Corrugated fastener disasters...

[keelbolt]

I'm making a garden gate, and decided to use corrugated fasteners to join the horizontal bearers to the 45 degree braces. However, on trying to hammer in the fasteners, they all bend, buckle, collapse, or generally make a horrid mess of the join.

Is there a trick to using these little wonders, or do I need to go back to drilling holes and using long screws to join a 45 degree brace to a bearer?

KB

 

[big-all]

oooohhh dear

you realy need overlaping joints to give the relivent strength

assuming you are butt joining say 3x1 timber pilot and countersink 1"and use 4" screws not ideal but needs must
realy imposible to comment without a a picture or diagram off the components

the trick with corrigated joiners is to save the cost off buying them

 

[Symptoms]

keel - the secret of inserting these fasteners is to alternatively strike each end it with the hammer until they are maybe ½ way in, then drive in fully to allow them to draw the timbers together. If you look at these fasteners you'll see that each ½ slopes outwards (and away from the opposite end) so you need to bury each end separately as above. Using them too close to an edge often results in them chopping-out sections of timber.