faceplate screws

[Pat Salter]

I'm still a newbie to this turny stuff so you'll have to excuse the simple question. When you use a faceplate to mount a chunk of wood, how long should the screws be? I'm getting a lot of differant information from differant sites and as usual, now I'm confused.

[Cecil Arnold]

The simple answer is long enough to hold the blank. If you have a small blank that is reasonably true you won't need screws to penetrate the wood more than 1/2-3/4" (multiple screws) if you have a larger blank or one that is very rough and might catch then you will need longer screws. A word of caution, if no one else has meantioned it--DON'T use drywall screws. They are brittle and if they break you will have a heck of a time getting them out. Good wood screws will bend and deform or pull out of the wood, which is preferable.

[Earl Eyre]

I use the hex headed sheet metals screws. Sometimes the screws will work loose in green wood and this way you can reach in with a box wrench and retighten them without having to take the work off the lathe. Cecil's answer is a good one. Between 3/4 and 1 1/2 will just about do it for anything. Keep it simple. Too many answers just complicate things. We are an opinionated bunch! People have been turning on lathes for years with a few very crude tools so don't worry about all the toys and all the possible ways of doing things until you get more comfortable and know more what you want to do.

Good Luck!
Earl

[Steve Plunkett]

David Ellsworth recommended to us in a class that we use #14, 1inch sheet metal screws. I've been using them for several years with no problems.