How they deceive us - I tell you why you need to buy self-tapping screws with calipers

Now I only go shopping for screws with a caliper! The people do not even suspect how brazenly they are being deceived. I never paid attention myself. The manufacturer claims one thickness, but in fact it is different. And that is not all.

Complete the quest: hang the shelf so it doesn't collapse

Not long ago I decided to hang a shelf on a reinforced concrete wall. The contents were supposed to be heavy, so I bought 76 self-tapping screws for fastening. So that it certainly doesn’t fall on your head. To be honest, I didn’t look inside the box or read the information on it.

I relied on my experience and memory. And she told me that the thickness of 76 screws is sufficient. When I opened the box, I couldn’t contain my emotions. The screws are thin, like worms. Flimsy, crooked. You can break it with your hands.

Old and new screws: the difference is obvious

I went looking for my old screws. I scratched the bottom of the barrel and found a couple. Well, I couldn’t have been so wrong about the thickness. And yet, yes, with the naked eye you can see that the old screws are thicker. There is a difference! See for yourself:

I wanted to take the box back to the store and argue with the seller, when my gaze fell on a piece of paper - 76 by 4.2.

How so? Where did this size come from? For as long as I can remember, 76 screws have always been 4.8. I went to find out. It's just no use. The green young man behind the counter only blinked his eyes in response and insisted that everything was true, that’s how it should be.

And that is not all…

Came back home. I also decided to measure the thickness with a caliper. The thread matches - 4.2 mm.And the inner rod is 3.7 mm. And what will this worm keep?

I spoke with a builder I know. He says that such screws are everywhere now. You can't look without tears. Bend like aluminum wire. Material: plasticine. The “seeds” (the smallest self-tapping screws for plasterboard profiles) generally collapse. The heads of every third press washers come off. The old screws cut into metal and drywall like butter. And those that are doing it now don’t even pierce the paper.

Black hardened ones are only suitable for temporary draft versions. Wood also has higher strength. They break before the wood begins to deform. Six months pass, and the head flies off. It’s generally better not to buy cheap Chinese self-tapping screws (TU). They don't even screw in with oil. You can throw it away immediately.

What's next, comrades?

I have already come to terms with the fact that instead of 10 eggs in a package there are 9, instead of a kilogram of buckwheat there are 800 grams, instead of a liter of milk there are 800 ml. And everything is made from powder, toilet paper and cheap palm oil. But self-tapping screws...

Self-tapping screws have a design fastening force. If they are not thick enough, the structure will not hold!

Now I’m not surprised why cabinets break in the first year of operation, shelves and plasmas fall from the wall, and building cladding sways in the wind. My Soviet shelving unit at my dacha outlived my grandfather. He made it with his own hands. If you remove the rack, then only with the wall. Grown in tightly!

This approach to making self-tapping screws is the beginning of the end. It’s scary to even imagine what will happen next. It's not just shelves that are hung on self-tapping screws. They are involved in large production processes in automobile and mechanical engineering, construction, etc. I understand that I will not solve this problem globally.They can only warn their friends and acquaintances, and you, dear readers.

The moral of this story is this: when buying self-tapping screws, be careful. Watch what you buy and what quality it is. And don’t forget to bring a caliper so you can understand how thick the fasteners you are buying. To blindly trust manufacturers is to rob yourself! And yes, it’s better to buy self-tapping screws that are 5-6 times more expensive than to pay for the saved pennies with a bookshelf that falls on your head or a plasma that breaks into pieces.