Stainless steel screws

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golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
Home Depot has a good selection or try your local hardware store
 

froglips

New User
Jim Campbell
Having done a ton of stainless steel, I'd be warey of the home center stainless. They are soft. Way soft.

Even with pilot holes and wax, I had a 40% failure rate.

McFeely's were much better. Still needed holes and wax.

Jim
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
I tried the HD SS Screws on a project I did @ work a few months back. They had a #2 square drive head & were prone to stripping out the screw head when they encountered much resistance. It could have been because I was using an impact driver & not countersinking, but I went back to the T25 & T20 Torx head deck screws & that's all I'll use from now on. SS would look great on a deck if you pilot drilled & counter-bored the decking first.
 

kclark

New User
Kevin
Home Depot has a good selection or try your local hardware store

I just came back from the blue BORG and it was $8 for a box of 45 1 1/4" SS screws. I thought that was a bit much especially when I would need about 200 screws. So, McFeely's it is. Thanks for the info.
 

rex1927

New User
rex
I can tell you who used to sell terrible screws.It was boaters world.We needed some #8 2 inch flat head screws quick one day and went there.Nearly half of them broke the head off before pulling tight.And on Boat repair we always bore Pilot holes to make sure things pull together tight.
The screws said made in china on the pack.:thumbs_do
 

ZachEakes

New User
Zach
I like swan secure square drives. How many pounds do you need? I buy them 4,000 at a time, which is a 25lb "box" but weight varies with the length. A thousand count runs around 79 dollars before tax, and 4000 runs around 285 before tax.

With soft woods and plywoods you don't have to pre-drill until you get to the 3 inch lengths.

The other thing, that helps a lot is to buy good bits. The best ones are wood workers supply's hardened bit drivers. Though you can make it through with hardware store stuff, just realize they are worn out after the first 100 or so. If the edges aren't sharp, or there is a wear line at the tip edge where it grabs the square drive the life of that bit is almost through...

Swan secure also makes some neat #1 headed 7 bar trim finish screws that are 3/4, 1 1/8 or 1 1/2 long. While not quite a brad nail, they disappear a lot easier on trim that is to be painted, than counter sinking a #2 head.

You can get them through builders supply companies that deal with decking guys.

Stainless square drives, get used in boat construction, as "hatteras screws" as the hatteras boats were the first ones to switch from tapered wood screws for interior joinery to the stainless square drives.

Zach
 

bwat

New User
Bill
Another vote for McFeely's. :icon_thum Always fast delivery too - from SC warehouse. Woodcraft also has small quantity packs.
 

SawBuck

New User
Lonnie
Hey Kevin,

Give Centerview Hardware a try and tell Bobby I sent you. :wwink: They stock better quality hardware than I've seen at the big box stores.

-Lonnie
 
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