I avoid all use of drywall screws-too brittle-had many a one fail on me, get a good quality Robertson deck screw from a builders supply, not the local big box home center, cheaper if you purchase by the pound.
Dave
On projects that require strength, I use deck screws, usually Phillips head. On projects that don't require the strength, I use Phillips-head drywall screws.
Any screw will have superior holding power compared to most nails. Drywall screws are strong along the axis of the screw, not so strong across the axis. Drywall screws can break under a shearing force. Deck screws are designed for construction duty. They have as good or better shear strength than nails of a similar size.
When using glue on joints, screws or nail are used to hold the pieces together while the glue sets. When properly glued, wood is strong enough on layout construction even without screws or nails, but I don't know of anyone who removes the screws or nails after glueing!
Most of the time, I pre-drill for the screw. I will countersink if drilling into a hard surface, otherwise the screws will countersink themselves.'
Layout construction, for the most part, is light-duty construction and drywall screws are acceptable for that use. Where one may need the greater strength, such as a ledger board screwed to the studs, deck screws are a better altenative.
Just my opinion. YMMV.
Darrell, quiet...for now
Somebody asked about the price. Drywall screws are dirt cheap when compared to a quality plated screw. Of course, you get exactly what you pay for, cheap dirty screws.
I too have a large tub of drywall screws left over. I use them for drywall.
Hi!
I'm a great fan of deck screws (even used them to make an actual 8x20 covered deck), and have used them exclusively in my last layout (1993) and the one currently under construction. For the actual support of the layout I've used the deck screws, but for attaching the plywood surfaces I've used shorter drywall screws - mainly because I was gifted with a large box of them. For this kind of purpose, they work just fine.
By the way, without these screws and cordless variable speed drills, building a layout would be a major chore - IMHO of course.
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
After shearing the heads off a couple of drywall screws (I think the studs in my house are made of armor plate) I went to deck screws to secure shelf bracket tracks through the drywall into the studs.
For every other purpose, including fastening thin plywood subgrade to riser flanges, I use those tiny screws intended for steel stud assembly. (Do you think that the design of my 'steel studs for everything' benchwork might have influenced that?)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with minimal use of forest products)
I used Robertson on all my benchwork. However for mounting the supports for my spline roadbed I used drywall screws as they made smaller less damaging holes thus making it easier to do small adjustments without headaches. This I learned on this forum from experienced spliners and as usual took heed.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
I'm in the final stages of bench work construction and have used only square drive screws. I purchased the screws from Rockler Woodworking and Hardware (www.rockler.com). The screws I got from them are actually Square-X drive screws which combine the square drive with the Phillips drive. I got these for convenience in case I mislaid my square driver. I use only a square driver to install these screws. Rockler also carries plain square drive screws. The square-X drives are available in #6 and #8 in lengths ranging from #6 5/8" to #8 3". The cost ranges from $2.59/100 for the #6 5/8" to $5.69/50 for the #8 3". If you get on the Rockler E-mail list, they'll send you notices of sales and free shipping offers.
Bob
I used drywall screws to build all my benchwork for the same reason as a lot of others .... I had a ton of them from leftover projects !
The trick is to drill your pilot hole in the top board slightly larger than the shank of the screw so it won't bite into the top board as you tighten things up.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
And what is the comparative costs between the different screws? From personal experience, I've found drywall screws satisfactory.
Mark
My bench work is all screwed & glued with yellow carpenters glue and drywall screws I also use a countersunk starter bit. My bench work is 1x4 with 2x4 legs and lagged into a ledger board I have climbed on top of my bench work many many time without so much as a creek. Strength is achieved in the design as much as it is in the construction and materials.
My Santa Fe layout was started in 1984, is finished, three decks, helixes and all, and is all drywall screws. Nothing has collapsed, fallen down, keeled over or anything else, so I guess I will continue to use them.
I only used the drywall type to secure my spline roadbed to the tops of the wooden risers, predrilled and countersunk. All other wood joints are with 1.75" or 3" anodized Robertson head wood screws with the threads rising from the tip only to within about 3/8" from the head.
-Crandell
I use Roberston screws when I can get them. Personally, I prefer #8 and #10 wood screws for bench work.
Enjoy
Paul
60YOKID I have about a lifetime supply of drywall screws left over from building my house and I use them for almost everything. I use a countersink bit to predrill everywhere a screw goes and also glue my joints. The drywall screws pull the wood parts together just fine squeezing out the glue. They have been my preferred method for securing 3/4 pine and also for plywood.
Ditto. Had a massive tub of drywall screws leftover from the basement remodel and built all of my three-level benchwork using them (still have a few inches left in the bottom of the tub). No problems at all. Jamie
CLICK HERE FOR THE CSX DIXIE LINE BLOG
I have about a lifetime supply of drywall screws left over from building my house and I use them for almost everything. I use a countersink bit to predrill everywhere a screw goes and also glue my joints. The drywall screws pull the wood parts together just fine squeezing out the glue. They have been my preferred method for securing 3/4 pine and also for plywood.
Recently I bought a Kreg pocket hole jig kit that makes a really strong joint. It is much better than the dry wall screws however, the cost is a quite a bit more too.
Just my 2 cents
kcole4001Thankfully, P.L. Robertson did us Canadians a big favor many years ago with his screw design. They are starting to catch on around the world. I wouldn't use anything else.
Amen!
I throw most of the Phillips screws that cross my bench into the scrap metal bin.
I agree, Drywall screws are for drywall. For everything else there are Robertson deck screws.
It's a shame that Robertson was so against the idea of selling liscensing for manufacturing his screw. If he had, Henry Ford would have used Robertson screws in his assembly line and Phillips would be just another bad idea that never went anywhere... ;o)
If you use a Robertson brand driver and screw, the driver will hang from the screw without falling free. Makes driving screws one handed in awkward positions so much simpler, IMO.
Ditto. Not sure where the idea of using drywall screws got started, maybe because at first glance they look like desk screws. I always use deck screws, drill pilot holes, and glue the joint as well as screw it together. Last month was th first I ever had to move one of my sections built like this, and it came through perfectly intact. A 2x8 section, which in reality was a pair of 2x4 sections screwed together at the end, complete with pink foam top, was moved from my old apartment to my new one and arrived in the same condition it left, nothign popped loose or split or pulled loose. Plus it's light weight, it was no problem for me to lift the whole thing with one hand.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I always use deck screws for joining wood.
Nails pull out too easily with vibration, and Phillips head screws (such as drywall screws) are awkward to use.
Thankfully, P.L. Robertson did us Canadians a big favor many years ago with his screw design. They are starting to catch on around the world. I wouldn't use anything else.
Errol
__________________________________________________
Modeling Canadian Pacific's Okanagan Branch In The 1950's