Framing Screws

tuna55 wrote: I just got back from a fastening, continuing education type class and learned a very interesting thing:

Sounds riveting

I just did my bathroom out to bare masonry and joists. The vast majority of the structural stuff was fastened with Bullet brand Torx drive screws. They worked amazingly well. I didn't spin the tool in a single screw out of hundreds I set. I've used hundreds of square drive deck screws on decks and they're very good too, but for framing and structural I'd go Torx. BTW, these include a Torx bit in every box. BTBTW, Bullet is likely a regional East Coast or Mid-Atlantic brand.

Wally wrote:

tuna55 wrote: I just got back from a fastening, continuing education type class and learned a very interesting thing:

Sounds riveting

ba-dump

If I ever meet that guy Phillips, I may have to be physically restrained. I detest them. Posidrivs (that's the ones with the little 'lines' on the heads) are better but not by much. Allens are better than Phillips and Torx are top of the heap for automotive (at least in my book).

I too prefer the square head screws for wood construction. I first ran across them in mobile homes, thought they were ridiculous at first then found they were really pretty good.

I bought a big ass box of deck screws to go behind the lackeys who built our deck. Can't remember the brand, but they came from home despot, and they're kind of a tan/taupe color. They've held up really well, and they're my favorite "go to" for house/work projects. It's a big fat phillips style head, and the box came with 2 mad tyte anodized y0 drill bits that fit like a freakin glove.

people forget.. Phillips was DESIGNED to cam out. They were supposed to slip out of the driver after a certain amount of torque was applied to keep from damaging the threads in machine applications.

My local Home Depot has Robertson screws (sorry, "square drive") by the box. It's all I use around the house. Product of a bad upbringing north of the border, I guess Don't know about industrial quantities, but unless you're actually building the house from scratch a couple of HD boxes should do the trick.

I learned about Robertson head screws in Ohio, so you Canucks did not have an exclusive, and that was 30 years ago.

Lots of mobile home companies use square drive as a tamper proof screw; keeps the young-uns from disassembling your house while you are at work.