"Nick in Spartanburg, SC" wrote in message ...
I drilled a pilot hole in a piece of pine and ran a sheet metal screw
through a piece of veneer into the pine until it was very snug.
I then put a 0-600 inch pound torque wrench on the screw and turned it 90°
tighter (to 'line it up'). I couldn't measure the difference on the wrench.
I couldn't 'feel' any difference in the tightness. I couldn't observe any
difference in the depth of the screw.

I tried the same thing with veneer into oak. Same results.

I tried the oak without the veneer. Same results.

Guess what the results were using a phillips screw that only needed a
maximum of 45° to line it up?

For yucks, I tested a 10X32 stainless machine screw in a brass nut. No
measurable difference.
I could measure a 25 inch pound difference for 45° when putting a 10X24
stainless machine screw into a stainless nut but on the second try it went
right into place at the original torque.

How can we say anything about lining up the screws except it's the mark of
someone who know that cares?

Nick in Spartanburg, SC
http://www.geocities.com/jeff_nicholas/BBR.html

Well, I hope I did not offend anyone by asking . Anyway, I am sure
you did your homework in the shop, But what about 5 years from now,
after being subjected to the beating of the water, outside the shop in
the real world? I work with wood, it walks, and it will bunch up
around screws anyway. We do not know the thickness of the wood, length
of the screws, depth of the bite, etc... I still say, in some
circumstances, this practice could cause a problem, but that is just
me.
Scotty



"Backyard Renegade" wrote in message
om...
While this may lead one to assume, and may be rightfully so, that the
builder was very intent on doing a good job on the vessel, from a
structural point of view, I wonder how you would keep the tourqe even
across a part unless you had a perfectly aligned start to each screw,
in material that was more consistant than wood. My first gut tells me
that this could lead to uneven warping or other problems. Granted,
this may be in a part of the boat where it would not happen, and the
builder noted obviously has a lot more experience than I, but I have
been working with the wood long and it just makes me say hummmmm. Of
course Chuck could end my concern with a full report on the boat!
Scotty from SmallBoats.com