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Below you will find information that can help you make a choice from our screws and bolts. You will also find answers to other FAQs here.

1. Difference galvanized and stainless steel

Which is stronger, stainless steel or galvanized?

Galvanized screws are stronger than stainless steel. Because galvanized screws can oxidize, they are less suitable for outdoor use. We have launched the stainless steel 410 screws for outdoor use. These are strong and do not oxidize under normal use. For wooden decking, the 5x50 mm stainless steel 410 is generally used for decking with a thickness of 20 to 28 mm. The 4x50 mm stainless steel 410 is chosen for garden planks for fence construction.

What is oxidation?

Examples of oxidation are rusting and combustion reactions. A galvanized screw is protected against oxidation by the galvanized layer. If the galvanized coating is damaged, the screw will oxidize. In the past, oxidation was defined as a reaction to oxygen. Nowadays it is the case that one substance donates electrons to another substance. Scientists call oxidation corrosion.

What different galvanizing methods are there?

There are several galvanizing methods. The most common galvanizing methods are sherardizing, hot-dip galvanizing and galvanizing or electrolytic galvanizing. Galvanizing ensures that materials are protected against corrosion. The thicker the zinc layer, the better the protection.

- Sherardize
Sherardizing is a galvanizing method in which objects are annealed in sealed drums in zinc dust at a temperature of approximately 400ºC. This method is mainly used for countersinking small bulk items such as nails, screws and nuts.

- Hot dip galvanizing
The most commonly used galvanizing method is hot-dip galvanizing. The object is immersed in zinc melt. The zinc reacts with the iron to form a good adhesive and corrosion resistant coating.

- Galvanizing or electrolytic galvanizing
In galvanizing or electro-galvanizing, the object is immersed in a salt solution of metal. As a result of a connected power source, the metal from the solution precipitates on the object. This creates a smooth, but thin layer, with a thickness of 3 to 30 micrometers.

2. When to use which type of screw

Which screws are suitable for placing a fence?

Our Wovar stainless steel 410 garden screws are recommended for installing a fence. Unlike other stainless steel screws, these garden screws are just as strong as galvanized screws. This ensures that the screws almost never break when screwed in. When mounting fence boards, we recommend multiplying the thickness of your fence board by 2. So when you use a 1.8 cm thick fence board, it is best to choose our Wovar garden screws stainless steel 410 4x40 mm.

Which screws are recommended for installing a canopy?

When installing a canopy, screws with a large bearing surface and a high clamping range should be used. We recommend our Wovar wood construction screws for this. It is also possible to use our wood threaded bolts for this. Wood construction screws are also known as coach coach screws. Wood construction screws are stronger due to the wide counter head (21 mm) and have a torx drive. Mounting a canopy is faster and easier if you use coach screws.

Which screws to use for framework?

Placing frameworks can be done in many different ways. Often rules of soft woods are used. The screws that are suitable for attaching the framework to each other are our Wovar chipboard screws galvanized with torx drive. These are very strong and suitable for constructions with a high load-bearing capacity. When installing battens, use screws with a thickness of 5 mm. The length of the screws will depend on the beam thickness you are using. A golden rule in the DIY world is that the screw must be screwed into the wood to be attached at least halfway.

The most commonly used screws for framework work are our chipboard screws galvanized torx 5x70mm. The length of 70 mm ensures a strong anchorage.

Which screws to use for hardwood?

For hardwood, it is recommended to use screws made of stainless steel. Hardwood contains tannic acids that will corrode galvanized screws over time. This can cause galvanized screws to break. This does not happen with stainless steel screws. Breaking screws while screwing in is one of the biggest annoyances in the DIY world. Wovar garden screws stainless steel 410 are much stronger than stainless steel A2 screws and do not break when screwing into hardwood. Many handymen and carpenters do not even find it necessary to pre-drill screws when using stainless steel 410 screws. Wovar does recommend pre-drilling. Pre-drilling in hardwood is always done with a hardwood drill bit thinner than the screws themselves. For screws with a thickness of 5.0 mm, pre-drill with a 3.5 mm hardwood drill. 4.0 mm thick screws are recommended to use a 3.0 mm thick hardwood drill bit.

