Great test but a tad misleading. "Shear" testing should end in the fasteners breaking, not pulling out. According to a construction text book I have stashed away somewhere, fasteners are 6 times stronger when driven into cross grain at a right angle or five times stronger when toe nailed than when driven into end grain. This is why end grain fastening is always avoided or reinforced in construction applications except where there are no shear forces involved. So repeating this test driving into cross grain should have found actual shear limits of many of the fasteners. And I would be curious to know how accurate my book is. Keep up the great work. Thanks.
Your book is spot on. The methodology he used gave a comparison under equal conditions, but had he screwed into the side of the 4x instead of the endgrain, it would be interesting to see if the the added holding power gained would have caused the screw-heads to pop off vs. the nails. I wonder... He had to know that; I wonder if other than end-grain would have exceeded the limit of his scale? Some of those screws did a lot more bending than I thought they would have, a simple claw on a hammer demonstrates the "sheer" difference pretty quickly when you're pulling them with a hammer, and it's not nearly this close! In fact, it's virtually impossible to pull a screw with the claw of a hammer without breaking off the screw with very, VERY little force applied. You may have noticed the difference when he breaks the screws vs. the nails, the actual solid area is much smaller on the screw than the nail. It's also why we don't use nail-gun nails for door-jams, ETC; those nails (finish) have very little holding power and bend VERY easily compared to hand nails. I'm seeing guys use 100% screws on subfloors now. It goes against everything I was taught, but for a subfloor I suppose it makes good sense. It will ALWAYS boil down to cost and time on the job site....
It's a good thing I looked through the comments, I was about to make the same point. With that said, since the tests are done all the same way, the comparisons probably still are fair.
@@nobodycares85 absolutely. As the results were repeatedly similar, this means the test was accurate to the conditions. Changing the test parameters for other results would certainly be interesting and of value as well. Since wood can split sometimes when you go into the cross grain, I'm wondering of the results will be less repeatable or accurate. I'm thinking cross grain varies in pattern more. This may make testing show too great of a variation in results, but without the testing done this is just a hypothesis.
Just thinking about the work put into this. Between buying the supplies, cutting all the wood, putting in all the nails and screws, testing each one, then going into editing the footage, voice over, and making the graphs. Great work. 😄
His effort and thoroughness are unmatched on the internet when it comes to how simple and "low-budget" (he doesn't have a team of graphic designers or editors) his videos are. I wish I had the resources to contribute to his Patreon, because I feel bad for not paying him for his knowledge. Lol
@@bigmac575 I agree. I've spent dozens of dollars on a RU-vidr who enhanced my profession greatly. It was Google Opinion Rewards. That still hurt some as occasionally I've needed a professional Google Play App and I couldn't. In a way, those bits of suffering made me smile and honored a friend and mentor.
The metal fatigue jig was an inspired idea; it shows that a person can perform his or her own tests, with repeatable results, on the fasteners they want to use, using easily available shop items, and a little ingenuity. Separating facts from hype can be problematic, but in construction, where safety is always an issue and tempting shortcuts abound, it's good to know you can test a fastener's shear strength, pull-out resistance, and proneness to metal fatigue in your own shop after watching this video and applying fairly simple testing principles. Thanks for another great test of the things we all use and rely on to be up to the requirements of the job.
@@rayhai6781 I think hes talking about the screws that just keep the "T" board from slipping out of the C channel. 99% of the pulling force is transmitted to the T board through the C channel itself, not the screws holding the C channel to the T board.
I wish I was your neighbor. I would love to be part of all these tests. I love this sort of stuff, building and testing things for real world scenarios. You’re time and effort you put into these test is second to none. Thank you sir.
I love how you take such a logical, repeatable scientific approach to your work. You have a concept, make appropriate jigs etc to test and then test. Science teachers in high schools should use your videos to show kids how to properly research a thing.
yes, to show them how to science. then we need someone to show everyone how the Socratic method works as well, then we might have a really great world.
I'm here a year after you uploaded this because Hurricane Hanna blew out a 20' section of my 1 x 6 x 6 picket fence and a side gate. Super duper test. You made it easy to choose what to use this time. Found your channel during quarantine and it is the best of all.
@@garyhubley Agreed.... It's instructive for real world applications. He does a wonderful job of testing without the resources of a university, for example.
