@@#*&@ Brass Screws!!!

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Let me rant a little here. I making Katherine a wooden case to hold her mother's silver. I had some Jabota left over from another project and decided to use it. This is a dense wood--resawing the 6" boards to make the 1/4" thick stock was harder than resawing 10-12" oak. She wanted lots of brass on the case so I used brass hinges, a two brass catches and those brass corner triangle thingies. I have had a devil of a time getting a hole the right size for the brass screws. Just a little too small and they snap off. Just a little too large and they won't hold in the wood. I am beginning to think the wood is harder than the screws!

[Bob Lasley]

Let me rant a little here. I making Katherine a wooden case to hold her mother's silver. I had some Jabota left over from another project and decided to use it. This is a dense wood--resawing the 6" boards to make the 1/4" thick stock was harder than resawing 10-12" oak. She wanted lots of brass on the case so I used brass hinges, a two brass catches and those brass corner triangle thingies. I have had a devil of a time getting a hole the right size for the brass screws. Just a little too small and they snap off. Just a little too large and they won't hold in the wood. I am beginning to think the wood is harder than the screws!


Dennis,

I was fighting the same problem in the same wood this weekend. Using #2 brass screws to attach hinges. I even step drilled the holes, making the top of the hole bigger than the bottom, and still broke one. :mad: Normally, I run a steel screw in first and then replace it with the brass screw, but couldn't find any #2 steel screws at my local hardware store. After breaking one, I started drilling the holes just a little bit bigger and I will put a drop of epoxy in the screw holes when I mount the hinges after finishing. Tomorrow I will see about buying some of those new bits for drilling around a broken screw! :(

And as for jatoba being harder than brass, I'm pretty sure of it.

Bob

[Tony Falotico]

I would drill a slightly larger hole than the screw needs, plug it with a softer wood, then drill a pilot hole and screw into the softer wood. Keep it small and the hinge, corner piece or whatever will hide the plug.

[Glenn Clabo]

Dennis,
I've followed this chart...or one like it for a while and find it works if you also use a lubricate. I used soap for a long time until someone told me that it reacts to brass so I switched to good old wax.

Wood Screw Hole Size Recommendations (http://www.waltergogelco.com/charts/WOODSCREWHOLESIZERECOMMENDATIONS.PDF)

Just remembered that my first boss who used to do all the stairs used to rub the nails and screws in his hair to make them work better. Of course that was when everyone used Brylcreem.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Dennis

You can get a "wood screw" tapered drill bit that should help.

http://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/catalog/images/248-0010.jpg

I also like Bob's method of taping the holes with a steel screw first. The drop of epoxy is another nice idea. A little soap or candle wax on the threads can reduce the effort required to drive the screw.

One last idea. Drill out the holes with a 1/4" bit, fill the hole with a 1/4" dowel of softer wood that will be less likely to break the brass screws.

Good luck

Richard

[Lee Schierer]

Use bees wax on the threads. It will reduce your breakage problem significantly. Just drag the screw threads acroos the piece of wax. Be careful useing soap as most contain oils which will leave a stain in the wood and will also draw moisture. Parafin doesn't stick to the screws as well as bees wax. Some folks also dip the screws in Johnson paste wax before installing them.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Thanks for the ideas. I've been using wax on the threads and it makes the screws go in easier, but it doesn't seem to help the breaking problem. I'm not sure what size they are (#2 maybe), but the screws are very small and it takes almost no torque to twist the heads off. The only good thing about the whole mess is the heads are breaking off which leaves some of the shank sticking out of the wood so they are easy to remove.

Richard, what size bits are those in the picture? I need a really small set for these screws.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Dennis

The ones pictured are for screw sizes 6 - 12 The smallest being 1/8". That would be much to large for your screws. I included the picture as an example of the type of bit. I don't know if anyone makes a #2 sized taper bit. For something that small you might make your own. Take a nail and file the taper, then file each side flat for the cutting edges. Of course a nail would go dull after just a few holes. But the same process could be used on a broken HSS drill bit. That could last a lot longer. I would try the nail first to see if a tapered hole made any difference.

A word of warning about the fluted taper drill bits. They grab wood and easly pull themselves in. You need a stop or the bit can easly pull itself in to far.

Thanks

[Noah Alkinburgh]

Getting a set of gimlets. They are really good for this type of thing. I usually use an awl to start the hole, but I have not used anything as dense as jatoba. Also a small finishing nail might work well too.

The gimlets are nice as they thread the hole.

Noah