screws, screws and more screws!

[Monkeh]

but stainless knives, and bolts used on motorbikes, are generally hard and sturdy.

Not nearly as hard as you think. Most stainless cannot be hardened. The average stainless steel bolt you might use on a bike is a pathetically weak little thing in the world of bolts.

 

[catlad]

I have as little to do with s/steel screws as possible due to there weekness.

 

[Rsenal]

Wirox i believe is a coating that is specific to Spax screws to prevent rust. Comes with a 15 year red rust guarantee.

Stainless steel screws will be strong enough for 99% of jobs. They are used in boat building all the time so that should give you an idea.

 

[EddieM]

I use stainless for outside work, but if I did a lot, the cost would mount up.

luckily the price seems to have been falling, but unluckily they seem to have got softer.

I can understand the point, but I feel the screws generally form only a small part of the projects cost with the bonus that they are effectively fit and forget.

I find stainless screws snap a lot more than normal silver screws, and only use them when I have to.

That's because they're softer. Half way to the horror that is brass.

Nope stainless is harder on the rockwell scale.

 

[^woody^]

There is a difference between metal hardness and shear strength of screws

In any case, its no good using fixings which last longer than the timber being held togther

 

[Monkeh]

I use stainless for outside work, but if I did a lot, the cost would mount up.

luckily the price seems to have been falling, but unluckily they seem to have got softer.

I can understand the point, but I feel the screws generally form only a small part of the projects cost with the bonus that they are effectively fit and forget.

I find stainless screws snap a lot more than normal silver screws, and only use them when I have to.

That's because they're softer. Half way to the horror that is brass.

Nope stainless is harder on the rockwell scale.

Uh, really, and which alloys are you comparing?

 

[EddieM]

I use stainless for outside work, but if I did a lot, the cost would mount up.

luckily the price seems to have been falling, but unluckily they seem to have got softer.

I can understand the point, but I feel the screws generally form only a small part of the projects cost with the bonus that they are effectively fit and forget.

I find stainless screws snap a lot more than normal silver screws, and only use them when I have to.

That's because they're softer. Half way to the horror that is brass.

Nope stainless is harder on the rockwell scale.

Uh, really, and which alloys are you comparing?

A2 and mild steel, both alloys.

 

[Monkeh]

A2 and mild steel, both alloys.

304 stainless, B70. 1018 carbon steel, B71. Try again.

 

[EddieM]

A2 and mild steel, both alloys.

304 stainless, B70. 1018 carbon steel, B71. Try again.

Eh? all steels are alloys? according to the rockwell scale stainless is harder, well according the the website I got it from.

 

[Monkeh]

A2 and mild steel, both alloys.

304 stainless, B70. 1018 carbon steel, B71. Try again.

Eh? all steels are alloys? according to the rockwell scale stainless is harder, well according the the website I got it from.

There are a lot of alloys of steel, dear. You say 'mild steel', I figured I'd pick one. 1018 carbon steel, harder than 304 stainless. There are much, much, much harder alloys of both stainless and non-stainless steel.

 

[JohnD]

but for the purpose of this thread, how does it compare with whatever cheap chinese rubbish screws are made of?

 

[Monkeh]

but for the purpose of this thread, how does it compare with whatever cheap chinese rubbish screws are made of?

I don't know, what are they made of?

And what're those supposedly A2 stainless screws made of?

 

[JohnD]

I'm going to assume that A2 screws are made of A2, unless somebody prosecutes Screwfix for breaking the Trades Description Act.

 

[EddieM]

A2 and mild steel, both alloys.

304 stainless, B70. 1018 carbon steel, B71. Try again.

Eh? all steels are alloys? according to the rockwell scale stainless is harder, well according the the website I got it from.

There are a lot of alloys of steel, dear. You say 'mild steel', I figured I'd pick one. 1018 carbon steel, harder than 304 stainless. There are much, much, much harder alloys of both stainless and non-stainless steel.

steel is an alloy, what on earth are you on about? A2 (a standard) stainless is harder (well according to my sources could of course be wrong), but more brittle (hence snapping) than mild steel (no standard) I agree with all of JohnD's statements, re cost and quality.

 

[Monkeh]

steel is an alloy, what on earth are you on about?

Yes, steel is an alloy. Which alloy, exactly, would you like to compare? 1018, 10L14, 4130, 4340?

A2 (a standard) stainless is harder (well according to my sources could of course be wrong), but more brittle (hence snapping) than mild steel (no standard)

Yes, 'mild steel', what is that exactly? YOU DON'T KNOW. 1018 is a mild steel alloy, and it is harder than 304 stainless (A2). There's 12L14, that's even harder yet (B84).

Or you could look at 4340, which is a chrome molybdenum alloy, that's B100.