this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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[โ€“] [email protected] 92 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Having bought screws just the other day, I was exasperated at how I could not figure out how long the screw actually is between my thumb and finger cause they're in a sealed box.

But I knew exactly which material they have been plated/hardened with. ๐Ÿคท

So, I understand why you posted this.

And the info about the (pre) drilling is just ๐Ÿ˜™๐Ÿ‘Œ

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes, no need to guess or to do test holes to see which drill size is correct

[โ€“] [email protected] 24 points 1 week ago (1 children)

While I'm certainly no handyman, I usually just hold the drill bit to the screw to find one slightly smaller, then just use that.

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

I am fairly handy and have never had that method fail for anything except screwing into thick metal, in which case I'm tapping threads and using a bolt anyway.

[โ€“] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

Generally screw length is measured by how deep it will go into the material. For instance a countersunk screw would be measured from the top of the head to the end of the screw. A pan head screw would be measured from the bottom of the head to the end of the screw.

[โ€“] [email protected] 42 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Except for the German translation, which was either made by an idiot or Google translate...

[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Surely is an einzelfaden lol

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

I suspect that they're all like that.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Dutch as well. I don't think "enkeldraad" is a good way to translate "single thread" when talking about screw threads.

[โ€“] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Huh, that's pretty normal around here. But the German translation of "thread" is wrong. Literally unusable screw, light it on fire immediately.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

In spanish it says it is a yellow single thread, no mention to screws

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wrong word for thread though. Should be rosca

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

In German it should be Gewinde.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Sideways on the corner of the box, "tornillo multiusos"

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

I love how evocative the word tornillo is. In my mind it translates as "little twisty thing".

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

A bricklayer will try to use these with a hammer.

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Strange that it recommends a 5.5mm drill bit for a 6 - 8mm plugs. I don't even remember seeing masonry bits of that size and for all the plugs I have I've always used the same size drill bit.

[โ€“] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I am a complete amateur, but the box fits my experience.
If you use same size drill as the plug, the whole will be too big, and the plug is not fitting tight and firm enough, so the screw will just rotate the plug in the whole.
Especially in old brittle cement and "mortar" you need to be careful not to use too big a drill.

"Mortar" as the cement like material used when building a brick wall. I hope I'm using the correct word.

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

This might be true for some cheap brands, but it's certainly not true for any of the tens of thousands of plugs I've installed over my career. The plug diameter indicates the hole size you need to drill - 6mm hole for a 6mm plug, 8mm hole for an 8mm plug, and so on. The instructions here simply cannot be correct, as 6mm and 8mm plugs require different-sized drill bits, yet the packaging only mentions a 5.5mm bit. The only exception I can think of is concrete screws that don't need a plug: 6mm is correct for concrete, but for more porous materials like cinder blocks, you use a 5.5mm bit.

Judging by the fact that people in this thread are finding translation errors in the text there I'm assuming that's what has happened with the measurements too.

Here's the instructions for 6x30mm Fischer DuoPower Plugs for example.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I only see length on that box???
Also the image shows th plug sticking out, and as (2)40 mm, with something else that is unclear to me as (2)35mm.
Personally by the quality shown, the illustrations are useless to me.

The plug is 6mm meant for 4-5 mm screws, there is no indication of drill sizes that I can se.
There is also a measure on the right of (2) 12.5 mm which is completely unclear what is for?

I don't see how the image supports your point?

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Pretty cleary states the drill dimension right here

There is also a measure on the right of (2) 12.5 mm which is completely unclear what is for?

It means that the board you're attaching to needs to be atleast 12.5mm thick for the plug to work properly.

and as (2)40 mm, with something else that is unclear to me as (2)35mm.

The hole needs to be atleast 40mm deep and the screw must be long enough that when accounted for the thickness of the material you're attaching it needs to be atleast 35mm into the plug.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Rawl brand have these notes on the plastic, which I think is neat.

Brown plug, 7mm hole, 5-6mm screw.

Even a little gauge to go with it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

They're mixing up their metric and imperial sizes. These are from Forgefix, which are a British company. Many British people aged about 55 and over tend to still use imperial sizes for some things.

So it's not 6-8mm, but "the size of wall plug for 6-8 gauge screws, which are 3.5mm - 4mm screws in metric.

Strangely, if you buy a multipack of masonry bits, they give you 3, 4, 6, 8, 10mm bits. Some brands of wall plugs tend to use 5.5mm, 6.5mm, 7mm. It is a conspiracy!

Your options are:

  1. Use a smaller drill bit and wiggle it, just a little bit
  2. Use a larger drill bit and pack it out with a shim/matchstick/chopped off half-a-wallplug
  3. Individually buy the masonry bits which correspond to the plugs
  4. Buy a different brand of wall plug, which uses 6mm or 8mm bits
[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The internet has ruined me because I looked at the part code and snickered.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

God damnit XD

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What is pozi compatible recess?

[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Pozidrive is a type of screwhead like Phillips head. Its shape is similar to a Phillips head, but it has indentations at the inside corners of the "cross" (the black silhouette of the screwhead on the OP packaging shows this better than I can explain it). Pozidrive screwdrivers have lobes that slot into these indentations. IIRC, pozidrive is supposed to have less chance of camming out of the screw and stripping the head than Phillips.

Pozi compatible recess means that you'll be able to use a pozidrive screwdriver with these screws.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

As a guy who rides Japanese motorcycles, giv me JIS, or give me death.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Unless you use a regular Philips head with them and then they have a hire chance of camming out ๐Ÿ™‚.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

It's a scheme

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Fucking love that