Wood Screws

[reible]

Hi,

I've been ordering from them for a long time and have nothing bad to report, however I don't like the screws replacements for Kreg screws. So for sizes that Kreg sells I buy them, for the few sizes they don't I use the ones from McFeely.

I also have taken apart several of there catalog pages back in the old days that I now have as a reference. If you put an order in off the web I'd ask them for the paper catalog.

Ed

Jim
Let us know how you like Mcfeely screws I have heard so many pro's and con's I'm afraid to order from them. They have a nice assortment I would love to try but all the internet scuddle butt has me to worried.

[fixit]

Hi Ed,

I have been using McFeely screws (not exclusively) for quite a while now and have not found fault with them.

I'll have to check but I did run across some screws that were threaded from point to head that I did not care for because they try to force the two parts apart rather than bring them together. However, I don't recall if they were McFeely screws or not. I'll have to check the next time I'm in the shop and report back.

What I do like about McFeely's screws is the square drive. I became a convert as soon as I started using them. Much less cam out or damage to projects from the driver hitting the face of the project. I still use Phillips and slot screws for some things but I mostly use square drive these days.

[Ed in Tampa]

Hi,

I've been ordering from them for a long time and have nothing bad to report, however I don't like the screws replacements for Kreg screws. So for sizes that Kreg sells I buy them, for the few sizes they don't I use the ones from McFeely.

I also have taken apart several of there catalog pages back in the old days that I now have as a reference. If you put an order in off the web I'd ask them for the paper catalog.

Ed

Reible
Why didn't you like the Kreg replacements from Mcfeely? You said you take apart the catalog to use as a reference????? What do you mean reference???

How as the steel used in the screws? Did any snap off? Have you stripped any of the heads? Are the screws coated with oil or wax enough not to rust?
How were they packaged? Did you have to repackage them to store them?
Were any defects included in your order?

[Ed in Tampa]

Hi Ed,

I have been using McFeely screws (not exclusively) for quite a while now and have not found fault with them.

I'll have to check but I did run across some screws that were threaded from point to head that I did not care for because they try to force the two parts apart rather than bring them together. However, I don't recall if they were McFeely screws or not. I'll have to check the next time I'm in the shop and report back.

What I do like about McFeely's screws is the square drive. I became a convert as soon as I started using them. Much less cam out or damage to projects from the driver hitting the face of the project. I still use Phillips and slot screws for some things but I mostly use square drive these days.

Leonard
I will ask you the some of the same questions I asked Reible
Did the screws rust in the packages they came in?
Was the packaging usable for storage or did you have to store them in another container?
Were any defects included in the order?
Have you broken/snapped any of the screws?
You mention you like square drive because you have less cam out, have you stripped any of the heads?
Comparing the shoulder portion to the threaded portion was the diameters equal, the thread was smaller or larger?
Did you get what you ordered or was there any mistakes?

[reible]

Hi,

OK let's start with the Kreg type screws, they have a wider bearing area, the difference is small but as a personal preference I like the Kreg screws better.

Here is a picture:
[ATTACH]3907[/ATTACH]

I should point out that they also sell Kreg screw so I can still get them from them. Of the three big box stores here in my area only one cares the Kreg screws and only a limited selection.

Now I'll switch modes and answer some more in your quote.

Reible
Why didn't you like the Kreg replacements from Mcfeely?

You said you take apart the catalog to use as a reference????? What do you mean reference???

I have the master catalog in front of me. On page 3 they have sections on Head types, Choosing and using the right screw, production screws actual sizes... head bore size, shank hole/pilot hole for both soft and hard wood, Screw dimensions.... Then pages 4-7 contain even more technical details.

I have saved this sort of information from their catalogs over years and would guess I have at least 20 such pages in a note book. A lot of it has remained the same but some things have been added and somethings removed. (I have more then just screw information from them.)

How as the steel used in the screws? Did any snap off? Have you stripped any of the heads? Are the screws coated with oil or wax enough not to rust?

I would say that while using wood screws from anyone I have in my whole life broken less then a dozen. The exception is drywall screws in to yellow pine... and this was with a dry wall driver with torque settings.

I should also had I normal drive screws with drivers that have torque settings which makes it hard to snap them off.

