Screws or Nails?

tibadoe said:

Ready to assemble my deep NUC body along with other ten frame boxes. Comes with nails but was thinking of using wood screws. Seems like it would be more secure in the long run. What has been your experience?

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Well...I think screws are stronger than nails...But I think a good quality wood glue is stronger than either, and the most important component of assembly!

I use Titebond III, a lot of folks will tell you Titebond II is sufficient, and they're "probably" right, but I like a little over-engineering! ...I finish it of with pneumatic staples.

If you are going to use glue, I think nails are more than sufficient...If you're not going to use glue, I think screws is the better choice, but still don't think it will match up to basically any reasonable fastener used in conjunction with a quality glue....But understand, as with EVERYTHING in Beekeeping, opinions do vary!

I use screws exclusively. But I only have seven hives so the extra cost and extra time are of no concern to me.

Why? I have a large wood deck and have grown tired of fighting the nails that keep popping up through the seasons. I figure why fight the same potential problem on my hives. Fix it once and for all. I also predrill all my screw holes to eliminate any chance of splitting the wood.

It works for me.

Use screws with TiteBond II or III glue....

I seal over the exposed end grain with TiteBond as well. Same for the heads of fasteners.

USE GLUE! titebond II or Titebond III will work fine. I like the advertised qualitites of III better, but I buy II in the gallon jugs. TBIII is less viscous than TBII so i find that it makes for more of a mess when I'm assembling parts.

To answer your fastener question, if you're going to nail themn together with naisl and a hammer, I'd use screws. if you're using an air nailer/stapler then I'd go with staples. I'm sure screws are better overall, but air nailing is WAY faster. Last night I cut out and assembled 7 deeps, 10 bottom boards, 10 covers, and 12 5-frame nucs. I doublt i would have gotten them all assembled is I was hand nailing or screwing.

Fortunately, whatever decision you make will be the correct one as long as you use glue as well


use glue


glue.

Glue then 2 screws per side and finish with crown staples or nails. The screws pull corners tight.

I use Tightbond III and 2-1/2" x 12ga stainless steel ring shank nails.

https://www.tupent.com/shop/stainless-nails/box-nails_238/index.html

The ringshank nails hold better than regular nails and go in faster than a screw. I drive 'em in with a 2-1/2 lb sledge hammer. Two strokes per nail and the joint is tight with glue squirting out. The 12ga nail is thinner than a screw and so less chance of splitting the wood, and the stainless steel nails won't rust. The ringshank nails hold things real tight while the glue hardens. Once the glue has dried, the joint is rock solid, and I don't think the fastener contributes much to the strength so screws provide no advantage, IMHO. I coat the end grain with the glue so it is sealed really well.

Lots of ways to skin this cat, though.

KPeacock said:

but I buy II in the gallon jugs.


use glue


glue.

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Titebond III comes in gallons too. I own one of them. It is thick glue. I glue everything. All joints on all woodenware and frames.


Oh, and to the original poster. USE GLUE! LOL I glue and staple my boxes together initially to get them together faster and then usually put about 3 screws per joint before the glue sets. I am building some nucs now and have not used any screws, just glue and staples. I may go back and put screws. The first boxes I got were some that I bought. They were nailed together with no glue. Stupidity at its finest. After one season they are coming apart at the seams. Those were the fancy finger jointed boxes. I use lap joints on the ones I build. Boxes I built less than a month after buying the ones last year have absolutely no separation at any joint. They were glued and screwed together. I am going to remove the 4 boxes that I purchased and take them apart and glue and screw them together before they start to rot.

Nails

tibadoe said:

Ready to assemble my deep NUC body along with other ten frame boxes. Comes with nails but was thinking of using wood screws. Seems like it would be more secure in the long run. What has been your experience?

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sqkcrk said:

Nails

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Really?

From "your experience" you've decided that nails are more secure or are you simply stating (in a brief manner) that you use nails?

narrow crown staples

Box joint and nails. How well it holds has more to do with the quality of wood (Generally bad) than the fastener.

BeeCurious said:

Really?

From "your experience" you've decided that nails are more secure or are you simply stating (in a brief manner) that you use nails?

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I use nails. Screws cost more. You can't drive them w/ a hammer. They cut end grain. Nails is what I use and prefer. Staples are faster. I don't need to be faster. Faster is dangerous, sometimes. Power tools mean that mistakes can be made faster. But that's me.

Mark you comment above reminds me of this definition of a Table Saw. "An expensive and highly precise machine used for cutting lumber to short".

Yeah Daniel. Most of my wood working experience came from ax, crosscut saw, and pit saw, hand planes and hand saws, so, what do I know about modern wood working?

Daniel Y said:

Mark you comment above reminds me of this definition of a Table Saw. "An expensive and highly precise machine used for cutting lumber to short".

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I can attest to the fact that a super deluxe sliding, compound mitre saw can cut 10 nuc tops too short in less than 5 minutes. Although I think it was the free pencils fault for marking the boards too short.

Well, at least it was the boards and not the fingers. I thought that was where you were headed.

sqkcrk said:

Well, at least it was the boards and not the fingers.

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No, but I did almost lose one of those in a plate roll at our shop today. Glove got caught in the roll.

Nails are plenty, glue is overkill, screws are way over the top. And, No, I don't have empirical knowledge of this. But, I do know a hawk from a handsaw.

I've used both over the years.I like screws better.
I've got some older boxes that the nails has backed out.Pulled the nails & then used screws in there place, should last several more years,
Also like beecurious ideal about putting glue on the end grain of the wood.Mark,,,,,