As a carpenter I find this information extremely valuable. The shocker for me was that ring shank nails can’t tolerate that much movement. They are my go to fasteners in framing applications. But with this info I’ll be sure to avoid them on very old shifting homes which I work on often. Thanks for all the great content!
@@Susan70003 Galvanized if any water or exposure to elements is involved, also with pressure treated. Green vinyl for general framing, ring shanks for particle board underlayment. Reference the building code for size and nailing pattern.
I agree with this request! There are many videos out there of people cutting filters open, but I really want to see the filters put through the Project Farm gauntlet.
As an engineer who has done comparative and destructive testing, I am extremely impressed with what you did here. I wish I had your creativity and perspective when I was in that area of work. I love watching your videos and seeing which products do and do not llive up to the hype.
My pap always said “why put a nail where you can put a screw” I’ve always lived by this statement. I guess the application should be considered before deciding on a fastener. Good work brother
Don’t forget (in the case of decks especially) seasonal and weather caused expansion and contraction of wood, nails allow for some of this movement, while screws do not. The wood is still going to move which means cracks, splits and the shear strength will come into play to some extent.
@@CrJoltFire Sounds about accurate. I had lived in a home with a big porch that was only a few years old, within about 2-3 years it started to crack in some places.
On some applications you use both plus glue. Such as subfloors and especially internal stairs covered in hardwood. Otherwise you get squeaky steps/floors.
THat is ONLY true if you are looking for holding strength. Sheer strength Is based on vertical pressure on a horizontal fastener. holding strength is like a vertical screw pointing up and then pulling down on it.
Haha I'd love to see a guy frame a while house with just screws 😂 imagine the time it would take! Plus then all your fastener joints would fail when the wood moves
man this has to be the most wholesome youtube channel. thank you for all your testing. i also really love all the lawnmower vids, like the piston/head testing. great stuff. its amazing you do all this just for public knowledge , no sponsorship. bravo sir
This is INCREDIBLE. Thank you so much for taking the time to come up with a test strategy like this that puts the fasteners on a level playing field! My wife and I installed our kitchen upper cabinets with 3" deckmate screws. I wasn't thinking about the shear strength design of the screws while we were installing things; I know from experience their holding power is incredible, but kitchen cabinets also put a lot of shear force on the screws too. I started thinking about it today and wondered if we should have used something else, like the GRK's. I'm glad to see how well the deckmate screws did, especially that none of them snapped in raw shear tests! We overbuilt and put screws in every 12", so based on these tests I think we're fine. :) Thank you!
Wife: "hunny, would u like some coffee?" Him : "sure, lets go to the store n buy 6 different brands, n test which 1 is best" Just kidding, love your videos.
damn, id watch that. tests for acidity and whether brewing them cold reduces that (is at least supposed to). with a few brands marketed as stomach friendly in the mix. maybe check if boiling it in a kettle as opposed to a machine makes a difference. along with the affects of milk and sugar. leave a white cup filled with coffee for a month, see how much each brand stains the cup. and ofc a chemical analysis of the caffeine content/cup.
This showed the pull-out strength of the fasterns in end grain more than the sheer strength of them. It ould have been better to fasten them into the side of the 4x4 rather than the end. I think you would have seen a lot more strength from the screws (and some of the nails) and hit the breaking point on more of the screws. I don't know if it would be reasonable/fair/required to have something preventing the piece being pulledon fro moving away from the base piece (again to make sure the failure is sheer, not pullout)
Thanks for the constructive feedback. I've already built the required hardware (in my head) to achieve the objective you're described. I also need to use a much harder wood. The wood I used will come apart before most of the nails and screws shear
This guy is a genius, the test jigs he comes up with and builds are always innovative and ingenious. He always does his tests are always very scientific, and I love how he shows all his statistics he gathers from repeatable tests
@@ProjectFarm Please also include masonry and lead sleeve anchors in solid concrete! I anchored a toilet to basement concrete and I wonder how strong the anchor really is compared to the packaging claim. Thanks for doing this shear test. It makes me feel OK about using some GRK's in a project where I couldn't hammer everywhere.
I'm not an expert, so I'm only asking. Are those tests really testing shear strength? I'm asking because you were pulling them out, and not actually breaking them.
@@kingduckford I agree with the first part, typically his tests are spot on. This one however was just measuring pull out strength in a different direction.
