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

"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
Be careful what you build with the fasteners you buy from the bulk bin at
Home Depot.

Jon

Even better, don't buy fasteners at Home Depot. If you want quality, go to
an industrial supply house or order from McFeelys.com

On Dec 16, 1:21*am, "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

I'm pretty sure that all of the standard fasteners at HD are made of
quite soft metal. I have run into the same problem using lag screws
on deck framing. If they get a little warm from friction, the heads
twist right off. HD have some hardened bolts, but they are as
expensive as if you had bought them at Fastenal. I agree that HD is
not the place to buy fasteners - aside from the fact that HD charges
quite a lot for their fasteners.

Andrew wrote:
On Dec 16, 1:21 am, "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

I'm pretty sure that all of the standard fasteners at HD are made of
quite soft metal. I have run into the same problem using lag screws
on deck framing. If they get a little warm from friction, the heads
twist right off. HD have some hardened bolts, but they are as
expensive as if you had bought them at Fastenal. I agree that HD is
not the place to buy fasteners - aside from the fact that HD charges
quite a lot for their fasteners.

And their "bin" machine screws are Grade 2 not Grade 5... who uses
Grade 2 for anything?


nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

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. 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.

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



Around here, Tractor Supply has pretty good fasteners, including grade 8
if your function calls for that. Farmers don't like to do the same
repair job twice, I guess.
--
aem sends...

On Dec 16, 9:23*am, Smitty Two wrote:
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. 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.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

BTW: Using a drill gauge for sizing!
We use a card with various holes in it, originally designed we think
for sizing knitting needles?
But the holes are marked in metric on one side and on the other in
64ths, 32nds etc.
Very useful.

"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

On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:41:39 -0800, Andrew wrote:
I'm pretty sure that all of the standard fasteners at HD are made of
quite soft metal. I have run into the same problem using lag screws
on deck framing. If they get a little warm from friction, the heads
twist right off.

I've found it's worth checking them rather than blindly picking them up -
I've seen screws from different places that are listed as the same thing,
but sometimes they have narrower shafts and are prone to shearing.
Thankfully my local farm supply place seems to be consistently good...

"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
...
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.

I've had the very same thing happen to me in non-HD hardware, about 20 years
ago, using a ratchet, with an anchor in masonry, with a bit more torque than
for drywall, but still surprising. Could have been a crappy quality as
well, but it sure spooked me on lag bolts.

Stainless is an option, as well.

As others have commented, HD is no bargain, and stuff that appears like a
bargain is usually so low in quality as to be near useless, like their
low-priced ply, etc.
Others have mentioned that reputable companies sposedly have "HD versions",
like Bosch, etc. No doubt true for bulk items.

HD, Staples, and all rest are boils on the asses of their respective areas,
rotting our social fabric, and grinning examples of anti-trust-type
violations.

Heh, yet I go to HD at least 1x/month.... well, cuz their Hitler-esque plan
worked!
Wait 'til they start closing their stores, so's you gotta travel 50 miles,
on top of it all.
--
EA





Jon

On 12/16/2009 03:21, Jon Danniken wrote:


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

Jon


Without having them tested how would you know? You are pretty much
guaranteed that the fasteners you can buy there are the lowest quality
they you can possibly buy.

You can get much better quality (and actually pay less) at industrial
supply houses.

Smitty Two wrote:
But a 1/8"
pilot is too small for a 1/4" screw. The pilot should be the diameter
of the shank. 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.

No, an 1/8" is actually too small for a 1/4" (size 14) screw:

http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tab...pilotholes.htm

Jon

In article ,
"Jon Danniken" wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:
But a 1/8"
pilot is too small for a 1/4" screw. The pilot should be the diameter
of the shank. 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.

No, an 1/8" is actually too small for a 1/4" (size 14) screw:

http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tab...pilotholes.htm

Jon

I thought I said that. I guess I haven't had enough coffee yet. BTW,
that table is for tapered wood screws. I didn't think lag screws were
tapered.

"George" wrote in message
...
On 12/16/2009 03:21, Jon Danniken wrote:


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

Jon


Without having them tested how would you know? You are pretty much
guaranteed that the fasteners you can buy there are the lowest quality
they you can possibly buy.

Which is the mantra of all predatory organizations.
Even the parking at HD is ill-thought out.
--
EA



You can get much better quality (and actually pay less) at industrial
supply houses.

Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

On Dec 16, 7:50*am, SMS wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:
Be careful what you build with the fasteners you buy from the bulk bin at
Home Depot.

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

McFeeley's is good.

"SMS" wrote in message
...
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from Home
Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long enough
and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?


Got an actual hardware store in your town?

