Choosing the right (Screwfix) screws
Richard
Tempted to replenish my screw stocks with one of the cases featuring in
Screwfix's clearout 'sale'.
Can someone enlighten me as to the differences in real terms - not in
the terms that appear in the Screwfix ads - between:
Turbo Ultra
TurboGold
Gold
Goldscrew Plus
Quicksilver
and then suggest which to buy (and why!)
I'm looking to buy the biggest offering in a case. I don't want
something requiring an esoteric driver and will only be doing what I
call crude timber fixing - no high class cabinet work, just a step up
from nailing bits of timber together or to walls and brackets to the
same (both interior and exterior).
TIA
Richard
Cuprager
that I have asked of them so far.
Gerry
Rumble
OK, I'll bite...
The Screwfix ad's are pretty clear about the differences between their
different types and what they're best used for (see "Choosing the right
screw" on page 6 of the Winter 2006 catalogue).
The only comment I would make is that having a "razor sharp tip" is not
necessarily a good thing and if you're screwing (or nailing for that
matter) close to an edge, you should consider turning the screw (nail)
upside down and tapping the head with a hammer to blunt it slightly to
avoid splitting the wood (unless of course you drilled a pilot hole ;-).
Twin threads screw in faster than single threads, but single threads are
notionally better for soft woods/chipboard/mdf.
Turbo Ultra are class A2 stainless steel (aka 304 stainless) which is
not as rust-resistant as class A4 (aka 316). A4/316 should be used for
marine work by preference.
Otherwise all variants are made from zinc-plated mild steel. The
technical term is "zinc plated and passivated" The passivation can be
either clear or yellow/gold coloured (note, there's no actual gold
involved). Screwfix have specified that their single thread screws are
yellow-passivated and their twin thread screws are clear-passivated, so
you can tell the difference by the colour if you have a mixed bag.
Finally, the silver twin threads are sized in Imperial gauges and the
gold single threads are sized in Metric - which may be a consideration
if you grew up with 1 1/2" No 8's as being the one screw you don't want
to run out of!.
Goldscrews are the cheapest and will work with all wood-types.
HTH
Rumble
Actually, on closer inspection, the Quicksilver ones are on average
slightly cheaper than the Goldscrews if you compare like-for-nearly-like
(well spotted Gerry).
d...@gglz.com
permanently rust free are rather easier to break. I haven't used the
screwfix branded version of the others, but used to use a
quicksilver-alike. By comparison turbogold are much superior as a screw
to whack in with a power driver time after time into most timber
materials. Almost all fixing are PZ2, and buy some spare bits too.
I suspect Screwfix may be about to phase out some lines and go over to
the Spax equivalent.
meow...@care2.com
For basic work like that you can use anything with a coarse thread,
doesnt matter a damn what it is. PB screws are sometimes cheaper.
NT
Andy Hall
Better idea. Don't buy any of them.
A far better choice is to go for Torx screws. They don't have the
same tendency for cam out with the screwdriver that Pozidriv screws do.
The drivers are readily available just as easily as PZ as well - not at
all esoteric.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Spax-T-Star-Trade-Pack-464116.htm
for the screws
Order code 305087 for a set of screwdrivers, 310082 or 900384 for bits,
then 510030 for a case to put them in.
Far better deal, easier to use and better performance than screwfix's
offerings.
Guy King
from Andy Hall <an...@hall.nospam> contains these words:
> A far better choice is to go for Torx screws. They don't have the
> same tendency for cam out with the screwdriver that Pozidriv screws do.
Must admit, Pozi isn't as good as it's cracked up to be. Shame square
socket screws have never caught on in this country - despite a firm
somewhere pushing them quite hard.
--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
The Medway Handyman
> Sorry if it's an oft asked (and answered) question but:
>
> Tempted to replenish my screw stocks with one of the cases featuring
> in Screwfix's clearout 'sale'.
>
> Can someone enlighten me as to the differences in real terms - not in
> the terms that appear in the Screwfix ads - between:
I use the Quicksilver for general purpose use and when fixing via wall
plugs. The Turbo Gold are useful for those jobs where you need to screw
near an edge or in awkward spaces or use large screws without a pilot.
