I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down. Anyone caught attempting to distribute them shall be locked into prison and held there until they can successfully install an entire 24" piano hinge into hard maple without breaking any of their product.
And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill out the screw. Of course.
-Leuf
Did you wax them? I always wax my brass screws after having the same problem.
Leuf wrote: > I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass > destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down.
If you want an argument, change the subject.
Brass is strictly a no-no in my yard since in the marine environment, sea water will leach out the zinc.
As a result, any brass or steel fasteners that come with hardware just get tossed in the trash.
When it comes to fasteners, it's bronze or S/S for me since they usually represent a relatively small part of the total cost of a project.
Lew
Giving the screws a blast of Topcoat works well too.
I'm with you 100%! I used to work customer service for a company that sold brass hardware, with brass screws naturally. I got 5 complaints a day about this. Everyone swears they drilled a pilot hole, waxed the threads, and used very little force. Not a damn thing I could about it; we used the best brass screws available, but brass is soft and brass screws break. It was a real pain; probably as bad as having to use the brass screws. If it had been illegal, we could have used brass plated steel and everyone would have been happy.
Well JOAT strongly suggested that ALL slot head screws be rounded up and thrown away - less severe than melting them down - but the same sentiment.
And having installed TWO 32" piano hinges - one perfectly, one - well let's just say the cabinet door with the OOPS is noticable - I agree with your test.
charlie b
Nope. They were going in so easy... When I was drilling the holes I put in a few screws to hold it in place before drilling the rest. I think the one that broke must have been one I had already used and must have weakened the first time. Of course, I just dumped them back in the bag so they're all suspect now.
-Leuf
I also cut a bit off one end of the hinge, and then managed to put it on the wrong way when I did the lid. So there's two sets of holes, and now at least one plug. It will all be hidden by the hinge, but somewhere down the road someone's gonna take that hinge off and have a chuckle at the mess.
-Leuf
Wouldn't it be more effective to wax the screws _before_ you have the problem? :)
I'll second that.
One other thing to try- I couldn't say that it works better than wax, but rubbing the threads on bar soap works nicely, too.
charlie b wrote in news:45594759.45E8 @accesscom.com:
Actually, that's more severe... You could melt down the slot head screws and put a useful head on them, like say Phillips or even square.
What do you call a good flat head screwdriver?
A Prybar.
I used brass screws for a display case I was building. They went in well enough, but the head distorted from pressure of putting the screw in. Maybe what we need is a brass screwdriver, with a "break off tip" like some utility knifes have.
Puckdropper
Depends on what you're doing--brass is mainly decorative. It's also the "right" fastener to use when attaching something made of brass--you don't want whatever is being attached to become a sacrificial anode for your fasteners. For a "brass" piano hinge brass-plated steel is usually the "right" fastener as the hinge itself is usually brass-plated steel. If it's solid brass then brass would be the matching fastener. In either case using bronze wouldn't gain you anything as if the fasteners are sufficiently exposed for galvanic action to be an issue then so is the hinge.
I have learned to wave a magnet over those yellow screws. If they stick I'll use them, if they don't, I won't.
My piano hinge is solid brass. But, I don't see anyone selling brass plated steel screws that match. Lee Valley has antique brass plated, but not shiny brass. I'd use em if I had em, and leave the solid brass for softwoods.
-Leuf
Dunno...somehow a set of Baldwin brass door hinges wouldn't look right without slotted brass screws with the slots properly dusted.
t
Try McFeelys--
Close, but some smartass decided piano hinge should use #5 screws.
-Leuf
Amen to that. Every time I open a plastic baggie of hardware that contains flat head screws, I shake my head. Really, hardware manufacturers, is there a household, anywhere, in any of the countries that you sell your product in, that does not have a phillips head screwdriver?
The only thing worse, as I figure it, are those bastard-child phillips/slot head combination jobbers. Aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggh!
My $.02...
-Tim
I've read that soap can attract moisture and shouldn't be used on steel screws. Probably ok with brass. Can't imagine it causing damage to the wood itself. JP
"Tim and Steph" wrote in news:E_t6h.3209$fk2.563@trndny02:
*snip*
They're not too bad on electrical terminal strips, but you're talking simply turning a screw (or is it technically a bolt, with no point?) rather than driving one in. It's one of those "use them where they work, and only because you have to" things.
Puckdropper
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