Where in the uk can I order a steel scale to measure my screws
accurately from below the head?
like this one http://tinyurl.com/6lgmj

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

thanks

(James Hanley) wrote in
m:

Where in the uk can I order a steel scale to measure my screws
accurately from below the head?
like this one http://tinyurl.com/6lgmj

like this one... http://www.tool-up.co.uk/shop/diy/FIS106.html

Loadsa places, including high street tool shops

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

Put a nut on the screw (I presume a better word is "bolt"}

Saw it; tidy it up with a file, screw the nut off to reform the thread.

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

Any insulating bolt is so much weaker than steel it doesn't matter,
otherwise, surely steel?

mike

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
James Hanley wrote:

Where in the uk can I order a steel scale to measure my screws
accurately from below the head?
like this one http://tinyurl.com/6lgmj

Machine Mart and Screwfix (to name but a few) both have various measuring
devices which will do what you want.


How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

Are you talking about woodscrews, or parallel-sided machine screws? If the
latter, the trick is to screw a nut onto the screw *before* shortening it.
Then cut it to length with a hacksaw. Then file the end as flat as you can.
Finally unscrew and remove the nut. As it passes the cut end, it will clean
up the threads.

Woodscrews need a point on the end - and are never the same again once you
start chopping them.


what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

Are you talking about screwing into solid blocks of material, or thin
sheets?

If thin sheets, use self-tapping screws. You need to drill a pilot hole
which is just a bit smaller than the screw. These screws are made of steel
and *will* conduct electricity.

For solid material, you will need to drill a pilot hole and use a tap to cut
a thread in the material, in order to use machine screws. You can get
machine screws in various materials - steel, brass, etc. - or even plastic
if you want it to be non-conducting. A lot depends on what it has to hold -
plastic screws are not as strong as steel ones.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

James Hanley wrote:
Where in the uk can I order a steel scale to measure my screws
accurately from below the head?
like this one http://tinyurl.com/6lgmj

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

thanks
Do you want a steel tape measure? Is that what you mean?
Steel scale? Tape measure?

You can use a hacksaw if they are metal. Whatever sze the screw is,
thread a nut of same size onto it first before you cut the screw, then
you can un tread the nut off the screw which should keep the treads ok.

All metal screws, brass, copper, steel, iron will conduct electricity.
You need a nylon screw from an electrical outlet.

Hope that helps

--
Bob H
Leeds UK

"James Hanley" wrote in message
m...
Where in the uk can I order a steel scale to measure my screws
accurately from below the head?
like this one http://tinyurl.com/6lgmj

Try: http://www.buckandryan.co.uk/ In my opinion the best source.

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

Run a nut on to it, apply a fine hacksaw, unscrew the nut, file the end into
a dome shape.

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

Use Nylon screws.

thanks

"Set Square" wrote in message ...

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

Are you talking about woodscrews, or parallel-sided machine screws? If the
latter, the trick is to screw a nut onto the screw *before* shortening it.
Then cut it to length with a hacksaw. Then file the end as flat as you can.
Finally unscrew and remove the nut. As it passes the cut end, it will clean
up the threads.

machine screws. dunno if they're parallel sided. I'll be screwing them
into HDDs and Cases and cd drives. That's why I want non-conducting,
in case they're long and hit a PCB, and that's also why I want to
shorten them.
I'm gonna get/make thumbscrews.

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

Are you talking about screwing into solid blocks of material, or thin
sheets?

would a plastic nylon screw hold a HDD and CD drive securely without
vibrations(seems like it should), dunno why they aren't standard -
since metal ones can be too long, hit the PCB and short the device.

"Set Square" wrote in message ...
Are you talking about woodscrews, or parallel-sided machine screws? If the
latter, the trick is to screw a nut onto the screw *before* shortening it.
Then cut it to length with a hacksaw. Then file the end as flat as you can.
Finally unscrew and remove the nut. As it passes the cut end, it will clean
up the threads.

can I hacksaw and file a nylon screw? if not, then how would I shorten it?

thanks

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
James Hanley wrote:


can I hacksaw and file a nylon screw?