@@kingduckford I wouldn't say it's garbage. It's still applying a lateral load to the fastener. Maybe like how hydraulic press does it. Steel jig, with a 1" hole in the middle, and use a press (if he has one) that can measure applied force, and press down through the 1" hole until the fastener shears. The screws and nails would need to be able to locked in some how, and it would be shearing it at 2 points. But then I am no expert on any of this. I still think the tests ran give a lot of useful info.
This was a very well-designed and useful test. You are a genius at devising practical tests on things that people actually use and need to know about. I have one comment on the shear strength test with the fastener being inserted into the center of the 4x4 - as I watched this great test, I noticed that the shackle that held the 4x4 in place was not tightened down after each new piece of 4x4 was inserted for the next test, nor was a wedge used to keep it from moving. This allowed a small amount of motion to occur so that when the device pulled upwards on the fastener, it also pulled the end of the 4x4 up, and the effective pulling angle went from 90 degrees to approximately 85 degrees or less. This converted the test from a true shear strength test to a modified test where the strength being measured was the amount of pull required to remove or break the fastener when being pulled on at an acute angle, but at less than a right angle. Because the pulling force tends to pull the fastener up through the wood fibers until it comes out, thus continually changing the pulling angle, the small movement of the 4x4 inside the loose shackle may make no practical difference, and may more accurately reflect real world shearing conditions, but you are a detail-oriented person who pays attention to such things, and if you have the time, you might want to review the videos and repeat one or two of the shear tests off-camera to determine if the loose shackle affected the results of the test in any way. A test idea for you, if you haven't already done it, would be to devise a test of the effects of the chemicals used in treating wood on the types of fasteners you tested here. Using bright nails or untreated fasteners in treated wood is a recipe for disaster, and on home construction can result in a house being condemned as unsound and unsafe in only a year or two. The question is how long do these fasteners last without rusting out or losing strength, when used on treated wood. Thanks again for this video and for all the videos you do. You help more people than you know with the results of your testing.
I would be happy to help Project Farm with designing an electrical measuring solution that would work for pretty cheap, because I would be very interested in that test!
Look at the difference in damage between the nails and screws, screws definitely rip apart the wood on the way out. Great content. I appreciate all the hard work, effort and time you put into all of your content. #ProjectFarmTestedandapproved
@TheCheesePlease- What are you talking about? I just made a comment about the difference in damage on the Wood. I'm not sure what got you so worked up. Not really sure I care to know.
Given that screws basically can dig into the surrounding area of the hole made. The teeth of the screws help prevent pull-outs occurring. Basically what is happening when a screw isn't taken out properly, is that you're actually reaching a limit to how much force the wood will bear before it breaks and let's go thanks to the cellulose fibers that are held with lignin binder. The stronger that bond the more force needed to break the bond that the fibers and binder have created. Keep in mind that he also tested them with the screws going with the grain which makes it even stronger bond to break meaning more force needed which we know by the 3rd law of gravity for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and you don't fuck with physics.
I never put much thought into nails or screws until opening my own business and coming across free Tools & containers of nails/ screws. I started putting them beside each other to see the difference and still not realizing how many different selections they've made for us. But I did realize with all these tools for me to sell/scrap/throw away/give away or keep them, there was only one choice here and that is obviously to keep them but not knowing how to use them. I've never been a handyman or never really need it tools besides maybe a hammer or screwdriver. So now I realize it's time for me to take up a new challenge.. man up and learn the trade like every man should know. There's no other option around it because if I'm not good this is the time to get good because this is not one of those ideas you have and toss it out the window if you don't like it. You're a man you supposed to be building things cuz one day there's going to be a little lady from your mom to your wife it's going to need your expertise thinking her man knows everything! So you better be a contractor or be a damn good actor😂 so right now I'm barely studying measurements I'm taking on projects to where I'm just learning do I use Nails screws when do I paint it and do I just throw on paint over anything I come by is there steps and I'm 43 years old....🤔I think. I'm a new subscriber and thank you for making this channel because I'm watching videos and making projects one by one as you make yours
Your videos are absolutely amazing. The sheer amount of time it takes to create these comparison tests for our viewing pleasure is very much appreciated. Thank you for all that you do.
Again, you do so much work to give us these videos, there is no way I could do these videos! I can see how much work you put in you're videos, for us!! I'm not the only one that can see this! I see all you're comments, we all love what you do for us, please keep doing what you do and we will all be here to watch!! Thank you again my friend!