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

Smitty Two wrote:
But a 1/8"
pilot is too small for a 1/4" screw. The pilot should be the diameter
of the shank. 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.

No, an 1/8" is actually too small for a 1/4" (size 14) screw:

http://www.engineershandbook.com/Tab...pilotholes.htm

Jon

I thought I said that. I guess I haven't had enough coffee yet. BTW,
that table is for tapered wood screws. I didn't think lag screws were
tapered.

You are right -- they are not tapered. Heh, you just may grasp climb
cutting sooner than I predicted!

The root diameter on a 1/4" lag is almost exactly 3/16.
A 1/8" pilot would cause about 1/32" (.032) compression, "on the radius" --
which, if too much, is a whole lot better than *no pilot*, which is what
proly 95% of people do.

Proly the pilot size would depend on the wood and on the grain orientation,
as well.
But as I think about it, and look at a lag bolt, mebbe a pilot closer to
3/16 than 1/8 IS appropriate, esp. for long lag bolts. Mebbe 11/64.
--
EA

"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
...
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.


I first twisted off lag screws starting in 1979. Lag screws in general are
not strong unless you get stainless steel.

IIRC I try to give to lag screws a polit hole size the size of the body or a
bit larger.

Even a "hardened" square drive #14 screw which is .246" thread diameter
requires a larger 5/32" pilot hole in soft woods.

Additionally you do not want to bottom out a lag screw, the point on the end
helps guide not pull the screw into the wood.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"SMS" wrote in message
...
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?


Got an actual hardware store in your town?

Proly not.
--
EA

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.
[... and, unsurprisingly, the head twisted off]
Be careful what you build with the fasteners you buy from the bulk bin at
Home Depot.

This isn't exactly news to anyone who's been involved in home repair for any
length of time, you know.

You can get fasteners of significantly better quality, at a lower price, from
any real hardware store. The category of real hardware stores includes:
- Ace
- Tru-Value
- Do-it-Best
- any hardware store with worn wooden floors and a little bell on the front
door that tinkles when you walk in, where any employees under the age of
forty are the owner's grandchildren; sadly, these places are getting harder
and harder to find.

This category does *not* include
- Home Depot
- Lowe's
- Menards
- Hechinger's
and similar places.

On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:21:45 -0800, "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.


Pilot hole should be 3/16"




Regards,

Tom Watson
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/

"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
Snip


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?


I have never seen a tapered lag screw unless it was "very" short, and the
diameter you are looking for is the "body" diameter as described by
McFeeleys screw sizing chart.


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!

Actually you do want the pilot hole the same size as the body diameter.




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.

You only want the threads cutting into the wood, 1/8" is too small.

"aemeijers" wrote in message
...

Around here, Tractor Supply has pretty good fasteners, including grade 8
if your function calls for that. Farmers don't like to do the same repair
job twice, I guess.
--
aem sends...

Yeah, grade 8 in a lag screw is probabably not going to exist. You will not
see a farmer using a lag screw to repair a tractor, I hope. LOL

In article , aemeijers wrote:

Around here, Tractor Supply has pretty good fasteners, including grade 8
if your function calls for that. Farmers don't like to do the same
repair job twice, I guess.

Of course not. It's like any other business: having machinery down costs
money. At harvest time, a down machine can cost _a lot_ of money.

"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"SMS" wrote in message
...
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?


Got an actual hardware store in your town?

Proly not.
--
EA



WTF is a "proly"?

In article , SMS wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

Any real hardware store.

I use the local farm supply stores or hardware stores for most of that
stuff. Usually cheaper too.

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , aemeijers
wrote:

Around here, Tractor Supply has pretty good fasteners, including grade 8
if your function calls for that. Farmers don't like to do the same
repair job twice, I guess.

Of course not. It's like any other business: having machinery down costs
money. At harvest time, a down machine can cost _a lot_ of money.

And there are liability issue concernes. A good mechanic will use grade 8
or better so that when he is preplacing a bolt it is at least as strong as
the original. I was stocking grade 8, 30 years ago for automotive repairs
at an Olds dealership.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

Proly not.
--
EA



WTF is a "proly"?


Proly = Probably, What is WTF? ;~)

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , SMS
wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

Any real hardware store.


I keep seeing this answer.... what does that mean exactly? Not piling on
you but what exactly defines a "real" hardware store, and does that
guarantee that the "real" hardware store will also not have crap?

MeFeeleys is generally considered a reputable source for fasteners, I agree
for wood screws and graded nuts and bolts however I have bought some pretty
cheesy ungraded machine screws from McFeeleys, I have had several break
from 100 pack box.

