I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass
destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down. Anyone
caught attempting to distribute them shall be locked into prison and
held there until they can successfully install an entire 24" piano
hinge into hard maple without breaking any of their product.

And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.


-Leuf

And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.


Did you wax them? I always wax my brass screws after having the same
problem.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

Leuf wrote:
I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass
destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down.
snip

If you want an argument, change the subject.

Brass is strictly a no-no in my yard since in the marine environment,
sea water will leach out the zinc.

As a result, any brass or steel fasteners that come with hardware just
get tossed in the trash.

When it comes to fasteners, it's bronze or S/S for me since they
usually represent a relatively small part of the total cost of a project.

Lew

On Nov 13, 11:04 pm, "Stoutman" .@. wrote:

Did you wax them? I always wax my brass screws after having the same
problem.

Giving the screws a blast of Topcoat works well too.

I'm with you 100%!
I used to work customer service for a company that sold brass hardware, with
brass screws naturally. I got 5 complaints a day about this. Everyone
swears they drilled a pilot hole, waxed the threads, and used very little
force.
Not a damn thing I could about it; we used the best brass screws available,
but brass is soft and brass screws break. It was a real pain; probably as
bad as having to use the brass screws.
If it had been illegal, we could have used brass plated steel and everyone
would have been happy.

"Leuf" wrote in message
...
I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass
destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down. Anyone
caught attempting to distribute them shall be locked into prison and
held there until they can successfully install an entire 24" piano
hinge into hard maple without breaking any of their product.

And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.


-Leuf

Well JOAT strongly suggested that ALL slot head
screws be rounded up and thrown away - less severe
than melting them down - but the same sentiment.

And having installed TWO 32" piano hinges - one perfectly,
one - well let's just say the cabinet door with the OOPS
is noticable - I agree with your test.

charlie b

On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 04:04:47 GMT, "Stoutman" .@. wrote:


And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.


Did you wax them? I always wax my brass screws after having the same
problem.

Nope. They were going in so easy... When I was drilling the holes I
put in a few screws to hold it in place before drilling the rest. I
think the one that broke must have been one I had already used and
must have weakened the first time. Of course, I just dumped them back
in the bag so they're all suspect now.


-Leuf

On Mon, 13 Nov 2006 20:34:33 -0800, charlie b
wrote:

Well JOAT strongly suggested that ALL slot head
screws be rounded up and thrown away - less severe
than melting them down - but the same sentiment.

And having installed TWO 32" piano hinges - one perfectly,
one - well let's just say the cabinet door with the OOPS
is noticable - I agree with your test.

I also cut a bit off one end of the hinge, and then managed to put it
on the wrong way when I did the lid. So there's two sets of holes,
and now at least one plug. It will all be hidden by the hinge, but
somewhere down the road someone's gonna take that hinge off and have a
chuckle at the mess.


-Leuf

In article ,
Stoutman .@. wrote:

And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.


Did you wax them? I always wax my brass screws after having the same
problem.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com



Wouldn't it be more effective to wax the screws _before_ you have the
problem?

--
Contentment makes poor men rich. Discontent makes rich men poor.
--Benjamin Franklin
Larry Wasserman - Baltimore, Maryland -

On Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:01:42 -0500, Leuf
wrote:

I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass
destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down. Anyone
caught attempting to distribute them shall be locked into prison and
held there until they can successfully install an entire 24" piano
hinge into hard maple without breaking any of their product.

And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.

I'll second that.

One other thing to try- I couldn't say that it works better than wax,
but rubbing the threads on bar soap works nicely, too.

charlie b wrote in news:45594759.45E8
@accesscom.com:

Well JOAT strongly suggested that ALL slot head
screws be rounded up and thrown away - less severe
than melting them down - but the same sentiment.

Actually, that's more severe... You could melt down the slot head screws
and put a useful head on them, like say Phillips or even square.

What do you call a good flat head screwdriver?


A Prybar.

And having installed TWO 32" piano hinges - one perfectly,
one - well let's just say the cabinet door with the OOPS
is noticable - I agree with your test.

charlie b

I used brass screws for a display case I was building. They went in well
enough, but the head distorted from pressure of putting the screw in.
Maybe what we need is a brass screwdriver, with a "break off tip" like
some utility knifes have.

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
ink.net...
Leuf wrote:
I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass
destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down.
snip

If you want an argument, change the subject.

Brass is strictly a no-no in my yard since in the marine environment, sea
water will leach out the zinc.

As a result, any brass or steel fasteners that come with hardware just get
tossed in the trash.

When it comes to fasteners, it's bronze or S/S for me since they usually
represent a relatively small part of the total cost of a project.

Depends on what you're doing--brass is mainly decorative. It's also the
"right" fastener to use when attaching something made of brass--you don't
want whatever is being attached to become a sacrificial anode for your
fasteners. For a "brass" piano hinge brass-plated steel is usually the
"right" fastener as the hinge itself is usually brass-plated steel. If it's
solid brass then brass would be the matching fastener. In either case using
bronze wouldn't gain you anything as if the fasteners are sufficiently
exposed for galvanic action to be an issue then so is the hinge.

