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Twister screws

Steve Maskery

Steve Maskery

Old Oak
Joined
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Location
87290 Laplagne, France
I'm making chipboard boxes at the mo for a new kitchen. Fine craftsmanship it is not, but good kitchen units, I think so. I've not just gone out and bought them because of several reasons:

1. The backs are always just 3mm or so thick. I want a back that gives the cabinet strength and keeps it square
2. These cabinets will be painted and I don't like to see the front edge of a white cabinet peeking out between two coloured doors. So by making them myself I can have wood edgebanding on the front visible edges that can be painted to match the doors.
3. Some of these are going to be a very non-standard size and shape (I have corbels to contend with).

I've no wish to make them any more complicated than necessary, so they are going to be just screwed together. None of the screws will be visible in the finished product.

So I bought a load of screws. Now I usually buy Spax or Reisser, but These caught my eye.
They are superb. I can just screw two pieces of melamine together, into the edge, and they just work. I do actually drill a small statring hole, but only because they can skitter a bit on the melamine surface, but they pull together beautifully. So far I have screwed together 4 cabinets and not once have they blown the walls of the material, snapped off or in any other way behaved untoward.

I recommend.
S
 
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Steve Maskery said:
I'm making chipboard boxes at the mo for a new kitchen. Fine craftsmanship it is not, bot good kitchen units, i think so. I've not just gone out and bought them is because of several reasons:

1. The backs are always just 3mm or so thick. I want a back that give the cabinet strength and keeps it square
2. These cabinets will be painted and I don't like to see the front edge of a white cabinet peeking out between two coloured doors. So by making them myself I can have wood edgebanding on the front visible edges that can be painted to match the doors.
3. Some of these are going to be a very non-standard size and shape (I have corbels to contend with).

I've no wish to make them any more complicated than necessary, so they are going to be just screwed together. None of the screws will be visible in the finished product.

So I bought a load of screws. Now I usually buy Spax or Reisser, but These caught my eye.
They are just superb. I can just screw two pieces of melamine together, into the edge, and they just work. I do actually drill a small statring hole, but only because they can skitter a bit on the melamine surface, but they pull together beautifully. So far I have screwsd together 4 cabinets and not once have they blown the walls of the material, snapped off or in any other way behaved untoward.

I recommend.
S
Click to expand...
Haven’t seen those Steve, the twist under the head is interesting, it says that it pulls in the little bits of wood and hides them under the surface!
But that top inch I have seen before on other screws, it’s really clever the way it pulls the two pieces together.
 
Good find re the screws.

However I question your reasoning to make your own but may be down to differences between France and the UK availability.

1. Most cabinets are installed in a run. They are also fixed to the wall or batten behind. That keeps them square. So 3mm is fine for the back IMO

2. Not all cabinets are white. For example our latest kitchen has a dark grey cabinets to complement the black frontals,

3. Agreed
 
RogerS said:
Good find re the screws.

However I question your reasoning to make your own but may be down to differences between France and the UK availability.
Click to expand...
The only choice I've found is between white, black, grey and generic wood-effect. Perhaps they are others, but I've yet to find a proper timber merchant. We have window-fitters here at the moment and one of them has recommended a place in Limoges, I shall have to ferret them out.
RogerS said:
1. Most cabinets are installed in a run. They are also fixed to the wall or batten behind. That keeps them square. So 3mm is fine for the back IMO
Click to expand...
The existing kitchen has 3mm backs. Two of the cabinets have their backs blown out of the groove, hence my disapproval.
RogerS said:
2. Not all cabinets are white. For example our latest kitchen has a dark grey cabinets to complement the black frontals,
Click to expand...
My last kitchen in the UK was a pale grey, inside and out and that was fine. The existing kitchen here is a mixture. They all have face-frames, but behind that, some of them are white and some of them are oak-flavoured.. The oak-flavoured ones are a PITA. Trying to find stuff at the back, especially in the lower cabinets is frustratingly difficult. I have been known to get a torch out. I want it to be easy to see what's there, even when I'm not wearing my contact lenses.

S
 
Steve Maskery said:
.....Trying to find stuff at the back, especially in the lower cabinets is frustratingly difficult. I have been known to get a torch out. I want it to be easy to see what's there, even when I'm not wearing my contact lenses.

S
Click to expand...
I agree with you and that's the reason why we have just the one floor cabinet with a door in our new kitchen. All the rest are with drawers. I'm even thinking about putting a light inside.
 
Drawers are good. There are a lot of good-looking drawer systems on the market these days.
S

PS The biggest problem I have at the mo (apart from stamina...) is the weather. It is too cold to paint in the workshop and isn't forecast to get any better any time soon.
 
