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What Is a Hex Washer Head Screw?
Washer head screws feature a permanently attached washer formed at the bottom of the screw head. Hex washer head screws are those with a hexagonal-shaped head as opposed to a round shape like many popular screw fasteners.
What are the benefits of a washer head screw?
- The hex head type allows for solid gripping of the screw head when it’s time to screw it into the wall, wood, or sheet metal for example.
- Unlike a pan head screw, the six-sided head style of the screw can be driven by a hex socket for more torque.
- Washer head screws, having a wider base, are not likely to crack materials like wood or drywall unlike standard screws.
- They provide more holding power, so there’s much less chance of the wood or metal pulling off over the screw.
- It’s unlikely you’ll accidentally countersink a washer head screw into the surface material unlike a framing screw or drywall screw, for example.
The hex head, having a standard shape that can fit a small socket, means you can fasten it using a nut driver or a socket wrench. They’re also commonly used for manufacturing or construction as you can use power tools such as cordless drills or air-powered drivers.
What Are Washer Head Screws Used For?
The built-in washer increases the screw head’s surface area which makes them a good choice for builders who can apply more torque than they could with a countersink screw.
As the washer flange spreads out over the material surface, more force from the torque gets applied over a wider area.
Washer head screws are used for several useful purposes:
- Manufacturing: machines or devices with a metal body or even products made of wooden sections.
- Replacing old fasteners which have broken through the original surface and can no longer be used.
- Home and building construction.
What Is a Washer Head Bolt?
Unlike course or fine threaded scerws with a pointed end, washer head bolts have a threaded shaft with a flat bottom. A flat-bottomed bolt goes into a pre-drilled hole or machined hold and and tightens into place without the risk of breaking the surface material (although it’s possible to strip the threads).
Since many nut-and-bolt combinations get used with a washer to increase the surface area of the bolt’s head, washer head bolts remove the need to manually add a washer by hand. It also eliminates the possibility of the washer falling and becoming lost during use.
Advantages of Washer Head Screws vs Nails for Wood
If you’ve ever removed wood trim by pulling it off the wall only to notice the finishing nails stayed in place, you’ve experienced firsthand the disadvantage of nails.
Nails have smooth bodies that allow them to be driven easily into wood and other building materials, but only friction holds them in place once they’re there. And if the wall into which they’re driven holds them tightly enough, when you pull the trim off, the nails pull through it, leaving nails in the wall.
Nails also require a hammer to drive them in using a vertical force.
Washer head screws have two distinct advantages vs nails:
- The washer head provides a larger surface area so that the screw won’t pull through the building material.
- The helical inclined plane around the screw’s body adds more and more holding force with every turn into the wall, plank, or other building surfaces. Screws don’t pull out of wood unless the wood is rotten.
Nails go in easier but washer head screws win the day and can be driven using standard power tools which makes them fast and easy to work with.