Lew

"Leuf" wrote in message
...
I hereby propose that brass screws be deemed weapons of mass
destruction, and that they all be gathered up and melted down. Anyone
caught attempting to distribute them shall be locked into prison and
held there until they can successfully install an entire 24" piano
hinge into hard maple without breaking any of their product.

And yes, I predilled everything right, and tapped with a steel screw
first. And then I broke the drill bit off in the hole trying to drill
out the screw. Of course.


-Leuf

I have learned to wave a magnet over those yellow screws. If they stick
I'll use them, if they don't, I won't.

On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:18:23 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Depends on what you're doing--brass is mainly decorative. It's also the
"right" fastener to use when attaching something made of brass--you don't
want whatever is being attached to become a sacrificial anode for your
fasteners. For a "brass" piano hinge brass-plated steel is usually the
"right" fastener as the hinge itself is usually brass-plated steel. If it's
solid brass then brass would be the matching fastener. In either case using
bronze wouldn't gain you anything as if the fasteners are sufficiently
exposed for galvanic action to be an issue then so is the hinge.

My piano hinge is solid brass. But, I don't see anyone selling brass
plated steel screws that match. Lee Valley has antique brass plated,
but not shiny brass. I'd use em if I had em, and leave the solid
brass for softwoods.


-Leuf

charlie b wrote:
Well JOAT strongly suggested that ALL slot head
screws be rounded up and thrown away - less severe
than melting them down - but the same sentiment.

And having installed TWO 32" piano hinges - one perfectly,
one - well let's just say the cabinet door with the OOPS
is noticable - I agree with your test.

charlie b

Dunno...somehow a set of Baldwin brass door hinges wouldn't look right
without slotted brass screws with the slots properly dusted.


t

"Leuf" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:18:23 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Depends on what you're doing--brass is mainly decorative. It's also the
"right" fastener to use when attaching something made of brass--you don't
want whatever is being attached to become a sacrificial anode for your
fasteners. For a "brass" piano hinge brass-plated steel is usually the
"right" fastener as the hinge itself is usually brass-plated steel. If
it's
solid brass then brass would be the matching fastener. In either case
using
bronze wouldn't gain you anything as if the fasteners are sufficiently
exposed for galvanic action to be an issue then so is the hinge.

My piano hinge is solid brass. But, I don't see anyone selling brass
plated steel screws that match. Lee Valley has antique brass plated,
but not shiny brass. I'd use em if I had em, and leave the solid
brass for softwoods.

Try McFeelys--http://www.mcfeelys.com


-Leuf

On Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:33:08 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

"Leuf" wrote in message

My piano hinge is solid brass. But, I don't see anyone selling brass
plated steel screws that match. Lee Valley has antique brass plated,
but not shiny brass. I'd use em if I had em, and leave the solid
brass for softwoods.

Try McFeelys--http://www.mcfeelys.com

Close, but some smartass decided piano hinge should use #5 screws.


-Leuf

"charlie b" wrote in message
...
Well JOAT strongly suggested that ALL slot head
screws be rounded up and thrown away - less severe
than melting them down - but the same sentiment.

Amen to that. Every time I open a plastic baggie of hardware that contains
flat head screws, I shake my head. Really, hardware manufacturers, is there
a household, anywhere, in any of the countries that you sell your product
in, that does not have a phillips head screwdriver?

The only thing worse, as I figure it, are those *******-child phillips/slot
head combination jobbers. Aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggh!

My $.02...

-Tim

On Nov 14, 6:10 am, Prometheus wrote:
One other thing to try- I couldn't say that it works better than wax,
but rubbing the threads on bar soap works nicely, too.

I've read that soap can attract moisture and shouldn't be used on steel
screws. Probably ok with brass. Can't imagine it causing damage to
the wood itself.
JP

"Tim and Steph" wrote in news:E_t6h.3209$fk2.563@trndny02:

*snip*


The only thing worse, as I figure it, are those *******-child
phillips/slot head combination jobbers.
Aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggh!

My $.02...

-Tim


They're not too bad on electrical terminal strips, but you're talking
simply turning a screw (or is it technically a bolt, with no point?)
rather than driving one in. It's one of those "use them where they work,
and only because you have to" things.

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

On 14 Nov 2006 18:05:38 -0800, "Jay Pique"
wrote:



On Nov 14, 6:10 am, Prometheus wrote:
One other thing to try- I couldn't say that it works better than wax,
but rubbing the threads on bar soap works nicely, too.

I've read that soap can attract moisture and shouldn't be used on steel
screws. Probably ok with brass. Can't imagine it causing damage to
the wood itself.

No real need for it on steel screws anyhow- I only use it on brass.

On 14 Nov 2006 09:15:38 -0800, "Tom Watson"
wrote:

Dunno...somehow a set of Baldwin brass door hinges wouldn't look right
without slotted brass screws with the slots properly dusted.

Hadn't really thought of that, but you're right. Sometimes the
slotted heads do just look better.