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I am building a double adirondack chair and wondering which type of fastener to use? The chair would be redwood with cedar slats.
A carpenter's house is never done.
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I have used coated decking screws for over a decade. I've never had one fail. I often disassemble old items and reuse the screws as they are still good.
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I'll use either one. I used the construction screws (coated) last time. The screws I guess add strength as I use glue anyway. The screws are just to clamp it together while the glue cures- except on real stress joints or end joints.
I recess the screws a little to miss the sander and they get a clear coat, if not recessed, they need to be treated screws and not subject to being sanded.
I removed almost all the screws from one Adirondack chair I made and it is still holding up just fine. Glue is very strong indeed.
If it is going to be in the direct rain, leaving the screws in is a good thing.
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I wouldn't use brass screws but I would use bronze. Unless the heads are going to be buried under the surface, I'd prefer bronze oval head slotted screws over deck screws mainly for the appearance. This is one of the occasions when I would use slotted heads.
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If I was building outdoor furniture, id go Stainless Steel screws.
Zero chance of rust or corrosion. Nothing wrong with deck screws....but its like making something out of wood with drywall screws.
Once Favre hangs it up though, it years of cellar dwelling for the Pack. (Geoff 12-18-07)
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packerguy® said:
If I was building outdoor furniture, id go Stainless Steel screws.
Zero chance of rust or corrosion. Nothing wrong with deck screws....but its like making something out of wood with drywall screws.
Ugh...I just rebuilt a fence gate yesterday that was originally constructed entirely with drywall screws. Who thinks of these things?
That said, I use them all interchangeably. On my custom Adirondacks (loveseats and benches) I use stainless carriage bolts and coated deck screws. On the wedding arbor I built for own ceremony, I mixed stainless screws and bronze screws. I use Torx or square drive only and recess all of them.
Zinc will react with most woods and create lovely black stains. Anything that will rust will create rust stains and break off in the hole, leaving it useless.
Given a choice between one or the other, I'd take the Torx coated screws every time.
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Brass screws break easily. So do stainless. Deck screws can be reused. The difference is in the assembly and the look. I love square drives, but still have an image situation with the look.
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If appearance is an issue, you can recess them with a counterbore and plug the hole. I'd opt for deck screws. Strength and corrosion resistance. Stainless are OK if you pre-drill, but they are expensive.
K. L, McReynolds said:
Brass screws break easily. So do stainless. Deck screws can be reused. The difference is in the assembly and the look. I love square drives, but still have an image situation with the look.
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Allan Hill
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DaveR1 said:
I wouldn't use brass screws but I would use bronze.]
Sorry, I meant bronze as I was going to get them from the boating store. I had bought a box of the two sizes I needed. The design called for #8 screws but I had #6 for the 1 5/8" and #10 for the 2 1/2" and was going to go to the store today to get #8s deck screws but decided to go with what I had and started assembly last night. Now I got to figure out how i want to finish the chair when done. I'm thinking cetol.
A carpenter's house is never done.
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photobug said:
[blockquote]DaveR1 said:
I wouldn't use brass screws but I would use bronze.]
Sorry, I meant bronze as I was going to get them from the boating store. I had bought a box of the two sizes I needed. The design called for #8 screws but I had #6 for the 1 5/8" and #10 for the 2 1/2" and was going to go to the store today to get #8s deck screws but decided to go with what I had and started assembly last night. Now I got to figure out how i want to finish the chair when done. I'm thinking cetol.
[/blockquote]
Very good.
I like the Cetol. I use it on my boat which sits outside year round. I use the Cetol Marine Light as a sort of stain because it is low in solids and lets the grain show through. Then I put three coats of Cetol Marine which is clear and has a satin finish.
