digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: For woodworking, use premium multi-purpose screws such as Spax, specifically flat-headed, tapered-head screws with square or star drives, and keep number eight, one and a quarter inch star head screws on hand. Wood glue is the primary joining method for most of the presenter's work, with screws used mainly for shop projects, jigs, and seasonal-movement joints.
Key Points
- Slotted (flathead) screws are, per the presenter, a poor choice for woodworking except for historically accurate period furniture; he advises avoiding them otherwise.
- Phillips drives tend to cam out and damage both the screw head and driver, while square (Robertson) and star drives largely eliminate slipping and handle more torque.
- Nails are rarely used in his projects, since they bend, can mar surfaces, and hold less securely than screws; brads are used only to hold boards while glue dries.
- Drywall screws are inexpensive but brittle and prone to snapping in hardwood, and their bugle heads don't match a countersink, so he generally advises against them for woodworking.
- Screws are useful where wood expansion and contraction matter, such as attaching a tabletop to a base through a slot, and pocket screws speed up cabinet and casework assembly.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Choose flat-headed, tapered-head multi-purpose screws (such as Spax or GRK) with square or star drives; avoid slotted screws, prefer square or star over Phillips, and if using a flat head, drill a pilot hole with a countersink bit so the head sits flush.
- Concrete instructions: Read box labels in order: first number is diameter (number eight is most common and the presenter's go-to), then threads per inch if listed, then length.
- Concrete instructions: Use fine threads for hardwoods and coarse threads for softwoods and plywood.
- Concrete instructions: For expansion-prone joints like a tabletop to base, set screws into a slot so the wood can move with humidity changes.
- Concrete instructions: With pocket screws, place pocket holes on undersides or backs where they won't show, and use pocket screws rather than regular wood screws in pocket holes, which may drive through or split the wood.
- Concrete instructions: Pre-drill critical pieces, especially near board ends, even with self-drilling multi-purpose screws, to prevent splitting.
- Concrete instructions: For outdoor work use deck screws (hardened steel, corrosion-resistant coating); for boats or salt-water marine use, stainless steel offers the best corrosion protection but is weaker and costly.
- Multi-purpose screws cost roughly twice as much as regular wood screws, but the presenter considers that worth it for the time and frustration saved (Spax and GRK are examples he names).
- Screw anatomy: tip, shank, threads, and head; self-drilling screws have a split point, while machine screws have no point.
- The presenter's bolt/screw distinction (bolt goes through two materials with a nut; screw pulls pieces together with only the head visible; bolts are tightened with a wrench) is acknowledged as a convention with many exceptions.
Bottom Line
Buy a small set of premium star or square drive multi-purpose screws in number eight, one and a quarter inch, and match the screw type to the job rather than defaulting to cheap or Phillips-head options.
