Wood screws into oak internal

[flh801978]

I'm doing a project with European oak and everything is glued and domino'ed or biscuited
I need to mount some parts with screws
If this was going outside I wouldn't hesitate to use stainless but on an internal piece of furniture is it a no-no to use plated wood screws?


Ian

 

[Wuffles]

I usually use brass, pre-drill though, they can get snappy.

 

[undergroundhunter]

+1 for brass.

Matt

 

[NazNomad]

+2 for brass ... or counterbore & plug steel screws?

 

[Bod]

+3 for brass. Pilot drill, clearance drill, fit and remove steel screw the same size as the brass one to be used finally. Touch of lubrication, I use furniture wax, but almost any other "tallow" as it used to be called will help prevent the brass from ringing off!
Tip of the day.
Use a well fitting screwdriver.

Bod

 

[Jake]

Depends what the parts are. Brass is fine but will look strange if say it is a chrome hinge.

 

[Bod]

Depends what the parts are. Brass is fine but will look strange if say it is a chrome hinge.

Use chrome plated brass screws.
Ferrous metal screws will cause the surrounding wood to turn black in time, plating only slows this down.
Eventually the screw will rot out, removing the rusted remains, is a joyous pastime not!

Bod

 

[Wuffles]

To be fair, if it's a chrome part you're screwing on, wouldn't you just find a matching stainless screw?

 

[flh801978]

I guess I'll have to buy stainless screws as there's 100 or so to instal and I can't be doing with prescrewing with steel before brass and brass only tend to come slotted?
How long would steel last in oak indoors ? Before rotting?

 

[Wuffles]

I guess I'll have to buy stainless screws as there's 100 or so to instal and I can't be doing with prescrewing with steel before brass and brass only tend to come slotted?
How long would steel last in oak indoors ? Before rotting?

Depends on the oak I expect, it's more the marking of the wood that can be an issue as I understand it - for the first little while anyway.

 

[Benchwayze]

I usually use brass, pre-drill though, they can get snappy.

Being fussy, I do all the installing with steel screws first then change them for brass screws afterwards. I find it less stressful that way; I hate messing about with sheared screws! :twisted:

 

[Beau]

You mention it being oak, is this because you concerned about the corrosive properties of oak on screws? If inside I would not worry about this at all. If the screws are not on show I would just use whatever your favoured steel screws. Nothing wrong with plated screws IME if it's just for show.

 

[flh801978]

Yes it was the corrosive action the staining a slight second as the screws won't be seen

 

[custard]

Another vote for brass. But a good result is still far from guaranteed. You need to,

-pre-screw with a precisely matching steel screw to cut the threads
-wax the brass screw
-use a perfectly fitting screwdriver to keep the slot pristine
-if you're really aiming for perfection then polish the screw heads on 1200 grit wet and dry before installing to get rid of any small scratches
-and trickiest of all, source good quality brass screws. The fact is the great majority of brass screws today are total carp, badly made from soft grades of brass that aren't up to the job. "New/Old" stock of GKN brass screws are usually reliable, but expensive and odd sizes are hard to find. I now source brass screws from a couple of US based suppliers, the freight and import duty charges are a pain, but the quality makes it worth while.

Good luck!

 

[woodpig]

I'd use stainless, these in particular.

https://www.squarescrews.co.uk/product/ ... crew-4x25/

 

[skipdiver]

Stainless for me. Brass screws are too much of a faff and i've never been keen on the look of brass.