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Measuring Fasteners: Using a Fastener Gauge

How To Measure FastenersMeasuring Fasteners

Measuring fastener gauges come in many shapes and sizes. We’ve seen paper print outs, rulers and measuring devices before but when we found this one we liked it so much we made it available on our store to give you the same ease of measuring we now use.

Click here to buy this fastener measuring tool.

Measuring Diameter

This measuring tool works for both imperial and metric sizing. You can find the size of a bolt or screw by placing it into one of the circular cut outs. These cut outs are very close to the size of the bolt or screw providing a distinct fit for determining a diameter of the fastener.



Measuring Length

Once you have your fastener diameter, the next step is to measure the length. This tool easily allows you to measure fastener length up to 6 inches. Simply place your fastener head at the end of the ruler and measure the length of your fastener.

Note: While many fasteners are measured from the underside of their head to the tip, flat head fasteners are measured from the top to the tip. To facilitate this, this measuring tool comes with an etched area on the other side of the ruler to sit the head in for an accurate reading every time.

Measuring Nuts

This gauge also has cut notches that protrude from the sides which can be used to measure nuts. Simply slide a nut onto one of these notches. It should fit snug on the notch to give you an accurate size.

Why Do Some Bolts Have Shoulders?

Why Do Some Bolts Have Shoulders?

There are many different types of bolts available for use. From carriage bolts to hex cap screws, many of them can be seen sporting a shoulder (area near the head of the bolt without threading). But why? What does this area do?

Shoulder or Shank?

A shoulder or shank is a term that can be used to describe this unthreaded portion of a bolt. For different types of fasteners the appearance of a shank can mean different things. We made a post a while back about why would screws have a shank; Bolts have a shank for an entirely different reason though.

Bolt Shoulders

Bolt Shoulders exist for two reasons. The first is to create an area on the bolt where sheering is less likely to occur. If a load is pulling sideways against the unthreaded area of a bolt then the bolt will be less likely to snap as the areawhere the pressure is being placed is stronger than the threaded portion. The second reason for a shank is to allow for more versatile uses. This shank can act as an area for something attached to the bolt to be moved around.



Why Do Wood Screws Have A Shank?

Why Do Wood Screws Have A Shank?

It’s time to start your next wood working project. Grab your tools from the garage, find a box of screws, and wood, cut and ready to be installed. You start driving your first screw and boom, it stops and snaps. You try again, same thing. Then you realize you are using sheet metal screws, not wood screws! One quick trip to AlbanyCountyFasteners.com offers a quick fastener fix and your package shows up in the mail few days later filled with deck screws and wood screws. Hastily, you grab the package in excitement and run out to your shop to continue your work. Open the box and wait, what’s that? Why do these screws have an un-threaded portion? That can’t be right…Why would you want that?

It is one of the most misunderstood designs in the industry. Why is there a shank (shoulder) on a wood screw? If a wood screw was threaded all the way up, it would overheat and snap. Before we can explain why this happens, let’s start with the basics.

What Is A Wood Screw?

A wood screw is a screw made up of a head, shank and threaded body. Since the entire screw is not threaded, it is common to call these screws partially threaded (PT).

Head The head of a screw is the portion that contains the drive and is considered the top of the screw. Most wood screws are Flat heads. Other common heads: Oval, Round, Hex, Modified Truss, Trim Flat.
Shank The shank is the smooth portion of a wood screw which has no threads and begins immediately beneath the head.
Threaded Portion The threads start just below the shank and extend all the way to the tip of the screw.



Now that we know what the different sections of a screw are, we can begin to understand what exactly happens during screw installation.

The unthreaded shank of a screw has dual purposes.

The First Purpose

First, when a screw that is fully threaded is driven into wood, this screw can connect two pieces of material together but it will not pull the two pieces against each other; once the head reaches the material, the screw will stop spinning.

Having an unthreaded shank at the top allows the tip of a wood screw to pull the screw into the wood just as a regular screw would. The difference is that the shoulder portion of the screw will actually slide through the first layer of wood and pull it against the head. This causes compression from the head to the threads. When installing two pieces of wood together then the first will be pulled tightly against the second one. The threads can continue to pull forward as long as enough torque is applied. Coincidentally, this can also make the removal process much easier than trying to remove a fully threaded screw.

*Note: This process of continuing to tighten after a wood screw reaches the head and snug wood together is known as over-tightening and may cause damage as the head is pulled to forcefully into the wood.

The Second Purpose

Second, when a fully threaded screw is being screwed into wood the screw threads cause friction. This friction results in the screw heating up. This causes two flaws in the material. As the metal heats up it will begin to expand. Once it expands inside of a hole that was drilled for a specific sized screw, the screw will seize in the hole. At the same time, the materials overall strength has now also been compromised due to the heat. Overheating  leads to a screw breaking and snapping.