Which screws to use for scaffolding wood?

Do you want to make scaffolding wood furniture? Choose our galvanized garden screws! These are specially hardened and have an enormous load-bearing capacity. The screws are driven with a torx notch. This ensures that your machine does not slip when turning. The underside of the head of our garden screws has milling ribs. The milling ribs allow the screw head to sink beautifully into the scaffolding wood. The garden screws have partial thread. As a result, wood on wood constructions are pulled tight against each other. Use Wovar torx bits for mounting. These do not damage the zinc layer of the screw, so that the screws cannot oxidize.

What size of decking screws should I use?

Our Wovar decking screws RVS410  are extremely suitable for mounting decking or terraces. They are also called terrace screws. To be sure that you are using the right size of decking screws, we recommend multiplying the thickness of your decking boards by 2. So for 2.5 cm thick decking boards we recommend our Wovar decking screws 5 x 50.

Which screws to use for MDF?

Our galvanized chipboard screws with torx drive are widely used for screwing MDF boards. Wovar chipboard screws have a razor-sharp cutting point. This cutting point ensures that the sheet material does not split. The partial thread of the screw allows wood on wood constructions to be pulled firmly against each other. Use our high-quality Wovar bits to install the garden screws. These minimize the chance of damaging the zinc layer. This keeps the screws for a long life.

Which screws to use for chipboard?

For chipboards we recommend using Wovar chipboard screws galvanized with Torx drive. Wovar chipboards are hardened and therefore extra strong. The special cutting point ensures that even the thinnest sheet material does not split.

Which screws to use for corrugated sheets?

wovar has special corrugated sheet screws for fixing corrugated sheets. These screws for corrugated sheets are made of stainless steel. This makes the screws very suitable for damp areas and ensures that the screws do not oxidize. The wide shell closure protects the mounting hole well against rainwater. The corrugated iron screws have a handy Torx 20 drive. This extra deep torx impression has a perfect fit on our TX20 bits. Take a look at our corrugated iron screws for more tips and advice on installing corrugated iron.

Which screw heads are there?

There are many different types of screw heads. Wovar uses, among other things, the flat head, round head and the counter head. The flat head ensures that the screw sinks nicely into the wood after it has been mounted in the wood. This is due to the tapered head of the flat head screw. Take into account the fact that wood can split when using thin sheet material. When a screw sinks into the wood, it is less noticeable. This provides a nicer finish.

The counter head screws have a wide counter head of 21 mm. This ensures a large bearing surface and clamping range. The counter-head screws are also called wood screws, disc head screws or flange head screws. The counter head screw is the replacement for the threaded bolt. The big difference between a counter-head screw and a threaded bolt is that counter-head screws have a trox drive. A threaded bolt must be tightened through its hexagonal head with a wrench or socket set. This takes more time than when screws can be screwed in with a torx drive. For our M8 threaded bolts, use our perfectly fitting 13mm socket wrench.

Which screw drive should I use?

Wovar stands for quality and mainly works with screws that are mounted with a Torx drive. Due to torx drive, your tool has a lot of grip on the screw so that your machine does not slip. The torx head has the shape of a star and is recommended by many construction workers. It is not for nothing that it is the most widely used screw drive in the professional sector.

What is pozidrive?

Pozidrive is a crosshead drive where the standard crosshead is provided with a second cross. This creates a kind of star-shaped incision. The second cross generates a better power transmission than with a normal cross-head drive. Our chipboard screws with pozidrive drive are ideal for home use. However, professionals such as construction workers and carpenters recommend screws equipped with Torx drive. Torx drive provides extra grip so that your machine does not slip and has an optimal power transmission when driving screws. Wovar was inspired by professionals and therefore recommends chipboard screws with a Torx drive. Wovar only supplies a free bit with chipboard screws torx galvanized, garden screws galvanized and decking screws stainless steel 410.

Which bit should I use?

