The right screws for oak worksurface?

[Jimbo]

Hi All,

Got a nice 40mm Oak worksurface all cut, joined and oiled. Currently it's just resting on the kitchen units and some wall battening.

I need to fix the worksurface to the battening and to the units. I've got stretcher plates and plan to drill oversized holes in the unit front rails to allow for movement.

What are the best screws to use for screwing into the oak? I've heard various reports of Turbogold shearing unless full bore pilot holes are drilled, and obviously oak is a hard wood.

Alternatively I could use Quicksilver, or.... what else? Any recommendations?

Thanks
J

 

[pinenot]

Brass screws work well in oak as over time little oxidation develops around the hole, as it does with most other screws I've experienced. The best thing is to rub some soap on the screw thread, this makes it easy to penetrate the pilot hole and leaves a coating in place...boss.hogg

 

[Dave54]

Brass is the usual choice for oak, because of the reaction with steel as already said. Having said that I've never really had a big problem with plated steel in brass as long as it's indoors and somewhere dry, and the timber itself is dry to start with.
One trick using brass screws, especially the modern ones which appear to be made of a particularly nasty brittle grade of brass, is to run a steel screw the same size into the pilot first. Lubricate as already said.