Replies

1. 
   bob_potter | May 02, 2000 03:58am | #14

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   yes of course

2. 
   Guest_ | May 02, 2000 03:58am | #15

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   does a screw driven with wax retain its holding power or will it eventually try to back itself out? Come on you carpentry scientist!

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 06, 2000 06:12am | #1

   *If your sitting in a hot tub and you're nuetrally boyant, does the hot tub weigh more?

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 06, 2000 06:21am | #2

   *Hi Kevin,The answer is yes. The weight of the tub will increase by the weight of volume of the water your body displaces!Physics 101, Case Western Reserve University, fall semester, 1971 Freshman year. Packed my bags and transfered to Akron U. following that semester. Too much engineering for a Geology major.John

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 06, 2000 09:10am | #3

   *John, no shit. While the Physics was fun some of the time, I just couldn't get into all that extra BS. Heck, all I wanted to do was study rocks.BTW: I would think the wax would migrate into the wood either through friction produced heat transfer or osmosis. I've driven lots of screws, so I know what I'm talking about.

1. 
   Guest_ | Mar 06, 2000 10:01am | #4

   *Yes. Screws with or without wax will retain their holding power. What makes a screw much different than a nail as far as holding power goes is the threads. The pitch and angle of the threads give screws their holding strength. It is almost impossible (note I said ALMOST) for a screw to just back out. Threaded bolts are a different story. Once a screw is driven, the angle, size, and number of threads on the screw hold it in place. Nails can be worked up and out by wood movement (due to expansion and contraction) because of their smooth shanks (kinda like pulling out a post that has been buried. Try pulling out an auger like you would a post. It ain't so easy)The wax is heated up by friction when driving the screw, and in most cases will liquify when the friction heats it up. This liquified wax will actually seal the hole, and help prevent water absorbtion into the wood. This is a good thing. The amount of protection that the wax gives will depend on the amount of wax applied to the screw, but any amount will still help. It will indeed migrate, at least partially, into the wood (as Rich stated)I use toilet seal wax because it is a specially processed bees wax. It is specially processed to stay soft. In the summer, I switch to plain parafin. The heat here makes it remain pretty soft, so the bees wax is not an issue then.Just my humble opinion...James DuHamel

2. 
   Guest_ | Mar 06, 2000 07:03pm | #5

   *Hey Rich,I'm working at an elem. school today, and This old classroom computer is really slow. So, you were a geology major also? how "bout we meet over in the tavern after work and talk about about dropping acid in minerolgy lab and such? See ya! John

3. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 05:07am | #6

   *Wax will not weaken the holding power of a driven screw. Also the screw will not back out. What wax may do is discolor whatever it is fastened into. If you are doing finish work be careful. There are special screw "lubricants" that are designed not to discolor. It is called ampetucky (sp). I know it is available from McFeely's screws cataloge.trd

4. 
   Guest_ | Apr 01, 2000 05:21am | #7

   *Thats akempucky,believe me toilet flange wax is a whole lot cheaper, not to mention easier to pronounce and spell.

5. 
   Peter_Geanopulos | Apr 02, 2000 06:20pm | #8

   *Have a sagging joist span too long. Weight of garage door bringing joist out of alignment. Any suggestions on a fix.

6. 
   Guest_ | Apr 02, 2000 08:07pm | #9

   *pete, I think your in the wrong thread....we're waxing screws here. I'm sure you'll have your sag answered momentarily! al

7. 
   Guest_ | Apr 03, 2000 11:49pm | #10

   *http://www.tdl.com/~swensen/machines/wax/wax.html

8. 
   Guest_ | Apr 05, 2000 06:18am | #11

   *Hmmm..... "waxing screws" or "waxing poetic"? Sorry, I couldn't resist that one. Hey, two things, first, I must disagree with James comment about it being almost impossible for screws to back themselves out. I worked for several years in Texas and I encountered hundreds of screws on metal roofs which had worked themselves loose, some had backed almost completely out!The other thing... I always seem to have an open tube of clear silicone caulk around and usually use it when I need to lubricate a screw. It lubricates pretty well and at least I feel like it might act as an adhesive once it sets up. Any thoughts on this?

9. 
   Guest_ | Apr 05, 2000 07:09am | #12

   *Professor Swensen gets the last word.

10. 
    Guest_ | May 02, 2000 03:41am | #13

    *My father and grandfather used bar soap to lubricate wood screws. Never had any problems with loosening.-- J.S.