Having bought screws just the other day, I was exasperated at how I could not figure out how long the screw actually is between my thumb and finger cause they’re in a sealed box.
But I knew exactly which material they have been plated/hardened with. 🤷
So, I understand why you posted this.
And the info about the (pre) drilling is just 😙👌
Generally screw length is measured by how deep it will go into the material. For instance a countersunk screw would be measured from the top of the head to the end of the screw. A pan head screw would be measured from the bottom of the head to the end of the screw.
Yes, no need to guess or to do test holes to see which drill size is correct
While I’m certainly no handyman, I usually just hold the drill bit to the screw to find one slightly smaller, then just use that.
I am fairly handy and have never had that method fail for anything except screwing into thick metal, in which case I’m tapping threads and using a bolt anyway.
Except for the German translation, which was either made by an idiot or Google translate…
Surely is an einzelfaden lol
I suspect that they’re all like that.
Dutch as well. I don’t think “enkeldraad” is a good way to translate “single thread” when talking about screw threads.
Huh, that’s pretty normal around here. But the German translation of “thread” is wrong. Literally unusable screw, light it on fire immediately.
In spanish it says it is a yellow single thread, no mention to screws
Wrong word for thread though. Should be rosca
In German it should be Gewinde.
Sideways on the corner of the box, “tornillo multiusos”
I love how evocative the word tornillo is. In my mind it translates as “little twisty thing”.
A bricklayer will try to use these with a hammer.
The internet has ruined me because I looked at the part code and snickered.
God damnit XD
Strange that it recommends a 5.5mm drill bit for a 6 - 8mm plugs. I don’t even remember seeing masonry bits of that size and for all the plugs I have I’ve always used the same size drill bit.
I am a complete amateur, but the box fits my experience.
If you use same size drill as the plug, the whole will be too big, and the plug is not fitting tight and firm enough, so the screw will just rotate the plug in the whole.
Especially in old brittle cement and “mortar” you need to be careful not to use too big a drill.“Mortar” as the cement like material used when building a brick wall. I hope I’m using the correct word.
This might be true for some cheap brands, but it’s certainly not true for any of the tens of thousands of plugs I’ve installed over my career. The plug diameter indicates the hole size you need to drill - 6mm hole for a 6mm plug, 8mm hole for an 8mm plug, and so on. The instructions here simply cannot be correct, as 6mm and 8mm plugs require different-sized drill bits, yet the packaging only mentions a 5.5mm bit. The only exception I can think of is concrete screws that don’t need a plug: 6mm is correct for concrete, but for more porous materials like cinder blocks, you use a 5.5mm bit.
Judging by the fact that people in this thread are finding translation errors in the text there I’m assuming that’s what has happened with the measurements too.
Here’s the instructions for 6x30mm Fischer DuoPower Plugs for example.
I only see length on that box???
Also the image shows th plug sticking out, and as (2)40 mm, with something else that is unclear to me as (2)35mm.
Personally by the quality shown, the illustrations are useless to me.The plug is 6mm meant for 4-5 mm screws, there is no indication of drill sizes that I can se.
There is also a measure on the right of (2) 12.5 mm which is completely unclear what is for?I don’t see how the image supports your point?
Rawl brand have these notes on the plastic, which I think is neat.
Brown plug, 7mm hole, 5-6mm screw.
Even a little gauge to go with it.
Pretty cleary states the drill dimension right here
There is also a measure on the right of (2) 12.5 mm which is completely unclear what is for?
It means that the board you’re attaching to needs to be atleast 12.5mm thick for the plug to work properly.
and as (2)40 mm, with something else that is unclear to me as (2)35mm.
The hole needs to be atleast 40mm deep and the screw must be long enough that when accounted for the thickness of the material you’re attaching it needs to be atleast 35mm into the plug.
They’re mixing up their metric and imperial sizes. These are from Forgefix, which are a British company. Many British people aged about 55 and over tend to still use imperial sizes for some things.
So it’s not 6-8mm, but "the size of wall plug for 6-8 gauge screws, which are 3.5mm - 4mm screws in metric.
Strangely, if you buy a multipack of masonry bits, they give you 3, 4, 6, 8, 10mm bits. Some brands of wall plugs tend to use 5.5mm, 6.5mm, 7mm. It is a conspiracy!
Your options are:
- Use a smaller drill bit and wiggle it, just a little bit
- Use a larger drill bit and pack it out with a shim/matchstick/chopped off half-a-wallplug
- Individually buy the masonry bits which correspond to the plugs
- Buy a different brand of wall plug, which uses 6mm or 8mm bits
What is pozi compatible recess?
Pozidrive is a type of screwhead like Phillips head. Its shape is similar to a Phillips head, but it has indentations at the inside corners of the “cross” (the black silhouette of the screwhead on the OP packaging shows this better than I can explain it). Pozidrive screwdrivers have lobes that slot into these indentations. IIRC, pozidrive is supposed to have less chance of camming out of the screw and stripping the head than Phillips.
Pozi compatible recess means that you’ll be able to use a pozidrive screwdriver with these screws.
As a guy who rides Japanese motorcycles, giv me JIS, or give me death.
Poor one out for all the poor vintage Japanese motorcycle with stripped screws because some troglodyte just mashed them up with a Phillips.
Unless you use a regular Philips head with them and then they have a hire chance of camming out 🙂.
It’s a scheme
