McFeely's Square Drive Screws
If you do carpentry work, cabinet work, deck work, fence work, or whatever requires something to be connected to wood or concrete or brick, the square-drive screws from McFeely's are incredible. The pay-off is that they have a wide selection in stainless (two grades) and other rust-proof finishes. Your hand or power screw-driver bit will never slip out of the slot. McFeely's also has innovative ideas like self-drilling screws with a small augur built into the tip. I use two old Makita 9.6 volt drill-drivers, and it is no lie that I can drive fifty to sixty #10 by 3-inch augur tips into pressure treated wood on ONE charge.
Recently, I converted a basement into a one-bedroom apartment for a friend. I never drove one nail in the whole project. Outside of the dry-wall screws I bought at Home Depot, every piece of framing, trim, dropped ceiling and hardware is anchored with square-drive screws from McFeely. If I were ever to build another house, I would use their screws exclusively (they sell dry-wall screws, too).
Superior product and superior service (average three days between order and delivery via UPS Ground), plus they CALL you to advise of back-orders or any possible order changes. I have only a few companies I have dealt with over these years which have truly impressed me, I'll rate McFeely's right up at the top. I've never been disappointed with one of their products or their service.
Home Depot now carries some square-drive screws. But I started buying from McFeely's 20 years ago since they offered stainless steel screws (very unique at that time). What McFeely's has going for them is their immense variety of metal types of screws and bolts, including a superior galvanized steel finish, called "No-Co-Rode". Four years of southern sun, gully-washer rains, snow and ice, and not the first "No-Co-Rode" screw I've used has rusted.
They have a lot of other "cool tools" on their web-site besides screws. Look at their "BITZ" holders that stick to a drill or their orange velcro straps that I have used for years to tie up my electrical cords. Generally very high-quality stuff at reasonable prices.
-- Jim Stagg
Square drive screws have been a trade secret among woodcrafters for years. They've just about replaced Phillips heads in Canada. Many manufacturers make them, although most hardware stores in the US don't stock them (yet). But no one can match the variety of square drive screws from McFeely's. They also sell screws with a "combo" drive which permit a Phillips driver to work in a pinch. Also the McFeely's website has the best tutorial on screw types and materials I've seen, and a decent FAQ on why square drives are superior.
-- KK
McFeely's Square Drive Screw Assortment
1,200 assorted screws
$78
McFeelys
100 Black Oxide Flat Heads
$2.50
Favorite (15)
thom
I buy and use as many as 5 pounds of screws a week. I use Torx for everything screwed.
I bought square drive screws a couple of years ago, and I think, if I tried, I could find the partial boxes that were never finished. Square drive's cam out.
A person can get a very extreme angle on a Torx screw (where the bit is at other than in line with the screw) and still drive it without camming. I work alone and use screws to build temporary jigs, stands, etc., and am able to re-use the Torx many more times than other styles of screw head.
thom
I do not know who did the research that shows square drive screws superior to Torx. I know that I buy and use weekly, five or more pounds of Torx head screws. I did buy into the cr@p about square drives a couple of years ago and still have those partial boxes somewhere.
I work alone and build a lot of temporary jigs and such getting to the final product and am able to use and re-use Torx head screws. I can get an extreme angle between the bit and the screw and still drive it, whereas the screw and bit have to be near perfectly in-line with a square head.
In the field where the screw meets the wood, I don't see anyone with square head screws. I carry square head bits, just in case I run into something to take apart - there covered with rust from dis-use.