--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257
Andy Hall
> The message <44e0...@nt1.hall.gl>
> from Andy Hall <an...@hall.nospam> contains these words:
>
>> A far better choice is to go for Torx screws. They don't have the
>> same tendency for cam out with the screwdriver that Pozidriv screws do.
>
> Must admit, Pozi isn't as good as it's cracked up to be. Shame square
> socket screws have never caught on in this country - despite a firm
> somewhere pushing them quite hard.
You can get them for use with collated screwdrivers.
They tolerate the grab and release without stopping effect quite well.
Phil L
The old adage still holds true, 'use a nail, if it splits, you should have
used a screw'
:-p
Richard
>
> Better idea. Don't buy any of them.
>
> A far better choice is to go for Torx screws. They don't have the same
> tendency for cam out with the screwdriver that Pozidriv screws do.
>
> The drivers are readily available just as easily as PZ as well - not at
> all esoteric.
>
> http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Spax-T-Star-Trade-Pack-464116.htm
> for the screws
Er £22.45 for 1700 screws
>
> Order code 305087 for a set of screwdrivers,
£26.45
And I stopped looking after that! It's a _little_ bit more than I
really want to pay. I'm only a bodgit-at-home bloke. But thanks Andy.
I do however agree with you about cam out problems with PZ screws. I
have a very old PZ driver (with a wooden handle) that grips PZ screws
well enough for me to hold the screw on the driver at any angle. I've
never found a bit for a cordless electric driver that offers that
performance ;-(
Richard
SteveECrane
--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/choosing-the-right-screwfix-screws-274111-.htm
pinnerite
Oddly enough I have been starting my carpentry projects this last week
(having taken advice from this NG over the last few months).
I do not need every size of screw under the sun, so a box would be a
waste. My existing stock dates from the year dot and mostly slot-heads.
(GKN and Nettlefolds).
Despite being an inveterate hoarder I am considering dumping
them.
My recent purchases have been geared to screw length.
I am lucky to have Screwfix and Toolstation next to each other in Harrow
and if desperate I can get to a couple of B&Qs
My first two purhases were 40 and 79mm Goldscrew but on Saturday I
found I needed 90mm screws to fix a heavy frame to the wall.
They were going to go diagonally through a 44mm piece of timber, then
plasterboard and finally into brick. I chose Silverscrew. I used
plastic plugs. The result was better than I dared hope.
The boxes that screws come in these days are fairly sturdy so I can
keep them in the plastc boxes I bought for a recent removal.
--
Mint 20.3, kernel 5.4.0-122-generic, Cinnamon 5.2.7
running on an AMD Phenom II X4 Black edition processor with 16GB of
DRAM.
John Rumm
sizes far more heavily than others, and so rapidly run out of some. So I
just buy boxes of whatever sizes I need, and keep em on the shelf ready
for next time.
The bulk of my screws are twin thread silverscrews, and they work well
for most applications. I find the gold screws are a bit fragile at
times, so go for the Reisser "cutter" screws for applications where I
might use golds crews (finer pitch, self drilling, close to edge etc)
--
Cheers,
John.
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Animal
Re which screws, IME they all work ok most of the time. Someone on youtube recently found all these fancy featured ones to be worse pb screws. Project Farm? Not sure.
Brian Gaff
don't mind people using an old thread, but they really do need to quote the
text they are replying to, since it will no longer be visible to anyone
outside of Home Owners club.The software its running on is a mess, allowing
pictures which never make it outside the site either and since their thread
sorting seems completely year indifferent, it means you do have to read very
carefully to avoid making yourself look like a pratt!
Brian
--
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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"pinnerite" <pinn...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:20220815162710.d545...@gmail.com...
Rod Speed
wrote:
> Yes people on that home owners club site need to realise its
> shortcomings. I
> don't mind people using an old thread, but they really do need to quote
> the
> text they are replying to, since it will no longer be visible to anyone
> outside of Home Owners club.
post.