Tips To Make Your Wood Fastening More Effective
If you are a fan of woodwork, chances are that you use fasteners such as the Phillip flat wood screws for joinery. In all such projects, the quality of the fasteners as well as how they are used always determines the longevity of the end product. If you are to end up with furniture that […]
If you are a fan of woodwork, chances are that you use fasteners such as the Phillip flat wood screws for joinery. In all such projects, the quality of the fasteners as well as how they are used always determines the longevity of the end product. If you are to end up with furniture that is designed to be durable, you would need to make sure that both these issues are optimized. In order to find quality fasteners, you would need to simply identify a fastener distributor known to offer quality, and then keep buying from them for as long as you need to. To ensure that what you buy works, there are a few tips you can use that are specific to using screws to join wood. These include:
Use pilot holes to make your work easier
When installing Phillips flat wood screws, it is a good idea to first install a pilot hole though this is not always necessary. Doing this usually involves drilling a hole in the wood using a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the width of the screw. The role of the pilot hole is to guide the screw into the wood, and make it easier for you to put it in place.
Length matters
When using screws to join wood, it’s important that the length of the screws be optimized to match the thickness of the wood blocks being joined together. It is usually recommended that the screws be an eighth of an inch shorter than the combined thickness of the blocks being joined. Anything longer than this is likely to protrude through the other end, and anything shorter is likely to come undone.
Use lubricant to make it easier to put the screws in place
Using materials such as wax, soap or other lubricants on the surface of the screw can make it easier to screw them in place. However, you should remember to clean the wax from the surface of the wood once you are done waxing if you are interested in painting over the screw. The presence of the wax has the potential to make it harder for most paints to adhere to the surface of the wood.
The use of wax or soap for lubrication is especially important when using wood screws to fasten hardwood. The increased density of this type of wood often makes it a challenge to fasten. It also increases the risk of the screws breaking since you will often need more force to put the screw in place.
Use fitting screwdrivers
If you have to use a screw driver to manually place the screw in the wood, it is important to ensure that it fits into the screw’s head. This helps reduce the risk of slipping which has the potential to damage the screw head and make removal or insertion more difficult.
In summary, using screws to fasten wood is always recommended, since the joint tends to be more stable than that which has been nailed together. With the tips above, one can ensure that the screws are used in the most optimal manner possible.
