TIPS IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCREW FOR THE JOB
You can’t get far in life without realising just how important fasteners are to our day-to-day adventures. Fasteners may be the smallest components in a project but they are the most important aspect of the entire build. With all of that being said, most people wouldn’t be able to name more than one or two types of screws before running out of information. Our goal today is to help you find the right screws for your job by listing a few tips and a small selection guide for picking the right screws. Let’s dig in!
Picking the Right Screws for the Job
When talking about screws, it can be pretty easy to reduce the conversation to a simple concept. Screws themselves are just slender, sharpened fasteners that are used to keep components together. Screws are typically distinguished by their ‘head’ type as well as the material that makes up the actual screw itself. Despite this rather limited definition, screws are diverse in both design and application. Depending on your job, you might have hundreds of different options for what you need to accomplish. Let’s walk you through a few tips for selecting your screws before going through our actual selection guide.
- Identify Your Project Needs – What are you actually working on? Are you building a bike? Are you putting together a wood shelf? Depending on your actual project, the style of screws that you use will vary.
- Indoor/Outdoor Usage – Is your project going to be confined to the indoors or will it be used outside? Depending on the location of your project, the needs of your screw will change. Certain screw types don’t fare well outdoors while others will hold up better.
- Budget – The final point that you need to consider is your budget. Depending on your budget, you might be relegated to a certain category of screws.
Simple Screw Buying Guide
With that general information out of the way, let’s now go through the actual selection process that will define what type of screw you need for your work.
- Pick Your Head – Screws are defined by their heads. In the old days, Phillips was the style of screw that you’d commonly see. Nowadays, however, you have options. From ‘star’ heads to ‘Torx’ and ‘Hex’ heads, the options only get more and more dynamic.
- Pick Your Material – All screws are not made equal. Outdoor screws need to be coated with corrosion-resistant chemicals while indoor screws are typically made of zinc. You also have to consider temperature conditions.
- Pick Your Size – Finally, you are going to have to decide what size screw you are working with. You’ll be focusing on the length and diameter of the screw. #8 screws are common, #12 screws are great for woodworking and #6 is ideal as a general purpose screw.
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13 Slater Parade, Keilor East VIC 3033 Australia
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