These two factors will highlight any flaws the screw may have and exploit them. This typically results in bending or snapping of the screw. So, how can a shank help? The shank allows for heat dispersion in a screw. As the threads begin creating heat, it moves up into the shank which will take longer to heat up and will not generate nearly the same amount of friction when it goes through the wood.

This unthreaded shoulder will minimize the amount of heat a screw generates upon install thus keeping it from expanding in size and compromising the materials strength.



Conclusion

To conclude, the shank of a wood screw is used to tightly compress two pieces of wood against each other and minimize the heating up of the screw caused by friction. This results in a strong firm hold between two wooden materials with little effort, and just as importantly, no broken screws.

Other information

Looking for more information about screws? Check out our Screws blog post to learn about many different types of screws.

We also recommend using lubrication when installing wood screws into very hard wood. A DIY option that is available is simply adding soap to the fastener. Soap acts as a natural lubricant but it should be noted that many soaps have glycerin in them which can actually attract moisture. This can result in fasteners deteriorating faster than expected.

A full blown solution is to use MRO Anti-Seize Solution. Not only will this lubricate your nails before installation but it can also add a protective coating to deter from corrosion!

Finishing Cup Washers Install

Create A Clean Look With Finish Washers

Finishing cup washers are indented washers used with either oval or flat head screws. These washers are designed to create a flush finish, often seen on furniture.

Installing Finishing Cup Washers

The installation of these washers is very simple. There are two basic types of these washers. The photo on the left shows a standard black oxide cup washer and the photo on the right shows a stainless steel cup washer with a flange around the outside.

finishing cup washers              stainless steel finish cup washers

Installation

When installing these washers it is important to only snug them. These washers do not sit perfectly upon the installation material and over-tightening them will begin to distort their shape.

brass cup washers  installing finishing cup washers

The Finished Product

Once installed you can see that finish cup washers create a very clean look around a screw head making it appear to be intentionally exposed, instead of just sticking out.

installed finishing cup washers

Albany County Fasteners carries a variety of these washers in many different materials to help you find the right tool for the job. Check out Finishing Cup Washers page to see our selection of cup washers.



Installing Wedge Anchors

Installing Wedge Anchors in Concrete

Wedge anchors are fasteners designed for use in masonry materials (most commonly concrete) and used to secure materials and equipment. Concrete wedge anchors are designed to go into a pre-drilled hole and expand, creating a grip so they cannot be “pulled out” or removed. Today we will be reviewing the proper installation of a post base into a concrete floor.



What will you need?

Before we begin let’s make sure we have the proper tools for the job.

Step One

The first thing you need to do when installing a wedge anchor is choose the proper anchor material. Wedge anchors come in many materials and all serve different purposes. Stainless steel and hot dip galvanized are two very popular wedge anchor materials, but the correct material varies by application. Not sure what material you need? Check out our Material Guide to learn about all the different materials available.

wedge anchors

Step Two

Once you’ve chosen a material, its time to get your drill ready. When installing a wedge anchor, it’s important to have a minimum of 2-1/2 inches embedded into the concrete. There should also be at least an inch exposed, enough for the attaching material to grab onto. To measure ours, we placed the wedge anchor about an inch below the tip of the SDS drill bit and then used blue painters tape to mark off the drill where we should stop drilling.  Marking the stop point with blue tape will allow you to drill consistent holes and prevent you from over/under drilling.

Step Three

drilling into concrete

Now that we’ve applied our drill bit with tape, its time to begin the drilling. BUT NOT SO FAST. First we need to put on our safety goggles and gloves, always wear safety gear when cutting. Now that you are safe and ready to work, simply apply pressure to the place you want to drill and let the bit begin to do its work. Once your drill bit reaches the blue painters tape, you will know that the hole has reached the necessary depth and you can stop drilling.

Step Four

hammering in wedge anchorsCarefully brush away any of the debris from drilling to clear the hole and begin installation of the anchor. The next step is to insert the masonry anchor into the hole. It should be a very tight fit and will need to be hammered into place. The end result should leave about an inch (or more depending on how much room you need) above the surface to allow for anchoring.

wedge anchor ready for post base

Now that the anchor is installed we can apply the post base, square washer, and nut to the wedge anchor. After placing them on, you screw the nut onto the wedge anchor creating a strong, sturdy anchoring station. Now that you’ve completed the installation, take a step back and admire your handiwork. This post base is now ready for the next step in your building project.

ratcheting on postbase                     Anchored postbase