screws in sides

[rmckdo]

how come it seems it is much harder to screw in the side panels? I am having trouble stripping heads and unable to completely sink the screws even with pilot hole...any tricks?

[ken connors]

i dont know what type of wood youre screwing into, but ive heard some say they keep a bar of soap next to the screws and scrape the screw lightly across the soap to pick up a little lubrication. my stringers were doug fir, so the screws went in easily.

[rmckdo]

ss screws and douglas fir stringers

[Robert Cox]

I used Douglas Fir stringers and had to be careful not to sink the screws clean through the plywood.

I usually found that when I started stripping screws I needed to change to a new bit. The old one was getting worn.

Bob

[Chris Gerkin]

I didn't use countersinks on the sides but my Stringers are SYP.

[Guest]

I take it you are screwing into the batten? Well I am not sure what you are using, but I Assume you are screwing into the end grain, on the bottom, versus the side. Your counterbore maybe too small for your screw size . It sounds, also, like the grade of your screws could be less than ideal. Are you using a driver drill? Many times, a regular drill will do this also. It heats up the screw, and weakens it. Its hard to believe that this is happening with fir battens.

[Simon]

Chris, what did you do instead of countersinking the screws?

[Barry Pyeatt]

Rob,

Part of it could be the angle you are working at. That could make it a little awkward. Try to keep the drill body aligned straight with the screw. Speed is not the goal, straight, steady pressure is.

If you are working at an upward angle it is an not a natural angle to work. So take your time and it will go better.

If you are using the correct sized pilot drill/countersink, then I would check to make certain that the pilot hole is drilled to the correct depth. Quite often Doug Fir is pretty hard and the application of either bar soap or candle wax to the screws by pulling the screw across the bar/candle before screwing in inplace will make it a lot easier. I wouldn't try to pull the head of the screw into the plywood to any depth however. Just bring it below the surface. You will be filling over it and covering it. Just draw it up tight so it is solidly inplace.