brass or steel...or frerson

[QuickMick]

Hi guys. Ive been refitting the cabin of my boat, and have recently completed the refinishing of wood and am in the process of installing the soon to be newly added trim. I originally bought brass screws/washers, as I thought aesthetically they would look the best. two screws--two stripped...DOH! Should I predrill? Other then color is there a reason not to go with stainless?

then I just came across the frerson silicone brass jobbies... bought a few to try... while the color is more 'brassy' are they tougher then the buttery brass?

any tips appreciated.
thanks
Quinn

[deniseO30]

the brass they sell at home centers isn't real brass it's real soft too. it won't hold up to anykind of saltwater. bronze or stainless only way to go. always predrill Quinn! a good set of tapered drill bits with counter sinks is best.

[tommays]

You need to drill with any screw as it will take a LOT of extra force as you found and depending on what your putting them into it can also split the wood

You should be able to find a wood screw chart with pilot drill sizes online and most home stores sell pilots with a counter sink for different screw sizes

[mitiempo]

Quinn
Always predrill. It's economical to pick one size of screw, say #8, and buy a good countersink that size that's adjustable for length. I always use stainless but understand brass might look better in some applications. Brass is ok inside but will be softer. I use Robertson heads which I've seen advertised in Woodenboat as "new squarehead screws" but they've been around all my life. They're a Canadian invention. Below is a set of countersinks I found at Home Depot for $25.

[tager]

It's not true that you always need to, or even always should predrill. However, when working with wood trim, you should predrill in almost every case. Some wax helps a lot too. I would go with stainless screws. As interior trim fasteners, bronze, brass, stainless should all be similar functionally. I would go with bronze for aesthetics.

Examples of cases where predrilling is unnecessary would be in decking, installation of lag screws, self tapping sheet metal screws etc.

[QuickMick]

The function is for the interior... so i was only thinking in terms of beautification...given the age of her (72) i thought the brass fitting would be fitting (har t har) but must admit i didnt consider bronze.

as an adendum to the 'wax idea' twisting your screws sideways on a bar of soap does a great job too.... i didnt consider countersinking, as i was using brass grommets (washers?) to enhance the finish effect.

[tager]

One time I knocked my head on a "safety washer" like that, can't say it was a lot nicer than hitting my noggin on a flush mounted fastener. Had a bump for days.

[deniseO30]

think they are called "finish washers" they look like one side of a grommet. Brass will get more yellow with varnish on it, sometimes it turns black from the tannin in the woods. it does look good against dark wood not like SS.

[mitiempo]

tager
You should always predrill. You only want the threads to bite the wood, you don't want the screw to try and split whatever it is you're driving it into. You wouldn't predrill for this?

lagscrew

[QuickMick]

tager,
was it the heel, the wine, or the beer?