Wovar mainly supplies screws with a torx head. A torx head has 6 drive points. This ensures that a lot of force can be applied to the screw. Wovar supplies a free torx bit with Wovar chipboard screws, garden screws and decking screws. With these screws you do not have to worry about choosing the right bit size. Screws where Wovar does not provide free bits, it is clearly indicated which bits belong to the screws. For example, our counter-head screws and frame plugs are mounted with Torx 40 bits, and Wovar frame screws with Torx 30 bits.

Driving our propellers with a pozidrive are driven with a PZ bit. With every Pozidrive screw is indicated which bit you should use to mount the screw. Pozidrive screws with a thickness of 4 and 5 mm are driven with a PZ-2 bit. Our Pozidrive screws 6mm thick are driven with a PZ-3 drive.

What does it mean that screws are hardened?

Our Wovar RVS410 screws are made of hardened carbon steel. This ensures that they are twice as strong as regular stainless steel screws. The screws are hardened by a special heat treatment. The steel is first heated and then rapidly cooled. The breaking of screws during screwing in often leads to great annoyance. Wovar prevents this with our stainless steel 410 quality screws.

What does a cutting tip/point mean?

A cutting point ensures that the wood splits less quickly when the screw is screwed in. With a cutting tip, the screw enters the wood earlier. This speeds up the tightening of the screws. For screws with a cutting tip, the thread at the end of the screw is interrupted by a groove. This ensures that the screw cuts into the wood earlier.

What is the difference between a full-thread screw and a partial-thread screw?

The name says it all. A full-thread screw has threads from tip to head. This is most suitable for mounting metal or plastic on wood. A partial thread screw has a shank between the head of the screw and the screw thread. This screw is suitable for wood on wood constructions. The partial wire ensures that the wooden materials are pulled tightly against each other. If a full-thread screw is used during installation of wood on wood constructions, space may arise between the wooden materials. You can prevent this by pre-drilling with full-thread screws.

Full-thread screws ensure a firm attachment of metal materials to wood. For example, think of hinges, suspension brackets or connecting brackets.

3. All About Drilling

When should I pre-drill and when should I not?

Our advice is always to pre-drill hardwood. With softwoods such as larch, pine and spruce, only pre-drill for screws longer than 7 cm with a head thicker than 6 mm. Furthermore, pre-drilling is recommended if you work with hardwood or when you assemble a wood-on-wood construction and use a full-thread screw. When using a 5mm thick screw, use a 3.5mm drill size. If you use a 4 mm thick screw, choose a 3 mm thick drill. Our top quality titanium drills are extremely suitable for this and hardly break. The titanium drill bits are made of high strength steel (HSS). In addition, the titanium drill is fully ground and provided with a TiN coating. Due to the TiN coating, this drill has a heat resistance of up to 600 degrees Celsius!

Tip! For example, do you work with smooth planed decking? Then you can choose to use a countersink drill. This ensures that the decking screws disappear just slightly into the wood. This ensures a nice finish.

What is the difference between drills with a normal connection and SDS drills?

The advantage of drilling with an SDS connection is that your drill will never slip during drilling and will lock itself in place. The difference between normal drills and SDS drills is that SDS drills are a lot easier to use. This advantage comes from the connection. A normal drill clamps itself through the chuck of the drill. An SDS drill has a recess on 2 sides. This ensures that the drill can only be placed in the drill in one way.

With a normal SDS connection you often have to find out how exactly the drill should be placed in the drill. The recesses ensure that the drill does not come loose while drilling. The SDS-plus drills are very similar to normal SDS drills. The difference is that SDS-plus drills have an extra slot in addition to the recesses. This slot ensures that you do not have to search while placing the drill in your machine.

What should I pay attention to when using an SDS and SDS-plus drill?

When using SDS-plus drills, a breaker or hammer drill is often used. It is important that you let the machine do the work. Therefore, do not push too hard while drilling. This prevents the drill from breaking. SDS-plus drills sit securely in your machine. This makes them more difficult to remove than drills with a normal connection. If an SDS-plus drill breaks, removing the drill becomes very difficult.