Looking for a new cabinet hanging screw

[scott vroom]

I've been using GRK cabinet screws to hang wall cabs. They're not a particularly attractive finish...brass finish and kinda rough in appearance, but very strong and cut well into the studs without pre-drilling. I've been looking at McFeely's baked enamel screws....look great but $115/1K are pricey. Has anyone used these? Can they be easily driven into old, tough doug fir studs without pre-drilling? I do remodeling vs new construction and have found that the older the stud the harder it is to drive screws.

What do you guys use to hang your uppers?

[Peter Kelly]

Have you tried Snap Caps from Hafele? Not terribly expensive and lets you use almost any pan or flat head screw. GRK are good, I also like Spax.

239532

[scott vroom]

Peter, my first concern would be the plastic washer and whether it would retain it's shape when screwed hard against the cabinet back. Have you used these yourself? Are you able to torque the screws down tight without the washer deforming to the point that it won't receive the cap? Interesting concept...very clean look.

[Peter Kelly]

The clear washer bit is made from what looks to be nylon which is very solid and does not easily deform under pressure unlike a metal finishing washer. Yes, I've used these quite a bit for installing uppers and they work great. I do however use either a French cleat or the hanger and j-rail system so the loading is not mainly on the screws alone. I don't tend to crank down very hard on these.

If you call Hafele and speak to a sales rep, they'll send you a free sample. Just let them know the part numbers and exactly what you're trying to do.

[Erik Christensen]

I use the fastcap system - I got it from mcfeeley's - the 9/16" FastCap FlushMount Bit lets me countersink the #10 PowerHead Cabinet Screws so that when covered with a self adhesive cap they sell in a matching wood species it is almost invisible. I use a q-tip to dab on matching dye and clear finish after installation.

I pre-drill the cabinets so i am not trying to measure, support the cabs and drill at the same time but never had an issue with sinking to full depth in the studs

[zayd alle]

Scott,

This last time around, I used the FastCap powerhead screws from Mcfeely's:

http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/0834-PHW/FastCap-10-x-3-12quot-PowerHead-Screws

I don't mind flathead screws securing base cabinets, but my mind doesn't jive well with using them where pulling through means 100 pounds of cabinet and contents comes crashing down. I admit I tend to over engineer, but I won't break that rule. That's why I like the powerhead screws. They are designed for MDF/particleboard, where pull-through is most likely. The enormous head gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Also, the auger point had no problem in 60-year old studs.

I didn't find a need to cover the heads but they have a system for that if you so desire.

[Guy Belleman]

+1 for the McFeelys products. They are all I use, as other sources have gotten too unreliable. The cost is worth the peace of mind and adds to the appreciation of the job, knowing that the best has been put into the project.