Robertson Screws? Drywall Screws?

[NW Modeling List]

The negative points about dry wall screws are very valid.  This is starting to remind me as a former field service engineer (non-graduate) of dealing with the degreed/graduate engineers back in the office.............  Truly Robinson Screws would be superior.  Yet my experience having constructed 3 large model railroads in the last 17 years, 1 in a 400 sq ft room and 2 including my present model railroad in 800 sq ft finished buildings, using 1X4's and dry wall screws I have never encountered a structural problem or failure under load.  At 200 lbs I have crawled all over the tops of my layouts without any problems.  Certainly jumping up and down on the layout and creating very high momentary loading that could easily fail dry wall screws.  I do doubt that any of us would do or allow this to take place on their model railroad.

Again for my 2 cents.......dry wall screws are inferior to Robinson Screws but in this application (assuming good construction practices are utilized in building the benchwork)  they offer more than the required strength and safety factor needed for a benchwork type application.

Ed Painter; Narrows, Virginia......currently living in Russellville, AR.



From: nw-modeling-list-bounces at nwhs.org [mailto:nw-modeling-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Modeling List
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 3:13 PM
To: NW Modeling List
Subject: RE: Robertson Screws? Drywall Screws?

There are two primary differences between drywall screws and square head wood screws. The first is that a square head driver is much less likely to slip and strip the screw head when driving. The second issue is that drywall screws are not intended for wood to wood application. They are made of a very strong but brittle material that can snap suddenly under load. If you've ever done drywall removal, the easiest way to remove the screws is to hit them sideways with a hammer. They will snap off right at the face of the stud. Wood screws are much more ductile and are designed to pull two pieces of wood together. Counterboring and countersinking are part of the process in hard wood, just as drilling a clearance hole is used in using metal screws.


Danial Fisher

________________________________
From: NW Modeling List [mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org]
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 6:02 PM
To: nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org
Subject: Re: Robertson Screws? Drywall Screws?

Matt, in my experience the square drive bit just simply holds the screw better so no slipping, stripping or falling off the bit. Sorry I didn't sign my previous post.
 Doug Langlitz



-----Original Message-----
From: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>
To: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Fri, Oct 29, 2010 5:50 am
Subject: Re: Robertson Screws? Drywall Screws?

I actually sent this to the wrong list, but still got fantastic responses.












 Thanks Ed and Ed.
























To the writer of the below (my apologies, I am unable to address you by name),












what made the square drives superior?
























Matt Goodman





































>














>From: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>>














>To: nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>














>Sent: Thu, October 28, 2010 6:38:45 PM














>Subject: Re: Robertson Screws?  Drywall Screws?














>














>While helping a friend build the benchwork for his Milwaukee layout we started














>with Philips head drywall screws then switched about 1/4 of the way through to














>Square drive screws. The Square drives were far superior in my opinion. We also






































>predrilled and countersunk everything. The screws came from a place called














>McFeely's that specializes in square drives.














>














>














>














>














>














>














>














>-----Original Message-----














>From: NW Modeling List <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>>














>To: NW Modeling <nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>>














>Sent: Thu, Oct 28, 2010 3:37 pm














>Subject: RE: Robertson Screws?  Drywall Screws?














>














>














> I've used nothing but drywall screws of varying lengths - mainly 2" and 2














>1/2".  Work great, go in easy and a lot cheaper than "normal wood screws".













Also













>














>less apt to strip the head if you have to change something (if?????).














>














>Ed Svitil














>Norfolk & Western Railway














>














>














>














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>














>














>> Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:37:38 +0100














>> Subject: Robertson Screws? Drywall Screws?














>> To: nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>














>> From: nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org<mailto:nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org>














>>














>> The Canadians mentioned these on show 24 <grin>. I was scratching my head













until













>>














>>














>> Pierre volunteered the square drive clarification.














>>














>> Question: Why these over a Phillips head? Both would seem to offer the













benefit













>














>














>> of self-centering of the driver, and, on the surface at least, the Phillips














>> would seem to have an advantage of a longer lever (the squarehead screws I've


















































>> seen have much shorter bearing surfaces than a Phillips.














>>














>> What gives?














>>














>> Another question - why not Drywall screws? They have an aggressive thread













with













>














>














>> a thin shank, so self thread well. My intuition is that they would also be













less













>>














>>














>> likely to strip in soft material due to the deeper threads. I've typically













used













>>














>>














>> normal wood screws with pilot holes, especially in areas with a high shear














>>load,














>>














>> but I have used drywall screws on occasion.














>>














>> Thanks














>>














>> Matt Goodman














>>














>>














>>














>> ________________________________________














>> NW-Modeling-List at nwhs.org<mailto:NW-Modeling-List at nwhs.org>














>> To change your subscription go to














>> http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-modeling-list














>> Browse the NW-Modeling-List archives at














>> http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-modeling-list/














>














>________________________________________














>NW-Modeling-List at nwhs.org<mailto:NW-Modeling-List at nwhs.org>














> To change your subscription go to














>http://list.nwhs.org/mailman/options/nw-modeling-list














> Browse the NW-Modeling-List archives at














>http://list.nwhs.org/pipermail/nw-modeling-list/














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________________________________________












NW-Modeling-List at nwhs.org<mailto:NW-Modeling-List at nwhs.org>












To change your subscription go to












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Ma

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