AMERICAN Screws

I am trying to locate an AMERICAN manufacturer of silicon bronze wood screws. I am not looking for a fastener supplier or retailer, but an actual manufacturer of the silicone bronze screws.

I have contacted several suppliers; however they either will not or can’t divulge the source of their fasteners. This is understandable, since screws are a commodity item and may a supplier’s fasteners pass through several distribution companies or “middle men” before reaching the end customer. YOU.

Having over 30 years in manufacturing and high volume assembly, I fully understand that most fastener retailers have multiple sources for their fasteners and are constantly switching their suppliers and negotiating lower prices to keep their prices low and profits high – end result you the customer is never really sure where your fasteners are being manufactured. With the criticality of fasteners used in boats and the habitual lack of consistent quality out of Asian manufactured fasteners (currently the largest volumes of fasteners originate out of India and China) it is imperative you be sure of your sources.

Fasteners manufactured in the states are subjected to much closer scrutiny and often higher standards than those made in third-world counties and are not as easily “bought” into the market place.

So again, does anyone know of American manufacturers for silicone bronze wood screws?

 

There is one here on these very forums - right now (I just woke up) I can't remember his username, but he owns the company OEM Fasterners, and from talking to him here, he seems like a nice guy.

His bronze screws aren't expensive (well, in comparison to other manufaturers, lol).



The website is:

www.oemfasteners.net.


Btw, he turns the screws, which should result in better screws, I have been told.

Further, he can produce screws in titanium if you have the money for the Ti, which, alas, I don't.


Edit: The propable reason as to why most places won't divulge their supplier is that it is indeed a supplier/importer, and most screws stem from Asia.

 

fastener production

From http://www.labsafety.com/refinfo/ezfacts/ezf216.htm

 

Thanks

Thanks for the source and you are correct in that most suppliers will not advertise their source for fasteners because in fact they are from Asia.

And although rolled fasteners may be stronger in certain applications, unlike rolled thread screws with their reduced shank, the shank diameter below the head on a cut thread is the same diameter as the outside of the threads. This completely fills the clearance hole normally drilled for the shank, thus creating a better seal between screw and plank.

 

SS, It is speaking of the threads, not the screws. The shank itself, as pointed out by Texas boater, is thicker, and it fills the hole.

But, all things aside, it doesn't matter in this case. One could simply use the bigger size I would venture.

Just as crucial, in this thread - there has got to be other manufacturers of screws over there.

 

Tight Industry

DanishBagger you are correct - however I have been searching for quite awhile and have been given numerous leads but so far Goulet Specialties (OEM) is the only one!

The problem seems to be that although there are numerous fastener manufacturers in the USA very few deal in silicone bronze. The American military, aerospace, oil and gas, construction and automotive industries all use either stainless steel or exotic materials for their fasteners (and they certainly do not use wood screw threads! ) and all the other industries that use other materials are looking for cost and are willing to take the risk with overseas fasteners.

Edit to add: I have just learned of another source that may pan out Narragansett Screw ( http://www.narragansettscrew.com/ ) just down the road from Goulet Specialties!

 

Found this:CCFasteners

Looks like they produce them themselves (and they even argue why cut threads are chosen, hehe).

I find it a bit ironic, though, that on a webpage that is likely to be read by people from all over the world, they use the word "domestic".


Also, have you asked Jamestown Distributors where they get theirs from?

 

Reed and Prince

My Dad used to work there when the plant was in Worcester Mass. I still have brass and silicon bronze screws made there. Reed and Prince developed the Fearson head screw. It looks like a philips head but the screw driver bit engagement into the screw is deeper, resulting in less stripped heads.



http://www.reedandprincemfg.com/

 

I contacted CCFasteners and they claim only their slotted flat-head wood screw is "domestic" - that would indicate that all the Fearson and Square Drive screws are imported.

 

From their web site:
"Reed & Prince, founded by Edgar Reed in 1886 began making tacks, nails and brads in a small shop on Tainter Street in Worcester MA. Over the years, the Company evolved into designing and engineering screws, nuts, and bolts; earning the reputation as an industry leader, pioneering new products, and novel manufacturing techniques.


Today, the Company focuses on manufacturing “make to print” cold-headed specials, fasteners, screws, solid rivets, and studs ranging in diameters from .030 (.762 mm) to .500 (12.7mm); and lengths from .125 (3.175mm) to 5.00 (127mm). Our forte is our ability to convert complex screw machined products into cold headed products."

Since they are a "make-to-print" shop how are their prices?
And yes they did invent the Fearson drive (it used to be covered by Fed Spec. GGG-B-001222 - but that was cancelled eight years ago - but I do not know why!)

 

Ah, like that. I guess it pays asking.

One thing, though: What are we looking for here? Is the "domestic" part the overshadowing concept, or that they are made as you want them to be made? If the latter, then it really doesn't matter if they're made in europe, china or whatever, as long as your specs is met? (I put a question mark, because, after all, it might matter).

You want: Cut screws (well, you want non-rolled screws), made from silicon bronze – even though they aren't fabricated in-country, so to speak, you certainly will be able to get what you want.

