…and quokas if it’s in southern WA…
And Idaho is even better
1 Like
So I did it…
Feels better already and I know it will look and work better long term. Maybe this weekend I can clean it all up and get it done including the added section, minus the track as I need to spike the turnout still.
1 Like
My bucket of screws. About 3/4 of them came out no problem. The other 1/4 snapped off. Same brand, same screws.
That’s the nature of the buggers. They usually snap off due to the movement of the wood, expansion/contraction. warping, etc.
Go to a heavier screw, #8’s instead of # 6’s or heavier, more money but they stay in one piece.
Good to know. I’m going through the last of the bunch at the moment so I’ll try and remember when I buy more.
At least with screws you can remove them a bit easier than nails. 
Are you using square, Phillips or Torx drive bits?
Torx or square. Philip heads have been banned except for a few special circumstances.
Torx is the only way to go. Once I use up my vast quantity of garbage Philips head screws I will never buy them again. I do have square drive screws for pocket screws. But any more if I buy a new box of screws they are torx. And not only that but I buy the coated ones. They are expensive but they don’t strip out, are water friendly, and slippery so they do t need a pilot hole or soap for lubrication. And they don’t break the heads off.
The only Philips heads on hand are a 5 lb pail of drywall screws. I’ve yet to see any other types of drywall screws.
Before you ask why I have a bucket of drywall screws, can I remind you of my 5, 8 and 10 yld boys. Thankfully more drywall work has been because of me installing lights than them making holes.
Craig,
First us them up. But while not labeled “drywall screws” i promise all lengths associated with any other screw is available in coated torx head screws, so buy them. If we were contractors building a 100 houses I could see the argument for cost a savings. But thats not us. This is an argument against cost of a cheap box of screws versus an expensive box of screws. At the end of the day the cost is negotiable compared to the reliability and durability of the screw. I have never stripped nor broken a coated hex screw. I can’t say that about cheap gold Philips screws.
i don’t like all these new types of screws.
most of my life i needed just three different sizes of screwdrivers.
than came the six-edged screws and the L-shaped tools.
then i had to get cross-screwdrivers.
then i could not find sqare screwdrivers and needed these bits for drills.
then came these fancy screws with star shaped holes instead of slits.
and the newest torture are slitscrews, but with an obstruction in the middle of the slits.
not far into the future carrying a toolbox will be a two-man-job, i fear.
1 Like
Korm,
I totally agree. . . Until I started using coated torx head screws. The carburetor made cars go. But fuel injection made them go a lot better and more reliable.
I fully appreciate your words. But between home renovation, hobbies, and wood working I sink a lot of screws (never use nails anymore). And the invention of the coated torx head screw is like a radial airplane
Engine and a jet engine. Somethings are just superior. Between the bite of a torx head and the coating making them slippery so they drive through wood without needing to be lubricated or have a hole pre drilled is awesome. Once in awhile man suprises me and really does invent a better mouse trap.
And none of them are worth a darn until you buy an impact driver. The torx head just grips so much better and couple that with an impact driver and I almost never strip a screw head and I’ve never broken one of the new fancy screws
Devon,
I use and buy torx heads for everything else. I’ve just never looked for torx head drywall screws and I have a tub of some on hand for the drywall patch jobs and that’s it.
1 Like
I agree on the Torks screws. I buy Power Pro One Multi Material epoxy coated screws at Lowes for work. I love them.
In Korms defense, when I head into the field to do any disassembly I need to take P2, T10, T15, T20 and T25 bits with me. I rarely run into slotted screws, except around my house.
1 Like
One more day of nice weather and I’m going to be stuck halfway done with the rebuild along the fence section. Since I had tools, etc out for the year down of the section I figured it was time to add to the spline roadbed for the new turnout that way when the turnout was built, I could slap it in.
One thing let to another and I realized that my problem section of the layout wasn’t cross level anymore( probably due to lack of supports when I originally built it), so I added some more support.
In typical 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards, I remembered that part of this spline was still the original cedar spline that has warping issues.
So now for the 3rd or 4th time I’m rebuilding this section, replacing the last missing section of plastic spline.
Lessons learned. Do it right the first time. Oh wait I thought I was (and everything worked until I experienced a full season).
I think I’m going to tear the whole fence section back down to the wire mesh layer, remove all the spline sections, rebuild the splines on the garage floor (assuming that the floor is level) and then reinstall. I did noticed a few small places that the landscape fabric has worn through so that will need replacing as well.
I’m trying to give the guy on the other side of the world some time to catch up, or maybe it’s the other way around?
First up, I finished the rearranging of the industries coming off the drop bridges and built the drop bridges. This section of the railroad is almost back to normal except I’m waiting on more spikes to finish up the turnout.
Slowly making progress towards the fence line.
1 Like
isn’t it dangerous, to let all these boards lay on the ground?
they might rot before you use them…
Those boards on the ground are a result of my 3 boys… They think any loose scrap of wood not nailed, screwed down or actively on fire is fair game for “construction”. Take a close look at the “hide out” currently underway on the last picture. They really want me to build them a tree fort (I’m all up for that too, but the CFO won’t approve the funds).
1 Like