I also agree that the big box chains are probably not the best source for
screws but if you buy name brand screws from those stores you are going to
get better quality. While I steer away from prepackaged plastic bags of
screws from those type stores I have never had a problem with larger bolts
and lag screws providing they had proper sized pilot screws.

"Leon" wrote in message
...

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , SMS
wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

Any real hardware store.


I keep seeing this answer.... what does that mean exactly? Not piling on
you but what exactly defines a "real" hardware store, and does that
guarantee that the "real" hardware store will also not have crap?

MeFeeleys is generally considered a reputable source for fasteners, I
agree for wood screws and graded nuts and bolts however I have bought some
pretty cheesy ungraded machine screws from McFeeleys, I have had several
break from 100 pack box.

I also agree that the big box chains are probably not the best source for
screws but if you buy name brand screws from those stores you are going to
get better quality. While I steer away from prepackaged plastic bags of
screws from those type stores I have never had a problem with larger bolts
and lag screws providing they had proper sized pilot screws.


McFeely's may be a great source, but sometimes you need fasteners NOW. Not
tomorrow.

Leon wrote:

What is WTF? ;~)

Among other things, it's a blanket:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05ZQ7WHw8Y

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:

What is WTF? ;~)

Among other things, it's a blanket:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05ZQ7WHw8Y


LOL..... Kim bought my mother a WTF blanket for Christmas. You know I
will have to stir the s__t, I'll be sure and show her. Maybe not, now
that I have had a few seconds to think about that. ;~)

SMS wrote:

Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?
I really doubt that you can these days since they're all made in CHINA. I
called one of the suppliers for a specialty screw and asked them about
where their products are made, you can guess what his reply was. He also
told me that there is not any fasteners made in the US anymore. Unless it's
made for the Military.
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.biz/

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

I also agree that the big box chains are probably not the best source for
screws but if you buy name brand screws from those stores you are going
to get better quality. While I steer away from prepackaged plastic bags
of screws from those type stores I have never had a problem with larger
bolts and lag screws providing they had proper sized pilot screws.


McFeely's may be a great source, but sometimes you need fasteners NOW. Not
tomorrow.


For many years now I have been buying from McFeeleys, but only to restock
what I have used from my inventory. I typically order 500-1,000 screws from
them once or twice a year. MUCH handier to have it on hand that to go the
store and buy them and are typically better quality.

SMS wrote in message
...
[snip]
Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

ACE (San Jose off Alma), TruValue (Cupertino), Southern Lumber (San Jose off
Almaden), or the contractor's lumber yard (Pine Cone?) in Sunnyvale off
Maude will have the grades and knowledgeable employees necessary for
one-time purchasing of quality products...

The Ranger

Leon wrote in message
...
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , SMS
wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts from
Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that are long
enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?

Any real hardware store.

I keep seeing this answer.... what does that mean exactly? Not piling on
you but what exactly defines a "real" hardware store, and does that
guarantee that the "real" hardware store will also not have crap?

MeFeeleys is generally considered a reputable source for fasteners, I
agree for wood screws and graded nuts and bolts however I have bought some
pretty cheesy ungraded machine screws from McFeeleys, I have had several
break from 100 pack box.

I also agree that the big box chains are probably not the best source for
screws but if you buy name brand screws from those stores you are going
to get better quality. While I steer away from prepackaged plastic bags
of screws from those type stores I have never had a problem with larger
bolts and lag screws providing they had proper sized pilot screws.

My two-time experiences with McFeeleys has been very positive. Prices, while
generally higher, are not painful and the products that I've purchased were
exactly what I needed. Unlike the machine screws that I'd purchased prior
from OSH (a formerly GREAT hardware store but ruined by Sears -- a curse
from the gahds on that corporate bastion of greed and averice) which sheered
with the slightest pressure making a simple job not, I'll order from
McFeeleys when I'm able to plan a job out.

The Ranger

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in
:

"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"SMS" wrote in message
...
Jon Danniken wrote:

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

Okay, then it's not just me that has that problem with lag bolts
from Home Depot. I've become anal about drilling pilot holes that
are long enough and large enough diameter to deal with these crappy
lag bolts.

Where can you buy good quality lag bolts though?


Got an actual hardware store in your town?

Proly not.
--
EA



WTF is a "proly"?



What Baba Wawa calls her parrot I guess.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:


"Jon Danniken" wrote in message
Be careful what you build with the fasteners you buy from the bulk bin at
Home Depot.

Jon

Even better, don't buy fasteners at Home Depot. If you want quality, go
to an industrial supply house or order from McFeelys.com
I called McFeelys and all Fasteners they sell are made in CHINA
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