Wood Screws For DIY Enthusiasts
No matter what type of wood work project you are wanting to tackle, you cannot get far without wood screws. Wood screws are used to fix two pieces of wood together, it is also used to fix another object such as a door handle or a hinge to a piece of wood.
If you are considering building something or fixing something around the house then you need to familiarise yourself with the different types of screws available because the type of screw used can make a big difference to how well the two materials stay stuck together.
The wood screw
Wood screws are made of either steel, brass or stainless steel. The wood screw consists of three important parts: The screw head, the screw shank, and the screw thread. Its unique design allows wood to be firmly joined to another wooden piece or another object.
The screw head
The screw head is the section of the screw you see when the screw has been screwed into a piece of wood. What you usually see is a flat round head which has either two intersecting lines or a single line across. The heads come in three different shapes. There is either the round screw head, the flat head screw or the oval head screw. The head and slots allow the screw to be turned into the wood using a screw driver or drill. When the screw is properly inserted the head is the only part of the screw you should see.
The screw shank
The shank is the long tail like section of the screw. It is the part which will be knocked into the other piece of wood to join with it. Wood screws will be sharp at the end. This allows for the screw to be driven through the wood. Screw shanks comes in different sizes, longer ones offer a better hold into the wood. Different sizes are used for different jobs.
Threads:
Threads are ridges found wrapped around the shank. These threads allow the screw to grip and hold more tightly. You can easily be confused between a dry wall screw and a wood screw because they both have threads around them, however there is a difference. A dry wall screw will have a thread which goes from the head of the screw to the tail of the screw. A wood screw does not have a thread which goes all the way to the head of the screw, but will have a smooth section just under the head section of the screw. When tightening a screw, many screws need to be tightened in a clockwise direction. This is called a right hand thread. In very rare occasions a screw will have a left hand thread.
To ensure that your wood screws stay in place, you have to drill pilot holes as well using a countersink drill bit. This will ensure that the wood does not crack, and that the screw stays firmly in place. Keep in mind that hard and soft wood are different and will require different sized pilot holes and drill bits.