RogerS said:
I agree with you and that's the reason why we have just the one floor cabinet with a door in our new kitchen. All the rest are with drawers. I'm even thinking about putting a light inside.
Click to expand...
In our kitchen even the ones with doors now have pull out racks, baskets or shelves using drawer runners.
 
Steve Maskery said:
.....

The existing kitchen has 3mm backs. Two of the cabinets have their backs blown out of the groove, hence my disapproval.

.....

S
Click to expand...
I've never had a cabinet back blow out of the groove. But then I don't stuff things in while treating the cabinet as a Tardis ;) :)
 
Interesting screws, I haven't come across those.

Ive always used standard black carcase screws Steve and still do on most of the knock together stuff I make around the workshop. Like the ones in the link but I buy by the 1000 box. They seem to have increased in price as I'm sure the last box of 1000 cost around £12.
I re use them if I take anything apart 'cos I'm a skinflint. :ROFLMAO:

I use a DeWalt drill/countersing bit and the screws get a hell of a grip. You have to fill on top of the countersunk heads if seen or want to paint but the don't rust.

TIMco Carcass Screw - 4.0 x 45mm - Pack 500 | IronmongeryDirect | Same Day Despatch

TIMco Carcass Screw - 4.0 x 45mm - Pack 500 available at great trade prices with easy and free returns. Order Woodscrews before 8pm for same day despatch.
www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk
 
RogerS said:
I've never had a cabinet back blow out of the groove. But then I don't stuff things in while treating the cabinet as a Tardis ;) :)
Click to expand...

We have 'cos Sue does, :rolleyes:
Which is why all the backs of our current kitchen are 18mm
 
I’ve used a similar screw for a few years and they’re brilliant.
Always use 19mm for the backs, it’s just stronger for transport and less waste when only using one size of board.
Haven’t seen 3mm backs since I left the uk
 
Those screws look similar to the Timco velocity, great in wood but not as good as Timco MDF screws for non wood.

www.fischer.co.uk

MDF screws PowerFast FDF-ST YZP - fischer fixings

The fischer MDF screw PowerFast FDF-ST YZP with 75° countersunk head is ideal for surface-flush screwing into medium-density fibreboard. The head and thread shape are specially designed for the requirements of the MDF material. The TX star recess drive enables top force transmission with maximum...
www.fischer.co.uk www.fischer.co.uk

Steve Maskery said:
The backs are always just 3mm or so thick. I want a back that gives the cabinet strength and keeps it square
Click to expand...
3mm backs are what you get from Wickes, 18mm is much better and gives the rigidity to a carcass and using face frames gives you more again.
 
Steve Maskery said:
My last kitchen in the UK was a pale grey, inside and out and that was fine. The existing kitchen here is a mixture. They all have face-frames, but behind that, some of them are white and some of them are oak-flavoured.. The oak-flavoured ones are a PITA. Trying to find stuff at the back, especially in the lower cabinets is frustratingly difficult. I have been known to get a torch out. I want it to be easy to see what's there, even when I'm not wearing my contact lenses.

S
Click to expand...

If you need to light the units I found these to be an inexpensive and quick fix, you just need watch hinge compatibility
 
I have found the limitations of these screws. They work great in MFC, but not at all well in MDF.
The MDF split just as you would expect with any screw, really, and even after I had properly piloted one, it then didn't pull up tight, it just stripped the thread in the MDF.
S
 
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Steve my experience on MDF is drill, glue and screw.
Glue is an excellent bond.
Remember MDF is wood chips, ground, into a digester to get the fibres, then mixed with resin, formed into thick mat and then into the press.
Nice, stable, flat and good for painting.
The edges I would paint with a PVA glue, thinned a bit with water to seal it. Then fine sand and paint.
 
Steve Maskery said:
They work great in MFC, but not at all well in MDF.
Click to expand...
That is why those screws I mentioned are better,





www.fischer.co.uk



MDF screws PowerFast FDF-ST YZP - fischer fixings ​


The fischer MDF screw PowerFast FDF-ST YZP with 75° countersunk head is ideal for surface-flush screwing into medium-density fibreboard. The head and thread shape are specially designed for the requirements of the MDF material. The TX star recess drive enables top force transmission with maximum...

www.fischer.co.uk
www.fischer.co.uk
 
Steve Maskery said:
I have found the limitations of these screws. They work great in MFC, but not at all well in MDF.
The MDF split just as you would expect with any screw, really, and even after I had properly piloted one, it then didn't pull up tight, it just stripped the thread in the MDF.
S
Click to expand...
When I was briefly (very!) building kitchens in the trade years ago we used proper mdf screws like this which were incredible as I recollect; I've even got a 'baccy tin out in the shop full of the things, just in case I ever needed one or two. They would even create a really strong bond when screwed into the side/edge of a board of mdf (with the correct sized pilot hole but no indication is given in the info bumf); no good though for much thinner boards but the stuff we used was 18mm - Rob
 
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