I liked this video. Most wall framing will be fastened just like you tested cross grain fastened to end grain but most decking will be cross grain onto cross grain. I would guess that cross grain onto cross grain would put more stress on the nail or screw in a shear test. Put another way I think the wood would be stronger in a cross grain to cross grain situation.
Good testing methods. Great video. As a General Contractor here in Kalifornia where building standards are the most stringent, I can say that the most applicable and demonstrative test method as it would apply to earthquake concerns would be the last test. The destructive energy leading to failure is the back and forth movement from an earthquake. No city building department will approve of an all screw construction. One can use screws, as I do too, but they must be in addition to nails and cannot be substituted. One slight exception is the use of screws made by Simpson-Strong Tie but they must be spec'd in the blueprints when submitting plans.
I really like your videos. I always think about how much time you put into all the preparation, not to mention the design and set-up of the jigs. Superb!!
As always, a comprehensive and well thought out comparison. Amazing. I'm so glad I chose to use deck screws for the building of my 10 x 20 barn. When working alone it is hard to hold pieces in place and hammer. I would drill a pilot hole, start the screw and bring the matching piece into place, then hit it with the battery powered screw gun. So much easier, plus that thing is so tight together, it doesn't even squeak in 60 mph winds! Plus now if I decide to add to it, I can just remove some screws and go to it.
Really enjoy watching your videos, I find them very interesting and informative. I try to use your test results to help me make decisions on what to buy where possible, I appreciate the time and effort that's put into these test.
I’d love to see a test of various lag screw holding ability. I use them to hang shelves from my garage ceiling and am curious as to how much weight it takes them to pull out. Awesome videos!
I spent all day pulling 4 inch spiral nails and in my experience these are the hardest nails to pull. I think they lock in tighter as the boards see weather
Great video! We bought a cool house but it was 30 years old and needed a lot of work. Everything was built with nails in the early eighties. We tore out the carpet before construction. As I walked through the house over the next few weeks, I could hear the terrible annoying squeaking of the floorboards. Before we put in new carpet, we put down about six hundred screws and pulled as many nails as we could find. The result was beautiful silence. We owned that house for seven years and never a squeak.
Excellent video... Thanks! I'm curious though about the Back & Forth test. It's a great comparison but in real life you would never see a fastener put in that situation, bend it 45° and expect it to hold. I wonder how many times you would have to move it back and forth by only a degree or two to get it to break.
@Mr Brightside Forgive me if English is not your first language, we may not be understanding words the same way. - In reality way, way, way, over 90% of all stud walls are joined by driving two nails through the side of a Plate and into the end grain of a Stud. And, when a wall assembly undergoes uplift or sideloading the joints will experience both tension and shear. So in the States, these wall assemblies and the joints that make them are actually required in the building code to withstand both forces.
The galvanized spiral shank are used along the Gulf of Mexico for stick construction, we put two nails in place of one wherever we could. Most walls are hurricane proof, roofs however are a different story. Interesting topic and test thank you..
Correction: Large wood with low concentration factor vs small metal with large concentration factor Harder would would easily shear weak screws in this test, despite metal having a much higher tensile strength
Would be nice to see the actual shear strength of each of the nails and screws. Do you think you could redo these tests, but not rely on wood to immobilize? I stopped this vid after realizing I was seeing a test of the wood strength more that the nail/screw strength.
Ohh yeah! You could toss in a carriage bolt too. I know it’s not always possible to have all three options in a given application, but still good to know what would be best.
Very nice video and testing. I am a retired aerospace R&D engineer, and we did very similar testing on composite and titanium joining processes, like fasteners, welding, and bonding, but with better test equipment, and for a lot more money. One observation, someone might have already asked. You said that the screws were "brittle", but I doubt if the metal screws are made of would be called brittle. It must take a lot of ductility to form a screw shape. I might suggest what you are calling "brittle" is really a stress concentration. Anytime a fastener, or any material carrying load, has a notch, a hole, or even a scratch, it's fatigue properties are degraded. Whenever there is a geometric disruption, the loads will get concentrated at that point. For instance, the general stress concentration of a hole in a metal sheet is 3.0, meaning the stress is multiplied by 3.