I don't recall ever stripping the head on a square drive screw, I guess I could have but I don't recall that. Philips however is another thing and even with torque settings you can have them cam out. I'll also say that I buy the drivers for these in snuff sized plastic "tins" of what is it 25 or so per package??? This has not been the case for other type tips.

If the screws are non-plated and you live some place with high humidity you may find any screw having a problem. So far as I know they do have a dry-lube but again this provides almost no corrosion resistance... this I believe is true to all the screws I've ever had from anyone. Many many years ago I was taught to do a strange thing with this type of screw... store them in oily sawdust.... OK enough on that.

Plated screws should not be a problem.

How were they packaged? Did you have to repackage them to store them?
Were any defects included in your order?

The first screws I got from them was a sample kit with a clear plastic box and I don't remember now... 25 or 50 screws of each of maybe 8 or 10 sizes along with at red handled square driver. I think all the other stuff at least of late was in a chipboard box... of course if you buy Spax they come in the green plastic boxes with clear lid.

I generally don't repackage unless it makes it easy to use them out of say a coffee can... or if I had the box fall and rip open or if I have a tip over and it hard to try and get them back in the box... you know those sorts of reasons.

I have on occasion found some defects but all in all not that much. I've purchased some big box store stuff that had a good deal of "junk" packed in the box which was purchased by weight... wasn't at all happy with that!

I should also say I have not been purchasing a lot from them over the last few years. Not because I don't like them but more because I'm still stocked up... so if someone is finding problems in say the last 2 years then things may have changed... I sure hope not.

Hope I hit all your questions.

Ed

[fixit]

Hi Ed,

First of all, as promised in my previous post, I checked the screws in my shop that were threaded from point to head - all were drywall screws - which I rarely use in wood anymore after seeing how they tend to force the pieces apart. The only McFeely screws threaded this way were those one inch or less in length.

As to your questions I'll try my hand at answering in the quote from your message. (After doing this I don't know why the "Quote:" shows up at the beginning of my answer but not at the end. I merely clicked on the icon labeled "Wrap

tags around selected text.")
HOWEVER, now that I re-read Reible's answer I see his shows the "quote" at the start of his answer too so I must have the procedure down OK.

Leonard
I will ask you the some of the same questions I asked Reible
Did the screws rust in the packages they came in?

I have never experienced any rust problems in any screws in my shop. This is due, I'm sure, to the fact that my shop is both heated and air conditioned depending on the season. So my experience is probably NOT typical of most home garage shops.

Was the packaging usable for storage or did you have to store them in another container?

I store McFeely's screws in the shipping box.

Were any defects included in the order?

I have not experienced any defects in orders from McFeelys.

Have you broken/snapped any of the screws?

No. I have snapped drywall screws but not McFeelys.

You mention you like square drive because you have less cam out, have you stripped any of the heads?

I don't recall ever experiencing cam out with McFeelys screws. The worst cam out I experienced was when I used stainless steel deck screws building my deck. Had to pre-drill all the holes (I didn't have an impact driver back then). I find with my impact driver I can drive SS deck screws without cam out even when I don't pre-drill.

Comparing the shoulder portion to the threaded portion was the diameters equal, the thread was smaller or larger?

I didn't measure but the threads appear to be slightly larger than the unthreaded portion.

Did you get what you ordered or was there any mistakes?

Always received exactly what I ordered and in a timely manner.
__________________
Ed

[ryanbp01]

I asked this question in another thread and probably am guilty of highjacking that thread. Sorry!

I'm finding more and more people are using dry wall screws as their wood screws and most don't predrill. I would like feedback on what wood screws do you commonly use?
Where do you get them?
And do you always predrill?
If so what bit do you use?
Which head do you like best? Slotted, phillips, square, torx, something else.

Ed-

I tend to use drywall screws of the appropriate length and I still predrill a pilot hole. I have found they grip better than wood screws. I also countersink the heads in order for them to be plugged with a piece of dowel. Head type never concerns me much since I own a Speedlock set with the necessary bits included.

