Wood Screws

[Ford850]

Along with Torex head screws, Simpson ‘Ledger Locks’ beat the heck out of lag bolts and depending on the size are available in torex or hex heads.
I don’t worry so much about the fastener cost it’s the speed, convience,and predictably that counts.
GEK is the brand I like the best for wood and deck screws.

B. John

Oh man, I forgot about these. They gained popularity for attaching ledger boards but now they make a full line if these slim brutes. I had a difficult project, attaching support/extension blocks in an stairwell to add a second handrail. I used these new style screws in something like 6" length and they worked fantastic. Rock solid with a small footprint, and the built in washer on the low profile head looks good on finish work too! Definitely worth a couple bucks more, saving a lot of time and great results.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I use these Spax screws in lengths from 2-1/2" to 6". Pretty much same as Ledger Lock and GEK I think. As noted they are light-years better than old style lag bolts. They have either a torx or hex head, both with built in washer.

 

[dstig1]

Along with Torex head screws, Simpson 銑edger Locks beat the heck out of lag bolts and depending on the size are available in torex or hex heads.
I don稚 worry so much about the fastener cost it痴 the speed, convience,and predictably that counts.
GEK is the brand I like the best for wood and deck screws.

B. John

I think you meant GRK - German company. Their RSS screws are truly amazing. Big wide head, but low profile so you can easily bury them in anything from lumber to LVLs and they will suck them together like you wouldn't believe. Impact driver REQUIRED!!! I had a door jamb that the jamb twisted pretty bad after everything dried out. I sunk an RSS in the section that wasn't twisted to anchor it, then drove one into the twisted section into the king stud behind it, and it sucked that thing dead flat. I pulled the drywall screws out first so it wouldn't tear them out or buckle the drywall. Menards and HD both carry GRK and Spax which are very similar. I use McFeelys.com for all my square drive screws, which are my standards for most everything.

 

[herm0016]

the big Simpson screws and the screws you can use in all the brackets are the bees knees. I use them for everything, esp. the timber locks. structural and easy to drive, don't twist off with a 1/4 drive socket or an impact and less splitting. very expensive but worth every dollar.

 

[Rustyiron]

I threw away all my phillips head wood screws a few years ago and replaced with square drive in sizes from 1" to 3". Except for actual drywall screws 1 - 5/8".

Throwing away anything at all is hard for me, but that really improved things around here. The torx drive works better than square drive but I am not ready to change again.

Exactly:thumbsup:
I didn't really understand the small cordless impact drivers (until I grabbed one helping a friend) when the were introduced, but couple an impact driver with even a crappy p/h screw and even they are "use able". With a torx head, unstoppable!
GRK makes some fine fasteners (screws) that some how wont split the wood even an inch away from the end.

 

[ericm979]

We used to have Pozisquare commonly available. They're a combination of Robertson square drive and Phillips. The best thing is that they stick on the bit and stay straight as you're starting them. Lately all the local stores have are Phillips and Torx. I dislike Torx because the screws do not fit tight on the bits which makes it difficult to get them started- push to get a self tapping screw started and the screw starts wobbling on the bit. I have had T25 Torx bits break while driving a screw but never Pozisquare.

 

[Egon]

Over look at Screw types.

[video]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives[/video]

 

[TractorGuy]

Round here the square drive screws first showed up in mobile homes. They were commonly called and cursed as "mobile home screws". They eventually gained some popularity with cabinet makers.

Dirt and corrosion makes any drive system more difficult to remove than to install. A portable air compressor with a blow gun can help clear them. Getting the drive seated properly before applying torque will cut down on the cussin.

 

[Budweiser John]

My mistake, you are correct Dave.

 

[downsizingnow48]

That Wikipedia article was interesting. Lots of stuff there I have not seen. Nice to have all that info assembled in one place. One thing that I think is fairly common, and not mentioned, is a metal screw with combination head, hex on the outside and phillips on the inside.

 

[fried1765]

Me too. Robertson is pretty much all I use.

I just sold my Summer home in Nova Scotia.
Had never even heard of Robertson screws (I am from the US) when I started building there in 2004.
Used stainless Robertson screws on the big ocean front deck, and Robertson elsewhere as well.
Probably won't be going back to Canada anytime soon (I am 78), but I brought back quite a few pounds (liters??...Ha Ha) of Robertson screws, because I love them, and they are difficult to find in the USA.

 

[GeneD14]

I have used the "Robertson" or square drive screws for many years. There is a mail order company called McFeely's that sells wood screws and machine threaded screws that are all square drive. The last 2 residential electrical panels that I installed utilize square drive to hold in the breakers and wire clamps. I used to trim houses and hang doors and cabinets for a living and I think that square drive is where it's at! Here is the square drive online resource: Screws, Tools & More | McFeely's

 

[downsizingnow48]

I get all my square drive screws at McFeely's too. The quality of the screws and their impact drivers bits has always been tops. Hope it stays that way.

 

[GLyford]

I like the coated deck screws, especially since I am always messing with PT wood for things like fences, not just decks. Regardless of philips or torx, I really like the newer ones with the groove on the tip that cut as they go in. So much easier to start and drive.

Around here, the only robertson I regularly see is in stainless, and as mentioned they are bad for stripping out since stainless is soft. Build a picnic table with them, and some years later when I redecked the top I cut the board around them and cut them flush with a grinder. Put on composite, the coated composite screws that replaced them were much nicer to use.

The quadrex/pozisquare/deckmate phillips/square combo was nice on deck screws, but they only lasted a few years before deck screws switched to torx. I keep a bit or two around just to fix stuff I built with them.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I've done two decks with McFeely's stainless steel square drive screws, total of about 6000 screws. 3-1/2". In all that I had zero heads strip. I had a few break when I ran into something hard. I think some stainless steel screws are better than others. And it is important to use a good impact bit.