Early Christmas Present

[oldclaypaws]

I nearly bought 75mm Timberdrives, but then had a think about it. Theres 50mm of the pre-drilled 'ladder' to go through first (or a bit more if going in at a bit of an angle, square of hypotenuse and all that), you want a good 'bite' into the log, but very importantly, the reason you're taking off the top of the log is it isnt flat; its irregular and there will be gaps between the log and the ladder. You cant assume the ladder and log will be in contact all along its length, so you need a bit extra screw length to stretch over the 'gap' where they aren't in contact and might end up with only 10-40mm actually penetrating the log.

I didnt realise "Phillips heads were designed to cause the driver to cam out, to prevent overtightening". Well, they certainly succeed in camming out! I like the look of Torx screws.

[SimonFisher]

I nearly bought 75mm Timberdrives, but then had a think about it

I keep a stock of timber screws of different lengths as I use them when I'm making up crates from pallets and other acquired 'scrap' wood for storing logs in for seasoning. With a head that doesn't disappear below the surface like a regular woodscrew might in the sort of timber I'm using, I can easily find them if/when I need to remove them for dismantling and re-use.

I didnt realise "Phillips heads were designed to cause the driver to cam out, to prevent overtightening". Well, they certainly succeed in camming out! I like the look of Torx screws.

Many people don't realise that Phillips and Pozidriv are different as well. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives for quite a list of screw drive types.

I use Spax Torx Self Countersinking Head Wood Screws. Axminster used to sell them but appear to have stopped in favour of the WoodSpur brand. Tooled-Up.com seem to stock the complete range of sizes http://www.tooled-up.com/SearchBasic.asp?Keywords=spax+torx+self+countersinking+head+wood+screws&SearchType=2