BPR

[robinson46176]

Some years ago I bought a starter pack of square drive screws from McFeely's. It came with a batch of little wall mount bins, a hand driver (like I want to use one of those ) , a driver bit and a small assortment of screws. Square drives were fairly new back then. I thought they were awful!!! They were terrible to use and cammed out at the slightest torque. I sat them back in a corner of a shelf and they sat there almost a year. Sometimes it takes me a long time to say "DUH!". Then one day I needed some screws and they were all I had in that size so I dragged them out. They were awful again... I grabbed the hand driver and then I finally said it. "DUH!!!"... They worked great with the hand driver. I then realized that the problem was the included driver bit. I looked at the way it fit the screws and how the hand driver fit them and saw that the driver bit was defective. I took a very light grind off of the sides of the driver bit until it fit snugly down into the hole in the screw. I went from hating them to loving them in about two minutes...
Not long ago I bought a batch of star drive (spline drive/torx etc.) at Mennards and hated them. Where I could always stick a square drive screw on the bit and it would stay until I reached out and drove it, these spline drives do not fit on the bits well at all and in driving them they will fall over instead of staying straight on the bit. Each box of them comes with a new bit in the box. I guess I need to do a little research on them to see if they are that bad of if I got a bad batch...
All of the square drivers I have bought since that first one have been just fine.
My aggravation now is that I just don't like to do a lot of ordering ahead and would rather walk in one of the lumber places and buy them as I need them. Sadly all of my local outlets seem to have switched almost altogether away from the square drives to the star drives.
I am quite fond of the Kreg pocket hole screws for a lot of other stuff and since I accomplish so little these days the cost difference isn't a problem due to low volume.

[Ed in Tampa]

My aggravation now is that I just don't like to do a lot of ordering ahead and would rather walk in one of the lumber places and buy them as I need them...
...I am quite fond of the Kreg pocket hole screws for a lot of other stuff and since I accomplish so little these days the cost difference isn't a problem due to low volume.

Farmer
I think you are where I am. I really like to be able to just walk in a buy what I need. You are also right I really like Kreg screws, I find myself using them more and more for other than pocket hole type uses.
I have never snapped one off and to the best of my knowledge I have never stripped a head on one.

Going back to some of the comments on snapping screws, again I always use a drill with a clutch setting if I use power to drive a screw but I have snapped more than my fair share lately just hand driving them in predrilled holes. It is like the steel used to make them had a flaw in it.

Let me relate a story about 4 or 5 years agao a Harbor Freight opened near my home (within 2 miles). From time to time they run specials on utility box packaged parts like screws, nuts, springs, clevis pins, E clips and etc. I decided to buy a different assortment everytime they went on sale so I would have a good supply of needed fixer up type parts. Well I bought a package of hex head self tapping metal screws. What a mistake. I needed to fix the center console in my truck and I needed a few hex head self tapping sheet metal screws. I got my box out and began snapping screws like String beans. I mean every screw I tried got about half way in (18 gauge sheet metal and a thin plastic piece) and the head snapped off. Took the box of screw to the trash and dumped them out (kept the box of course, I can't throw something that good out )
About a week later I needed a zerk fitting for my lawn mower. No fear I have a utility box bought at Harbor Freight that has a full assortment of zerk fittings. Long Story short ended up at the lawn mower repair place where I thought I was going to have to buy a new front wheel. Owner of the place was able to fix my many screw ups and put an oversize zerk fitting in. Each Harbor Freight zerk fitting was either slightly undersized, mis threaded, defectively cast or unusable in some other way.

Moral of the story I now own about ten plastic utility boxes that need to be restocked with quality assortment of screws, bolts, nuts, springs, zerk fittings and etc. I learned that lesson the real hard way. Oh I did keep the clevis pins, o rings and washers, it is hard to screw these types of things up.

[JPG]

I see repeated references to the screws with threads all the way up to the head and how they tend to 'push' parts apart.
If the part being 'held' (the one just under the head) is drilled with a 'clearance' size hole(as you would if using a screw with a shank threaded part way)[the 'old fashioned kind] how are the threads 'pushing' the pieces apart. Even when using the old fashioned kind to hold a piece thicker than the smooth portion of the shank the held piece should be drilled(shank size) clear through the held piece(to prevent the threads from interferring with the clamping force).