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Chris and I are here all day to answer your woodworking questions – in between some work at the bench, of course. You know the drill: post your (succinct) question(s) in the comments field below, and we shall do our best to answer. Comments will close at around 5 p.m.
– Fitz
The following is excerpted from our reprint of “Woodworker’s Pocket Book,” edited by Charles H. Hayward. I have screwing on the brain (so to speak) because I’ve been teaching Kale about pilot holes and clearance holes. I could have just handed this book to Kale, and it likely would have provided more clarity than did I. And it is certainly more succinct!
– Fitz
Screws can be obtained in many metals and finishes, sizes and types.
METALS. The chief kinds are mild steel (iron) and brass, but in addition screws are made in copper, gunmetal, aluminium, and in a variety of finishes, such as Berlin blacked, galvanised, tinned, nickel-plated, electro-brassed, antique brassed, antique copper, electro-coppered, copper-oxydised, electro-silvered, and blued. The range of sizes is not so great in these fancy finishes.
TYPES. Countersunk head, raised head, and round head are the types mostly used. Size is taken from the position shown by arrows. Raised heads are frequently used with screw cups, which increase gripping area and give a neater appearance.
SIZES. Screws are classified by length and gauge. Illustration above shows from where length is taken. Gauge is the diameter of the shank and is the same in all lengths of screw. For instance, a 1-in. 9-gauge screw would have the same diameter and size of head as a 2-in. 9-gauge screw. Gauges range from 0000 to 50, but those from 4 up to 12 are most commonly used. Diagram shows five common gauges in actual size. [Ed note: The images here will resize to your device; they are not actual size] Order screws this way: ” 1 gross 1½-in. 9s, countersunk, iron.” It is always cheaper to buy by the gross than dozen.
SCREW HOLE SIZES. Two sizes of holes are needed when screwing – a thread hole and a shank hole. The former is the hole into which the screw bites its way, and should be smaller than the over-all diameter of the shank. The clearance hole should be a trifle fuller than the shank diameter. The table on the following page gives the various gauges of screws and the sizes required for the clearance and thread holes. A certain amount of latitude is possible. Softwoods will take smaller size of thread hole than hardwoods.
LUBRICATION. Lubricate screws before driving them in. It eases the work and prevents rusting. Vaseline is excellent. Be careful of mutton fat and Russian tallow, as the salt in them may cause corrosion.
FINDING THE GAUGE OF A SCREW. If you are uncertain of the gauge of a screw this simple method will give the exact answer in a few moments. Measure across the head of the screw, counting the measurement in sixteenths of an inch; double this number and subtract two. This is the gauge.
For example: a No. 10 screw (independent of length) will measure 3/8 in. or 6/16 in. This multiplied by two is 12/16 in.; less two is 10/16 in., or No. 10.
Take another case: the screw head measures 4-1/2 sixteenths; multiply by two=9; less two is 7, which is the screw gauge.
The table below gives the various gauges of screws and the sizes of the clearance and thread holes. It has been compiled from information supplied by Messrs. Nettlefold & Sons, Ltd.
When a long brass screw has to be driven into a hard wood it is advisable to drive in an iron screw of the same size first, as otherwise the resistance may cause the brass screw to snap off. Once the iron screw has been inserted it can be withdrawn and replaced by the brass screw.
Sunday thoughts from Charles Hayward (excerpted from “Honest Labour” – a collection of essays from The Woodworker magazine).
The mediaeval system of apprenticeship, by which the apprentices helped to sell—in booths which then served as shops before their master’s dwellings—the wares they had made, had one considerable advantage. It brought the maker of an article into direct contact with customers or potential customers, and therefore into direct contact with any criticisms levelled at their work. It may be that only the hardier spirits would venture seriously to criticise, for London apprentices, we know, were notoriously quick-tempered, and their cries of “What d’ye lack? What d’ye lack?” were frequently interrupted by the rallying cry of “’Prentices-clubs!” which brought them all pouring out to make common cause against any unfortunate citizen who had ventured to offend them. But, even so, there must have been a regular interchange of opinion between customer and craftsman which was helpful to both, and a far healthier state of affairs than that existing to-day, when fashions in furniture and design are entirely at the mercy of manufacturers behind the scene with whom the customer has no possible contact.
We have all experienced the utter futility of complaining to a salesman whose only job it is to sell the goods. A shrug and the comment that: “That is all the fashion now” is the only answer we get, except from the most intelligent, and the result is to be seen in a general lowering of standards both in workmanship and taste. One might cite as an example the massive upholstered suites which flooded the market some years ago. Nothing could have been more unsuitable for the average modern house, with its small box-like rooms, but it was only by going to the utmost trouble and expense that one was able to track down anything of reasonable size. The public simply had no say in the matter. Its only possible retort would have been to refuse to buy, and that is unfortunately what it does not do. The very prevalence of a mass-produced article seems to have a hypnotising effect. People come to take it for granted as “the fashion,” and honest criticism is lulled to sleep or given up in despair.
And a great pity it is. It is not good for any of us to get into the habit of accepting things passively. By keeping our minds critically alert we do at least keep them alive and develop our powers of judgment, the chances being that if we fail to exercise them over the less important things, they will fail us over the big. The mind, like any tool, can be blunted and spoiled by rust and neglect, can lose its fine cutting edge, grow slack and unreliable. And so we lose any chance we might have had to influence our fellows, so at least doing something to mould the world a little nearer to our heart’s desire.
Honest criticism is a necessary prelude to any really sound constructive work. It is necessary in all good furniture making. But it has to be based on a real habit of thought and observation. We have to be able to be honest with ourselves, and patient, too, in order that our skill may grow. We have to be able to look at our own work, and the work of others, critically; to contrast and compare methods and designs. In this way we shall gradually acquire the knowledge that is more than skill—an appreciation of what is really good and sound, of the part played by true proportion and clean, shapely line in a really fine piece of work, and a standard of taste which will become a natural part of our mental make-up, so that we shall not tolerate—at least in our own homes—anything that falls below it.
NOTE: We are having technical difficulties with Word Press’s commenting system today. Our replies are not posting. Or they are posting and then disappearing. (Both Megan and I are having this trouble on separate machines.) We are trying to get your questions answered, but it’s frustrating….
The fellow above is here this weekend teaching a class in making traditional sash, so Chris and I are twiddling our thumbs and awaiting your questions about woodworking, cats, LAP books, Shakespeare, the Anthe building restoration (we’re finally on to the stuff that should be done, rather than must be done – so that’s exciting!) or Wilco songs.
So type your question in the comment field and we will do our best to answer it. And know that concision is much appreciated.
Comments for this entry will close at about 5 p.m. Eastern.
– Fitz
I was chatting with Kara Gebhart Uhl about some new “Meet the Author” profiles, and realized that while we have a blog category for Nancy Hiller’s “Little Acorns,” we don’t have an easy way to find the profiles Kara and others have written. So, I’ve added a new category to our drop-down menu: Profiles. There, you’ll find 75 good reads about woodworkers (and that number will no doubt grow as I find ones I’ve missed).
– Fitz