Shank: The smooth area of the fastener between the head and the thread. Screw types vary and some screws do not have a smooth shank. Thread: The ridge that wraps around the cylinder and forms a helix.

When the goal is to join materials, options are seemingly endless: welding, crimping, gluing cementing and so on. Fasteners ...

Part of that is probably because we’ve gotten so good at making them that they’re seen as cheap commodities, but the physics and engineering behind the screw thread is interesting stuff.

A coarse-thread drywall screw has a reasonably ... or a flat-tip screwdriver. The most common type of this fastener has a built-in washer formed into the head. Thus, you don’t need to buy ...