This test really added some perspective to the wood glue test for me. It was stunning to see just how strong the bond is with just wood glue. A side by side test of fasteners and glue would be quite interesting. One test I’d like to see for both would be fastening and gluing boards parallel rather than perpendicular to the end grain. Then see how tough it is to pull them apart. Great video as always!
Man, I get amazed on every single video. As said by the others, the effort, scientific approach and final polished video that you bring really make you the best on RU-vid. I don’t buy a screw without checking if you have a video about it first. Thanks a lot for all the knowledge you provide us.
Your not going to find usa made nails or screws in the box stores, cuts into their profit margins. The best bet is to get made in taiwan, like the grk's.
Great test, PF. I ran a handyman service for ten years and used screws exclusively for ramps, decks, porches, fences, and gates. Nary a problem. But when I hammered sinkers into DF tubafores for a work platform to reroof my pump house, it collapsed the third time I climbed it. I was standing there in the middle with a package of asphalt tabs when it started slowly bending over. I shifted the roofing onto the roof and rode it down, laughing all the way. Screws fixed it and the bag of sinkers is slowly rusting away with disuse. Deck screws are my go-to hardware fastener. When building fences, I showed the client a board fastened with a 1-5/8" pneumatic installed nail, a 2-1-2" galv nail, and a 1-5/8" deck screw. With one whack of my elbow, I could knock the nailer board off, loosen the nailed board, and not touch the screwed board. They all chose the screws and paid a little bit extra for the hardware costs and time. Screwed projects are also quick to repair. Shearing just isn't a factor in well built construction.
I need to see a test on 550 Paracord!! Test all variables including "long term" exposure to sunlight?!?!?! I know that's the difficult one. Also there are some types that have snare wire, fire starter and fishing line!!!
Wow, I'm a carpenter and now have to re-think my position on screws sheer strength, and I also think more municipalities need to do a review on sheer strength on GRK and deck screws for house framing! I've never been about the cheapest, but the strongest!
Spax are the best I have found. I drove some stainless steel spax screws into the maple legs of my workbench. I used pilot holes. Came up a few screws short, so went to a local screw supplier and got their stainless steel screws. Several broke, even with pilot holes. Been using Spax as much as possible ever since.
this man goes way out to make the test fair/ real and how products are used. and viewers still find a way he could do it better, different or to their personal ideals??? and yet still believe whats written on the side of a box.
" and yet still believe whats written on the side of a box." They do? Yes, I suppose that's why we are all here watching the tests. Because we all just want to believe... "viewers still find a way he could do it better" And sometimes they are right. Everyone makes mistakes. What's the problem with that?
This is a well done Test. I enjoyed it. one day im building a 14x30 workshop/Activity room combo with a bathroom. And thinking about using mostly the Deck screws and some nails too. Just for experiance and see how it would do in severe weather.😀
It’s been mentioned already, but I have to repeat, the end grain fastening used in this test is not indicative of what these fasteners can actually do. I’m a career carpenter/builder. Great video editing, but this calls for a do-over.
I, for one, would really enjoy seeing the thought process that goes into deciding how to test the items and how he comes up with the fixtures and measuring tools.
Very interesting and well done but not a true sheer test and in my mind just reinforces that screws are superior all round fasteners to nails. The idea is that what you fasten should stay fastened tightly and then you won't have to worry about repetitive strain type breakage. We don't build structures made of wood that are designed to sway or accept repetitive bending forces so why allow for that by compromising holding power and pull out strength? Seems counterintuitive to me. Build things that don't move or where the weakest link is the wood itself and you don't need to worry about sheer strength. Your testing proved that screws are stronger than wood and screws are stronger than nails. The bending tests are simply not "real world" examples of forces that are applied to buildings except in catastrophic situations and in those situations, I'll take "twice" the holding power over twice the flexibility any day. That boarded up window keeping out the huricance force winds is way better held with screws in almost every scenario except where the house is wobbling over. At that point, one has bigger things to worry about than sheering fasteners.
With this I'm now confident you can make a video where you invent a jig to settle the great debate once and for all... Blondes, brunettes or red heads??? 🚜👄🏁
I was surprised by how well the drywall screws held up. As for future video ideas, I have seen construction methods where they combine nails and screws for hold and shear strength. I would be curious to see what kind of combination yields the best results.
This is my 1st ever criticism of all the videos you have done. In watching this video the test with wood are not seeing the fastener fail, it's the wood that failed, then the fastener was extracted by the test jig. The bending test was valid. Overall, I still give your videos 5-stars.