Yes.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
James Hanley wrote:


would a plastic nylon screw hold a HDD and CD drive securely without
vibrations(seems like it should), dunno why they aren't standard -
since metal ones can be too long, hit the PCB and short the device.

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to use nylon screws for this purpose.

I always thought that the screw holes in HDDs and CD drives were blind -
rather than going right through to the internals. Are you *sure* this is
real problem?
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

In article ,
James Hanley wrote:

can I hacksaw and file a nylon screw? if not, then how would I
shorten it?

Scalpel.

Assuming you can easily get nylon screws in
American threads.......

--
Tony Williams.

"Set Square" wrote in message ...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
James Hanley wrote:


would a plastic nylon screw hold a HDD and CD drive securely without
vibrations(seems like it should), dunno why they aren't standard -
since metal ones can be too long, hit the PCB and short the device.

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to use nylon screws for this purpose.

I always thought that the screw holes in HDDs and CD drives were blind -
rather than going right through to the internals. Are you *sure* this is
real problem?


definitely.
I've often tried screws from 1 cd drive in another drive and the other
one has shorted. Same with floppy drives.
The hard drive specs on the seagate website for example (for at least
one of their models and perhaps all of them), specify that screws be
no longer than around 4mm long (well, the ones on the bottom - should
one choose to screw the drive in from the bottom - can be about 5mm).

Also, HDDs take #6 screws and CD drives #4 (in all the cases i've
seen).

So i'm going for an antec case with removable drive rails for the
5.25" bays and #4 nylon thumbscrews for the 3.5" bays. I'm going to
avoid cases with 'screwless' designs. I'd like to use thumbscrews on
removable drive rails in my 5.25" bays too but i'm sure the drive
won't be able to slide out with those knobs in the way - since the
drive(with rails screwed on) fits snugly and slides out snugly!

(James Hanley) wrote in message om...
"Set Square" wrote in message ...

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

Are you talking about woodscrews, or parallel-sided machine screws? If the
latter, the trick is to screw a nut onto the screw *before* shortening it.
Then cut it to length with a hacksaw. Then file the end as flat as you can.
Finally unscrew and remove the nut. As it passes the cut end, it will clean
up the threads.

machine screws. dunno if they're parallel sided. I'll be screwing them
into HDDs and Cases and cd drives. That's why I want non-conducting,
in case they're long and hit a PCB, and that's also why I want to
shorten them.
I'm gonna get/make thumbscrews.

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

Are you talking about screwing into solid blocks of material, or thin
sheets?

would a plastic nylon screw hold a HDD and CD drive securely without
vibrations(seems like it should), dunno why they aren't standard -
since metal ones can be too long, hit the PCB and short the device.


a fine example of wasting everyones time by not giving the relevant
info.
for HDDs all you need do is buy a pack of the proper screws. Cutting
down longer metal ones is a complete waste of time. Nylon ones will
not be strong enough because the amount of metal gripped is so small.

The only thing that stops mounting screws hitting electrical internals
is length of screw. You typically get perhaps 5 or 6mm to play with.

NT

On 18 Sep 2004 14:15:08 -0700, (James Hanley) wrote:

Where in the uk can I order a steel scale to measure my screws
accurately from below the head?
like this one http://tinyurl.com/6lgmj

How would I go about cutting screws to make them shorter, would a saw
ruin the screw?

Put a nut on before sawing - when sawn, take the nut off and this will cut off/straighten out swarf
from the sawn edge

what screw is best for screwing into steel? alu, brass, steel? It'd
be good if the screw didn't conduct electricity.

For nonconductive, nylon is about the only option - you can get ceramic screws but they cost many
pounds each (RS do them if anyone's interested..)