Getting To Know Fasteners

Fasteners play a huge role in the production of different kinds of everyday objects. If you do your own home repairs or are an avid DIY-er, you’ve most likely used any of these to finish your projects.

Fasteners are usually small objects made of steel or alloy and can be used for indoor, outdoor, and framing projects.

What is a fastener?

Fasteners are categorized as screws, nuts, and bolts, that have a common function of mechanically connecting or fastening objects together. You can remove the fasteners using tools such as screwdrivers and this will disconnect the objects without suffering any damage.

What are the types of fasteners?

  1. Screws –  Screw fasteners are considered to be the most versatile.  They have threaded shafts that give them strong pull power. Unlike bolts, screws don’t require anything to hold them in place. They come in different types like wood screws, machine screws, lag screws, sheet metal screws, and more. They do not have the highest structural strength, but their pulling power is unrivaled.
  1. Nuts and Bolts – These two fasteners work together to hold components. You screw the nut onto a threaded bolt and it will hold multiple parts together. It has a strong grip which makes it very reliable. These are used in applications where there is access to both the front and back of the source, and often use washers to disperse weight and reduce scratching on the surface.
  1. Washers – They look like a tiny disc that is used to fasten a screw or bolt. Washers distribute the load of the fastener in making it more secure by pulling on a larger area. In many cases, washers work together with nuts and bolts. There are also other types of washers that can help prevent corrosion on the bolt. Their main job is to increase the strength of the pulling power and spread the load of the fastener.
  1. Nails – Nails may seem like a separate category, but are indeed a type of faster. Although it doesn’t have the same pull power as nuts and bolts, nails are less brittle and provide sheer strength to help with structural buildings. If you hit a screw with a hammer, it will most likely be damaged, whereas a nail is much stronger, but cannot grip the substance as well.

So if you want grip strength, choose a screw. But if you want sheer strength, a nail is definitely the best choice. Like other fasteners, nails also come in different types and sizes.

  1. Anchors – Its function is like a boat’s anchor, in which it locks itself in the seabed to keep the boat from moving or drifting away. These fasteners start compact, but as you tighten them have ends that extend out to secure itself in place. These are often used to connect to materials where a screw or nail is more likely to get pulled out like concrete and brick.

A fastener can be used in many different ways from hanging a picture, assembling a cabinet to building a car.  Homeowners and DIY-ers use fasteners for basic household tasks, while industry professionals use this for all sorts of projects.

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