrivers to repair the units and need to buy a bunch of tools, about 5,000 service people. The factory liked the Torx heads but we would need to get screwdrivers for all the service personnel. We finally went with the combination Torx and slot head screws (top right). I made a collection of as many screw heads as I could find - here is a picture. The phillips head looking ones may also be "Posi Drive or Reed and Prince.