"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"Jon Danniken" wrote:

I tightened up a 1/4" lag screw that I bought from Home Depot earlier
this
evening. It was screwed into 1.5" fir after pre-drilling with a 1/8"
pilot
hole.

After it bottomed out, I turned it just a little bit more, holding a 3/8"
ratchet handle close to the shaft, not out on the handle. I wasn't
giving
it much torque, just making sure that it was secure, when it turned to
butter.

It was less torque tha I have used in the past to tighten drywall screws.

Here is the result:

http://i45.tinypic.com/35i981s.jpg

On the plus side, it was really easy to drill a little hole in the piece
that is still left in the wood (the hole is for the EZ out).

I'm actually glad that this came apart on me; at least I know to get some
halfway decent ones now before something failed with more catastrophic
results.

Be careful what you build with the fasteners you buy from the bulk bin at
Home Depot.

Jon

Hardware comes in grades. Next time get grade 5 or better. But a 1/8"
pilot is too small for a 1/4" screw. The pilot should be the diameter of
the shank.

And what diameter would that be, since lags are tapered? And if there were
such a diameter, you would mean "root diameter" or minor diameter -- right?

But that's ok.... I'm sure the concept of conventional vs climb cutting is
going to take another few weeks to properly gel in your brain -- all this
other stuff will come in due time. Heh, mebbe you can study with yer buddee
RicodJour.

Hold the screw and the drill up to the light together, with
the drill in front of the screw. Only the threads of the screw should be
unobscured by the drill.

Altho ahm no 'spert on wood, I doubt that the pilot hole should be exactly a
root diameter (if there were one) for wood. After all, yer not tapping the
wood like metal.
Mebbe there is a woodworker's equiv to Machinery's Handbook that has this
spec -- heh, mebbe even Machinery's handbook has it!

I'm sure there has to be some compression of the wood fibre, for adequate
strength, when drilling pilots. 1/8" actually sounds about right.
--
EA