nail gun vs screws

[Bryanthebee]

Hi folks

Simple question for long term use of hives would you prefer screw`s or nails.
after about a year i have noticed that nail gun parts of bought in hives are pulling apart with the seasons.

so end up putting black decking screws in which do the job nicely, but i want to build a few extra this year to exspand.

so toying with getting a nail gun, should i bother or stick to screw`s?

do many bee keepers find them selves doing extra work on hive parts after using nail guns?

I Have already read the thread in hive building which is about nail gun types and beek use.

 

[Black Comb]

Exterior quality wood glue and them stainless screws do the best job for nationals.

 

[Tom Bick]

Nail guns are great tools but unless you get a heavy gauge one you will be relying more on the glue to hold the joint long term. Screws will be the strongest option and over time will keep the box strong even without glue although better job with.

I am with Black Comb and I also like stainless screws but don’t make the mistake plenty of people do and assume they are a strong steel as they are not and it’s easy to damage them. You will find that most of the modern hardened screws are reasonably rust proof and also with the advantage very difficult to damage and can be abused.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Exterior quality wood glue and them stainless screws do the best job for nationals.

 

[user 6228]

Screws increase heat loss compared to nails.
stainless has less heat loss than ordinary steel.

 

[Black Comb]

I've used glue and stainless 14g brads on my langs. but as Tom says, you need a heavyish duty gun to fire these.

 

[victor meldrew]

I was always taught that a nail is as good as a screw in an end grain ,
So mix and match.
VM


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[MartinL]

I was always taught that a nail is as good as a screw in an end grain ,
So mix and match.
VM

Screws are more likely to split the endgrain, (especially with "Birmingham screwdriver").

I just stick to waterproof PVA glue and Good quality Galvanised ring-shanked nails.

 

[victor meldrew]

Known as a fitters screwdrommer in Lancashire!
VM


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[oliver90owner]

Think about it simply.

A nail will hold one piece of wood against another; a screw will pull those two pieces together (if fitted properly).

 

[victor meldrew]

Judiciously angled ,nails will also pull pieces of wood together !
Standing joke in the wood shop where I worked was " he can't knock a nail in straight " when of course nails were deliberately planted wedge wise to both pull and hold timber together.
VM


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[Into the lions den]

Nail gun and annular nails. did a large number of Lang deeps with them a few seasons back, and it was far quicker, and neater, with a well adjusted nail gun than with a hammer. Screws took forever. 36 3" annular nails per box, and 4 2" ones of finer gauge for the joints between the rebate at the top and the side.

Also glued with exterior woodglue. Very fast job, just run the squeeze bottle down the interior face at the fingers and the force of being nailed together squeezes it out over the whole internal surface of the joint perfectly. They are so solid they will see me out.

Yes, mines were Langstroth, but the same applies to almost all nailed wooden boxes.

If using the collated nails for the nail gun you can get them glue tipped, and the heat generated by the nail going in melts the glue making a strong bond. Opted against that option as the way we did it also makes the box joint waterproof.

The nail gun cost 56 pounds from the nail supplier (they were dearer elsewhere) and the price was saved on the first 30 boxes (out of 1000) plus you could work all day rather than a couple of hours before you arm was about hanging off with the hand hammer.

A trial with screwing took an extra 15 mins per box even over hand hammering, and that was with power screwdrivers, 36 big screws with a hand screwdriver over more than a couple of boxes hardly bears thinking about.......

 

[REDWOOD]

I use dry wall screws as I only make a few hives and bits and pieces a year but I do like those helically threaded nails they never come out of pallets when trying to strip them down.

 

[REDWOOD]

This looks a quick way
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K8z97nY0E8"]Quick Drive Auto-Feed Screw Driving Systems - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Screws increase heat loss compared to nails.
stainless has less heat loss than ordinary steel.

Can you quantify the difference as it seems unlikely to be more than an insignificant factor

 

[MartinJG]

Never used a nail gun!
No screws!
Use nails supplied by WJ, Prickly T, or MaizeM, but combine assembly with wood glue.
Then paint outside with microporous, some are 20 years old this July and still functional; although will have been re-painted.
All wood stock made up from seconds. Any holes filled with combination of sawdust and wood glue, then sanded down.

 

[Tom Bick]

I use dry wall screws as I only make a few hives and bits and pieces a year but I do like those helically threaded nails they never come out of pallets when trying to strip them down.

Quite agree the nails that assemble pallets are great until you want to remove them. I also like dry wall screws the mat black can work well on certain jobs if the screw is visible but I find them brittle and have an annoying habit of breaking especially if trying to remove them.

 

[madasafish]

Dry wall screws and electric screwdriver- and glue - fast assembly and rock solid.

 

[Itchy]

Want one!

 

[Norfolk]

Nail gun for me.
I can't imagine that screws wouldn't just split the frames. It's bad enough with a nail gun and the small pins.