The totally unbiased way of testing through repeatable scientific means and subjecting what ever you test to the same degree of real word application is what makes me watch every Video to the end. These Videos should all be put on a digital format. A modern Mans endeavors for discerning the best not only by pure quality but also value and cost.
@@ProjectFarm No problem! I just meant that more structural connectors might be used in conjunction with the fasteners to mitigate their own weaknesses. This might make it possible to use a screw if shear force is reduced/eliminated by a bracket, but now we're beyond the scope of the video. Although it would be interesting to see a more ductile screw perhaps?
I love your channel and your testing so many different things. The only issue I see is the last test. Reason being is in construction, A fastener would always be penetrating a board thus eliminating it being bent like in the test. I would love to see you test different types and grades of lag bolts. Thank you for all your hard work and efforts and the valuable information included in your videos.
Very interesting tests. Interesting in how some applications the shear force was essentially irrelevant as the wood split. Keep churning out this great and informative content.
Brilliant. Much needed testing that we can all use on many jobs. Your research is unique and hugely useful. You can only wonder why no one has done this before. Thanks!
I know this is 4 years old but I had sort of a related experience using deck screws to hold up weight. I built 8 four tier free standing shelves using full sheets of 5/8" OSB and 2x4 lumber. I built 4x8 frames of 2x4's sitting vertical, with a cross member every 2ft, sort of a ladder frame with OSB screwed to the top side with the same 3" deck screws that I used to assemble the frames. Each of the four shelves were held up by 10 2x4's, two on each corner. and two in the middle. A 48" length of 2x3 was used to place each shelf and give it some added under support. Each shelf was held by 10 screws per corner and five each in the middle on each side. The bottom shelf was 1" off the concrete floor, the rest were spaced roughly the space of a 5 gallon bucket. They were used to store misc auto parts, all placed in buckets with the tops on them. Each shelf got roughly 800 lbs on it. One, which was against the wall, got loaded with cast iron cylinder heads, about 2,000 lbs per shelf, maybe more. On that shelf I added a few supports in the middle between the shelves in the middle to prevent the OSB from sagging between the 2x4's if it got really humid in there. All was fine for about 8 months, then I walked in there one day and one shelf had collapsed all around, and all the 2x4's were completely detached, every last deck screw had sheared off, none pulled out, all were broke off clean and flush. The second shelf, had collapsed only on one end, and only three shelves on that end fell down onto the next. The other end was fine. A third shelf was fine, as was the one holding the cylinder heads. I cleaned up the mess, removed the screws, then put the shelf back up using both a few screws to hold it in place and then I used two 1/2" bolts in each connection. They were fine for the next few years. The shelf with all the cylinder heads on it is still standing, untouched and showing no signs of any fatigue. The other day, after finding a bag of bolts I had bought for the other shelves, I drilled and added one bolt to each corner in every shelf just in case. What I did notice is that although they were all built at the same time, I ran out of screws half way through and went back to get another box. The first batch of screws were flat black, but also marked deck screws with the same skew number, the second batch, a 10lb bucket, of the same supposed type, were slightly shinier. They were coated and marked safe for PT wood, but this was framing lumber and indoors at that. None of the screws were corroded, they sheered off clean as if cut with a bolt cutter. There was no bending or tearing, just a clean break. Fast forward a few years, I used some of those same screws to replace a piece of stockade fence in the back yard, (not PT, just plain fir), we had a 70 mph windstorm last month, and that panel, which was held on with 24 of those screws to three posts, blew down shearing every last screw. They were up there about a year. But again, they were not rusty, they just broke off. I did my own test, using three 2x4's, all 10" long, screwed together in a three layer stack, with the middle sticking out 2" on one end. I stood that up in my 25 ton press, which has a pressure gauge on the ram. I did the same with some OLD 10p nails, and again with some 3" drywall screws. I also went back and bought a 1 lb box of the same#10 x 3" deck screws. Each stack had 10 screws or nails driven in from each side. 20 in all. I used a 1" plate on both sides so the end of the boards didn't split. I then built a box using two pieces of tubing to fit the 3 pack of 2x4's into with minimal side clearance to prevent any pull out. The deck screws from the bucket, gave at 771 lbs of force the deck screws from the box gave at 1,487 lbs of force the drywall screws gave way at 1,101 lbs the old 10 penny nails gave at 2,200 lbs, finally splitting the wood and traveling along the grain of the middle board. Basically the wood gave way before the nails failed. All the screws eventually sheered off flush. None spread open as to have relied on the steel tube to prevent them from pulling apart. None failed explosively, all sort of just gave and it was over. There's definitely a difference in the screws in the different containers. None have any PT rating but all are marked 'outdoor use'. I did notice that there's an American flag on the small boxes but not on the bucket label. The screws though look identical even under a magnifying lens. What I don't get is why the heavier shelf, never gave way, its loaded five times heavier and it lasted for years like that. It is against a wall but not attached, and the wall is no more than a free standing dividing wall separating the shop from the storage area. I had used screws in the beginning with the thinking that although they're not as strong, enough of them should handle what I needed them to handle and i needed the corners joints to stay firmly connected if the shelves sagged over time. With the bolts, they're all still standing but the load has been slowly reduced over the years as they've been repurposed to hold lighter items.