I am from a (very) small country, and although I have some of the same thoughts (I like to tell a manufacturer to piss off if he is cocking up), I buy much of my stuff from abroad - especially the UK (the UK because I speak better english than, say, french, making it easier to search), and being "domestic" doesn't necessarily make it better.

I know, I propably shouldn't say this, but there are loads of products I'd prefer not being american, and it's not just about the import duties when importing to euroland.

But, anyways, my question is this: Why do you want "domestic" screws? Is it because of certain specs, certain ISO-rules, or some to that end? Or is it because you like to buy american, supporting the nation you live in?

Both are valid, imo, so I', not trying to convince you either way. Heck, I'm not even trying to convince you that you might be able to get it cheaper abroad (which, you propably wont if it is to adhere to iso-rules).

Anyways, just thought I'd ask.

Andre

 

Thoughts From A Cheap But Safe Texan

DanishBagger –

It is not the domestic or American part per se that is the issue. It is that prior to the 1990’s the crooks of the world (both inside and outside the USA) discovered that there was big profit to be made in manufacturing cheap counterfeit fasteners – especially for the high dollar defense and aerospace industries. Things got a lot worse until there were quite a few tragic accidents, where the cause was linked back to these bogus fasteners. So the US government cracked down and created the Fastener Quality Act (FQA) in 1990. This law placed strict (sometimes too strict) quality control guidelines over the industry, especially those wanting to sell to the government.

The problem is that those old corrupt low quality manufacturing shops did not go out of business they just switched industries and now prey off the do-it-yourself industry and any unscrupulous manufacturer or retailer looking to increase profits by reducing their own costs at the risk of lower quality and safety to its customers.

Of course not all Asian manufactured fasteners are bad, in fact I will go out on a limb and guess that 90% are very high quality and come from honorable shops. But I have seen way too many cases in my 30 years of manufacturing where cheap fasteners either fail prematurely or are just so poorly made they can not be used – heck buy enough cheap made in China or India stuff you have to assemble and you will come across these type of fasteners (even Swedish IKEA often provides very low quality fasteners with their furniture!).

The only thing about domestic fasteners is that – machining is still one of the few things we still do fairly well here in the States. And with the advent of ISO 9000, TS16949, QS 9000, VDA 6.1, and AS9000 most American fastener manufacturing shops receive outside quality audits on at least a yearly basis. This just keeps everyone “honest”

The same is true for most of modern European manufacturing facilities as well.

However, it has been my own personal experience in doing business with manufacturing facilities in Beijing, that were run (the concept of company ownership or management in China is very different than that here in the US) by my own company and considered very high quality, that the concept of “quality control” is often up to one’s own interpretation. Between the communication barriers, cultural differences, physical barriers and blatant government corruption – quality is often “hit or miss”.

With all those possible issues – I personally am not willing to pay to be some distributor’s test platform. At the very least it could cause costly repairs and in the worst case death by drowning! (well maybe not death – but very wet clothes! )

So if you have a source for European manufactured fasteners – give me a shout. I just assumed silicone bronze wood screws from “Germany” would be a little more pricey here in Texas than say from Connecticut.

 

I accidently pressed CMD+Q after writing a rather longish reply, but let me try again:

First of all, thank you for that post, I learned a lot from that


I have/will be bought my screws from Combwich Marine Enterprises, which is a subdivision under Anglia Stainless. They are a member of the British Marine Federation, and the bloke I talked to - Gary Sawyer – is a nice bloke, maybe you can send him a note with your questions?

The website is www.angliastainless.co.uk

I won't post his direct email here, because it might be harvested, but it is the first letter of his firstname and then his surname -at-anglia-stainless.co.uk (yes, include the hyphen between anglia and stainless).

I don't know whether their screws are manufactured in the UK, but if they are made to the proper din/iso, they should be allright.

I haven't checked that, I am sorry to say, I simply have confidence in them. Now, of course you shouldn't take my endorsement seriously (especially since I am an amateur), but you could give them a call/mail.

The price list I have, I got it send by mail, because they don't have it on their site - if you don't want to wait, you can tell me the dimensions and I can find them and their price? Just to check if it is something you might be pursuing.

Andre

Edit: Don't be so sure that it is cheaper getting something from the vicinity.

I haven't finished my boat, but the ropes I will be using is cheaper for me if bought throught Precourt.ca than it is anywhere around here. And the weird part is that the ropes are manufactured in france, shipped to Canada, and I am having it shipped back to Europe. I checked the prices because I thought it would be stupid having rope shipped across the world, but it's more expensive here.

 

Thank You

Thanks Andre,

I will give Gary a shout!

And yes I understand that part about prices. I know the price of gas is a touchy subject, but as an example only, for the longest time the Gulf Coast of Texas refined a majority of the US's gasoline - but we often paid more per gallon in this area than elsewhere in Texas or surrounding states. Go figure!

Once my quest is over, I would hope to have a list for the community of fastener sources that could be grouped by "ISO/EOQ Manufacturer", "ISO/EOQ Distributor" "Recommended Manufacturers/Distributors" and maybe "Manufacturers/Distributors to Avoid".

I just feel that besides spreading the B.S.., one of the functions of a forum like this is to inform and educate.


I am off….......in the pursuit of Truth, Justice and a quality Screw…..

 

So, did you find anything? What did you decide upon?

Andre