Sorry if it's an oft asked (and answered) question but:
Tempted to replenish my screw stocks with one of the cases featuring in Screwfix's clearout 'sale'.
Can someone enlighten me as to the differences in real terms - not in the terms that appear in the Screwfix ads - between:
Turbo Ultra TurboGold Gold Goldscrew Plus Quicksilver
and then suggest which to buy (and why!)
I'm looking to buy the biggest offering in a case. I don't want something requiring an esoteric driver and will only be doing what I call crude timber fixing - no high class cabinet work, just a step up from nailing bits of timber together or to walls and brackets to the same (both interior and exterior).
The Screwfix ad's are pretty clear about the differences between their different types and what they're best used for (see "Choosing the right screw" on page 6 of the Winter 2006 catalogue).
The only comment I would make is that having a "razor sharp tip" is not necessarily a good thing and if you're screwing (or nailing for that matter) close to an edge, you should consider turning the screw (nail) upside down and tapping the head with a hammer to blunt it slightly to avoid splitting the wood (unless of course you drilled a pilot hole ;-).
Twin threads screw in faster than single threads, but single threads are notionally better for soft woods/chipboard/mdf.
Turbo Ultra are class A2 stainless steel (aka 304 stainless) which is not as rust-resistant as class A4 (aka 316). A4/316 should be used for marine work by preference.
Otherwise all variants are made from zinc-plated mild steel. The technical term is "zinc plated and passivated" The passivation can be either clear or yellow/gold coloured (note, there's no actual gold involved). Screwfix have specified that their single thread screws are yellow-passivated and their twin thread screws are clear-passivated, so you can tell the difference by the colour if you have a mixed bag.
Finally, the silver twin threads are sized in Imperial gauges and the gold single threads are sized in Metric - which may be a consideration if you grew up with 1 1/2" No 8's as being the one screw you don't want to run out of!.
Goldscrews are the cheapest and will work with all wood-types.
Actually, on closer inspection, the Quicksilver ones are on average slightly cheaper than the Goldscrews if you compare like-for-nearly-like (well spotted Gerry).
I'd say TurboGold is closest to a good all-rounder. TurboUltra although permanently rust free are rather easier to break. I haven't used the screwfix branded version of the others, but used to use a quicksilver-alike. By comparison turbogold are much superior as a screw to whack in with a power driver time after time into most timber materials. Almost all fixing are PZ2, and buy some spare bits too.
I suspect Screwfix may be about to phase out some lines and go over to the Spax equivalent.
Must admit, Pozi isn't as good as it's cracked up to be. Shame square socket screws have never caught on in this country - despite a firm somewhere pushing them quite hard.
I use the Quicksilver for general purpose use and when fixing via wall plugs. The Turbo Gold are useful for those jobs where you need to screw near an edge or in awkward spaces or use large screws without a pilot.
And I stopped looking after that! It's a _little_ bit more than I really want to pay. I'm only a bodgit-at-home bloke. But thanks Andy. I do however agree with you about cam out problems with PZ screws. I have a very old PZ driver (with a wooden handle) that grips PZ screws well enough for me to hold the screw on the driver at any angle. I've never found a bit for a cordless electric driver that offers that performance ;-(
Oddly enough I have been starting my carpentry projects this last week (having taken advice from this NG over the last few months).
I do not need every size of screw under the sun, so a box would be a waste. My existing stock dates from the year dot and mostly slot-heads. (GKN and Nettlefolds).
Despite being an inveterate hoarder I am considering dumping them.
My recent purchases have been geared to screw length. I am lucky to have Screwfix and Toolstation next to each other in Harrow and if desperate I can get to a couple of B&Qs
My first two purhases were 40 and 79mm Goldscrew but on Saturday I found I needed 90mm screws to fix a heavy frame to the wall.
They were going to go diagonally through a 44mm piece of timber, then plasterboard and finally into brick. I chose Silverscrew. I used plastic plugs. The result was better than I dared hope.
The boxes that screws come in these days are fairly sturdy so I can keep them in the plastc boxes I bought for a recent removal.
Yup IME buying "selection" boxes is never ideal - you tend to use some sizes far more heavily than others, and so rapidly run out of some. So I just buy boxes of whatever sizes I need, and keep em on the shelf ready for next time.
The bulk of my screws are twin thread silverscrews, and they work well for most applications. I find the gold screws are a bit fragile at times, so go for the Reisser "cutter" screws for applications where I might use golds crews (finer pitch, self drilling, close to edge etc)
I'd agree with dumping the slotheads, they're horrors to work with. Only useful for door hinges & vintage items. Give them to some wretched soul on freecycle, gumtree, facebook, whatever.
Re which screws, IME they all work ok most of the time. Someone on youtube recently found all these fancy featured ones to be worse pb screws. Project Farm? Not sure.
Yes people on that home owners club site need to realise its shortcomings. I don't mind people using an old thread, but they really do need to quote the text they are replying to, since it will no longer be visible to anyone outside of Home Owners club.The software its running on is a mess, allowing pictures which never make it outside the site either and since their thread sorting seems completely year indifferent, it means you do have to read very carefully to avoid making yourself look like a pratt!
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