I'm running out of Turbo Ultra screws - are there alternatives?

[Chris Green]

I have just assembled a climbing frame for my grandson and that has run my stocks of Turbo Ultra screws very low so I'm desperately looking for alternatives to restock with.

Has anyone else found anything else as good? I want screws with the same shape as it were as Screwfix Turbo Gold screws but in stainless steel.

I know Turbo Ultra weren't perfect by any means, the heads are a bit easy to mangle and they do snap if you overdo things but for general purpose outdoor screws there's nothing like them IMHO. I do quite a lot of outdoor joinery, maintaining fences, screwing sheds back together, etc. and for these sorts of things Turbo Ultra were ideal.

It's easy enough to find stainless wood screws but not with the extra sharp point and rifled shank that Turbo Ultra had, so, as with Turbo Gold, you can screw into most wood without any sort of pilot hole.

Any suggestions anyone?

[John Rumm]

While stainless screws have advantages for highly corrosive environments, they are IMHO a bit of overkill for normal outdoor work, where galvanized / passivated screws will perform just fine.

I have had normal screwfix silverscrews outside for a decade or more with no issues.

(Toolstation have plenty of stainless screws available for delivery)

[Andy Bennet]

I've used Turbo Gold for all my outside projects, some are over 25 years old and the screws still seem as good as new.

[Chris Green]

That's not my experience in either fences or sheds. The Turbo Gold screws I have used corrode within a year or two whereas the Turbo Ultra screws are more or less everlasting.

We are fairly close to the coast (five or six miles I suppose) so maybe that's why I need stainless.

Well, having wasted several minutes due to their useless search, I can't see anything that would work like Turbo Ultra screws. I do actually have some Toolstation 3.5x16 stainless screws that I bought a while ago when I ran out of that size, and they're horrible!

[Chris Green]

It must be our closeness to the sea then as my Turbo Gold screws outdoors are often close to disintegration and they can't be more than 20 years or so old as we've only been here that long! :-)

[T i m]

Still not found any Chris? ;-)

I agree with you on all of it and would love to top up (broaden) my collection:

It looks like you might be able to get some from here (and them

150596356156 and possibly others on eBay)?

Cheers, T i m

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

So the big question, then is, if these were so good for so many things, why are they discontinued?I would suspect they are not actually discontinued, just the company you bought them from has decided not to stock them any more for whatever reason, more likely because the maker wants dosh up front of a large amount and will only supply those who order huge amounts and don't delay paying. Brian

[Chris Green]

No alternative yet! :-) It was just the major project (climbing frame) that made me notice my low stocks. I'm paticularly short of

4x40 and 5x70 screws.

:-)

I have buught some from those eBay sellers, I topped up my 4x40 stock a while ago from there.

Toolvillage still have 4x40 so I may get some from there, thanks.

[Chris Green]

I think Screwfix are big enough to have stuff custom made for them, many of their screws are own brand and they don't tend to hide the fact when they sell branded (non Screwfix) items.

I'm not sure why they were discontinued, it may be that their downsides (fairly easy to break, easy to damage the heads) caused too many complaints - though once you had learnt their weaknesses it wasn't much of an issue. Alternatively maybe they weren't making a profit, they were certainly cheap compared with a lot of other stainless screws.

[charles]

They are Screwfix own brand.Possibly, the factory was in Wuhan and has closed.

[T i m]

Me neither (not been looking hard but been looking).

Frustrating isn't it.

If you only need a few to finish something and I have that size you are welcome to some. ;-)

Cool.

NP and good luck. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Agreed ... but once you do they are fairly special.

+1

I'm with you where anything that's likely to love outside is assembled with stainless. This is because of how often even fairly new fasteners have rusted to the point where they can't easily be undone, or they stain, or rust away and then fail.

Anything I've assembled using SS fasteners can generally be undone and the fasteners re-used. ;-)

The last example was the electric fence and general screw replacement and reinforcement on daughters rescue rabbit hutch and run. When it needed to be taken to bits it all unscrewed quickly and easily and the SS Turbo screws handed over to the next owner for re-use. You couldn't say that for the steel screws that were still part of the original assembly.

Cheers, T i m

[Chris Green]

Exactly my experience Tim and that's why I use only stainless outside now. The easy dis-assembly is a major advantage.

[John Rumm]

You may find this interesting:

[T i m]

Well sort of, that in that particular environment, the screws seemed to survive ok? Unfortunately, that's not my experience and hence why I prefer stainless?

I also do quite a bit with boats and so it makes sense to have them for use there as well (nothing oak). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Chris Green]

But I expect mine to last more than 5 years! ... and my Turbo Gold screws outdoors are definitely well rusty.

[John Rumm]

well indeed, but 10 year studies take longer :-)

Must admit I have never been a fan of turbo gold. Quicksilver seem generally stronger and faster to use.

[RJH]

Not that I've vast experience, but a quick survey of the various garden gates, trellis etc shows all the standard 'gold' screws look fine after

7 years +.

I did come across a screw last week where the head just snapped off through corrosion. It was used to hold some push-fit gutter together (!). The head was pre-mangled, but maybe there are grades of screw, with little/no protection.

Maybe sea air has something to do with it?

(apols for direct reply - who do you get rid of that cursed 'Reply' button in Thunderbird?!)

[T i m]

Maybe it's more that I've had to deal with loads of older non-plated screws and that's put me off *all* (non stainless) steel screws?

Could be.

It would have to blow in a long way to Nth Lundin. ;-)

Np mate. ;-)

Can't help you with that I'm afraid, I use Forte Agent here. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Chris Green]

'Look fine', but what are they like inside the wood?

So the head maybe looked OK but the inside was sufficiently corroded to break easily.

Doesn't look like a 'direct reply' to me, it's in the newsgroup as it should be.