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Thread: Drywall screws

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Redmond, OR
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    606
    I use drywall screws all the time. Mostly for construction stuff... I don't believe in nails! Put back together half of a fire damaged house with nothing but dry wall screws. I also use them for shop shelves and shop cabinets and stuff. For furniture and fine projects I like dowels.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Leesville, SC
    Posts
    2,378
    I use them on some of my projects and have never had any problems with them. Never snapped a head or broke one.
    Army Veteran 1968 - 1970
    I Support the Second Amendment of the US Constitution

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    3,063
    I've used them (pre-drilling and countersinking) to glue up mdf for thicker bench tops, and for some other no-load odds and ends. I recently built some shop shelves and used them to attach a short back stop. But I avoid them in other uses. I've only had a few break on me over the last 10 years or so.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Interesting. I keep many sizes of "drywall" screws and use them them a lot for indoor things, from jigs to shelf brackets. I have NEVER snapped a head off in thousands of screws.

    For hard wood and MDF I predrill and countersink.

    However, I have snapped the heads off dozens of 3" deck screws from a specific 25 lb case, but not one from three cases from a different mfgr. This indicates quality issues since my technique and use in 2-by construction pine was the same. From my experience, if I ever broke a drywall screw I would suspect a bad batch.

  5. #20
    I use coarse thread drywall screws most of the time for woodworking. Fine furniture will not have metal fasteners but cruder shop cabinets and even things for in the house that can be more "rustic" often get "glue and screw" joints. The screw is effectively the clamp. Drywall screws are fine for that. My recently completed base cabinet in the shop, that supports my CMS and RAS, has a carcase of 3/4 plywood glued and screwed together (butt joints) and drawers pocket screwed and glued together. Bottoms are glued and braded in place. The drawer supports are 1 inch wide strips of 3/4 plywood held to the carcase with 1 5/8 drywall screws - no glue. Edges are covered by 1/4 softwood strips and I put cross pieces on the drawer supports that are about 9/16 thick (purely for appearance). Whole thing is crude but very functional.

    I also use them in construction including to hang drywall. I like to use a larger head and less hard screw to hang cabinets but I've used drywall screws there too - as have many "professionals" judging from ones I've removed.

    They are not the nicest screw you can buy but they normally work fine.

  6. #21
    I also think they're fine most of the times in lengths 1 1/4" or 1 5/8". Anything longer may require sufficient torque that I don't trust the phillips head. I also find that longer drywall screws SQUEAK when going in deep. I've rarely had one snap though.

    In fact, even if you buy 'woodworking' screws, there's a risk they will snap. I've had Spax screws snap as well as Highland (I won't ever use Highland again) so if you want reliable screws, you gotta shop a little.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Three Rivers, Central Oregon
    Posts
    2,340
    Ironically, the only time I recall breaking off drywall screws was when my son and I were hanging drywall about 10 years ago in a 1904 flat in San Francisco. The studs were rough cut true 2 x 4 and were extremely hard and tough old growth doug fir. We broke off lots of 1-5/8 heads. On some studs we had to switch to 2-1/2" dw screws which are thicker/stronger.

    I use them often with plywood casework....plywood bases and base cabinets where the screws are hidden. I can't imagine breaking off a dw screw in ply.
    Scott Vroom

    I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Putney, Vermont
    Posts
    1,042
    I have used drywall screws for years without problems like breaking. The phillips head stripping after a few disassemblies is the biggest problem.
    I usually drill a clearance hole in one of the two mating pieces slightly smaller then the outside diameter of the threads and drill a hole slightly smaller then the root diameter of the thread in the other mating piece. When constructing 2x4's I try to half lap them to take the load off of the screws.
    If I am have to to disassemble what I made sometimes I will use beeswax or soap on screws when assembling.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    New Westminster BC
    Posts
    2,981
    https://youtu.be/lldPT_u5hwE
    For what its worth here is a test of drywall screws vs wood and deck screws by Matthias s Wandel.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,685
    Nope. I haven't used drywall screws for over a decade now for woodworking. They are not the right fastener for woodworking...brittle, don't handle lateral pressure well and so forth. I use square-drive/Robertson screws made for woodworking, generally from McFeeley's. I buy the sizes I use in quantity to keep the overall cost down and keep them in a bin system for easy access in my shop. For specialty sizes, I buy in smaller quantities and keep in smaller bins accordingly.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    15,332
    Quote Originally Posted by scott vroom View Post
    Yeah, just like duct tape is for ducts
    It is...it just isn't the best product for them.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    4,511
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    Quote Originally Posted by scott vroom View Post
    Yeah, just like duct tape is for ducts
    Wrong!! Duct (duck) tape is for everything BUT sealing joints in ducts. For that you want aluminum foil tape, specifically made for sealing ducts. But I knew that you knew that!

    I use a lot of Kreg screws for woodworking and sometimes traditional wood screws (Phillips head) screws, but not drywall screws.
    Last edited by Prashun Patel; 05-29-2015 at 10:59 AM.
    NOW you tell me...

  13. #28
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Western, MT
    Posts
    210
    I have used a lot of them over the years on many jigs, and other projects. I pre-drill everything, they seem to work fine for me and I can get different lengths locally for a reasonable price.
    Randy Gazda
    Big Sky Country

  14. #29
    I have used them for a number of things around the house and on jigs. I also use them to hold pieces together that are also being glued. If I were going to use only screws without glue, I would probably use something else.

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