I work for a building mover. To put a house on a wooden basement requires putting a slide plank on the wall soaping the the slide plank and pulling the house on beams onto the basement to put the house in place. On one job where the homeowner built his own wooden basement, he used two inch screws to attach 15 mil treated plywood to the studs. Upon beginning to pull the house onto the basement we immediately heard popping noises. We stopped pulling to find out what was happening and sure enough all the screws were shearing off. We took a nailer and quickly renailed the studs avoiding a total failure of the wall. Keep in mind that we have put hundreds of houses on nail driven basements and never had a failure. Screws are perfect for certain applications but there reasons why they are prohibited for framing.
Awesome! Just the information I was looking for. I've watched and appreciated many of your videos over the years. Just joined your membership on RU-vid. Keep up the good work.
Hey, maybe I missed it. But I've searched for a review of pruning loppers, and haven't found it. All the other reviews I've found are basically advertisements... No testing, no comparison. If you covered this, please do. Thank you, and you rock.
Thanks for testing these! One note: We'd see a lot more fasteners shearing in the second set of tests if the fasteners had been run into the face of the 4x4. Driving into end grain doesn't hold as much :)
I love the test, what would be a great follow up, showing the actual loading forces acting on normal build projects, such as walls, roofing(wind loading), things we frame together with fasteners. Thank you for this valuable information. The screws outperformed my expectations on shear.
It does need the impact test. This is where the ductile fasteners shine. Another point is fastener length. Another is where the load is applied. The ring is likely to last for more bends if the shear jig is loading on the smooth part of the shank. Nice informative, introductory video series on factors influencing fastener strength and durability. Thank you.
All the fasteners I used building my house were screws, except the shingles. When the building inspector came to inspect it, he said when everything else is gone it would still be there. My dad was in the used lumber business for some time and I guess I acquired a hatred for nail having to pull so many.
I love this video but i have a few comments, 1) pulling without a back brace allows the board to move laterally allowing the fastener to actually slide out instead of stay in position to see wether they would shear or rip the material apart instead. 2) allthough screws could not handle bending and side loads i believe once fastened they will not back out , so in this respect i don't believe there would be much possibility for them to bend because even as the wood shrinks the screw will be lodge due to its threads 3) i also believe that even though all this that i just said sounds like screws are a prefered fastener i belive they have more stress rissers along the threads and have more surface area to grab moisture and rust aswell as be weakened by rust, so I believe intill they reach that point they are superior. 4) i love your channel!
As always, thank you for a show that is fact based and to the point. My main question here is with the fatigue test. Bending at the thread, which should be well embedded in the wood, doesn't seem realistic, especially given that most of the screws have a long shoulder to address issues will breaking at the thread. It seems a fairer test (as seen in many of your pull apart tests) near the head. Also, it would seem screws are commonly used for binding steel brackets and plywood/OSB to wood beams, therefore, at the head or shoulder...
Bravo that was a fantastic and fascinating test. I raised the question as well as many others about shear strength after the first video. I was surprised by how well the screws did in these tests, especially the drywall screws. In my experience the drywall screws often snap on torque as well as shear force. Thanks for the tests and results surprised me.
I am amazed by amount of creativity and effort You put in designizng these tests. Great work. I found your channel as one of the most important for makers - despite I'm from the opposite side of the globe and some items are not available where I live. Many thanks! Keep up, and never give up :) All the best for You!
