FASTENERS 101: Five Fasteners You Should Know About

Updated on July 8th, 2021

By: Steve Maxwell

VIDEO BELOW: There are dozens of different kinds of fasteners in the world and you can safely forget about most of them for building and maintaining things around the home, farm and cottage. But there are five types of fasteners that you’ll find indispensable when it comes to making good things happen at your place. Keep a supply of these fasteners on hand and it’ll grease the wheels of your DIY system.

Fasteners#1: Self Drilling Screws

fasteners-tel — Generically called a “TEK” screw, these self-drilling screws are useful for joining plastic and metal. The TEK screw here is holding down the box liner in my truck.

You may not need to screw things to plastic, hardwood or sheet metal every day, but when you do, these screws can’t be beat. Sometimes called TEK screws after the brand that made them popular. TEK screws have a hex-shaped head at one end (something like a bolt), with a pointy tip at the other end that’s shaped like a drill bit.

Spin the fastener in a drill and it bores into most hard materials, creating just the right size hole for the screw threads to grip. Continue spinning until the screws tightens down.

Effective do-it-yourself work depends on organizing yourself so it’s easy to succeed. And this means keeping essential fasteners on hand so you can get stuff done instead of fighting your way through a hardware store parking lot every time something at your place begins to unravel. Get a case or bag to keep things organized.

Fasteners#2: Deck Screws

Look closely at the threads of this SPAX wood screw and you’ll see small serrations. These help the screw chew into wood more easily, with less of a need for a pilot hole.

This sounds ordinary, but some deck screws are much better than others. Organization of your collection is especially important with parts so small and numbers.

Today’s best deck screws include a serrated thread design. These cut their way into wood much more easily than ordinary wood screws. You can even drive them into hardwood without predrilling a starting hole first.

Deck screws are popular, and there’s a reason why. They’re a cheap, strong and excellent way to join wood. The best versions are highly corrosion resistant, too. You should keep 1 1/2”, 2”, 2 1/2”, 3”, 3 1/2 and 4” lengths on hand. Sounds excessive? It’s not when you realize that proper screw length is such a big deal.

For most applications screw threads should penetrate the underlying wood by at least 1”. More is better. But at the same time, long screws are a problem if it means that screw tips pop out the other side of your work. This is why you’ll appreciate lots of different lengths to choose from. I store my inventory of screws in a couple of nylon “parachute bags”. This keeps everything in good order, yet also accessible for jobs ranging from a rooftop repair to a woodworking project. That’s my parachute bag below.

Multiple compartments make for an ideal screw storage bag. I’ve owned and used this on for more than 20 years.

Fasteners#3: Hot-Dipped Galvanized Bolts & Nails

fasteners_galvanized — The dull, gray carriage bolt head on the left is hot-dipped galvanized and highly corrosion resistant. The shiny, electro-plated bolt on the right will rust quickly outdoors.

Hot-dipped galvanized bolts and nails are different than the shiny, plated fasteners that look similar. Understanding the advantage of galvanizing is critical with today’s pressure treated lumber, too. The dull grey bolt head on the left is hot-dipped galvanized. The shiny bolt is rust-prone electroplated. Got some outdoor construction to do? Hot-dipped galvanized bolts and nails are a minimum for exterior applications. They cost a bit more, but they’re definitely worth it because they won’t rust.

Will you be nailing pressure treated lumber? Today’s rot prevention chemicals are about 5x more corrosive to metal fasteners than older preservative formulations. Go with stainless steel nails in pressure treated wood and you’ll be fine. Plated nails and screws that are specifically rated for use with ‘ACQ’ lumber won’t let you down, either. Just look for the approval sticker on the box. You’ll find that 2 1/2-inch and 3 1/2-inch nails and screws can fasten almost anything you’re faced with outdoors.

Fasteners#4: Pop Rivets

fasteners_pop — This is my pop rivet gun with assorted pop rivets in a tray. Rivets like these are excellent for joining metal, leather and plastic. Aluminum eaves trough and downspouts are best joined with pop rivets, too.

I don’t know why these aren’t more common. You’ll love pop rivets if you give them a try. Put the pop rivet into the gun, squeeze the trigger, then the end of the rivet swells and locks. Pop rivets connect metal, leather and fabric in a neat and quick way.

Drill or punch a hole that is sized to accept the shank of the rivet you’re using. Put a rivet in the installation gun, slip the rivet into the hole, then squeeze the gun handle until you hear a “pop”. This means that the rivet has swollen to full size and the joint is now locked. The operation takes just seconds. Use washers under the heads of pop rivets when you’re joining cloth or leather.

Fasteners#5: Cable Ties

Tie wraps (also called cable ties) have an internal ratchet that allows them to tighten only. Useful for binding up wires, pipes, hose and small stored items, they come in different lengths and colours.

Super useful for all kinds of binding and tying tasks, cable ties are small bands of plastic designed to bind wires, small tubes and bundles of things. One end of the tie feeds into a slot in the other end and only goes one way. You can tighten a cable tie, but it won’t come apart again. They’re made of nylon and amazingly strong.

The best way to buy cable ties is as an assortment of sizes ranging from 2” to 10” in length. For outdoor applications, choose black cable ties so they won’t break down in sunlight.

Looking for a good screwdriver to drive fasteners? Click below for a detailed tour of one of the best interchangeable screwdriver on the market today.

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