T5

I use ones that look like the one on the right. Even the same finish. I think they were "TEKS" brand, but I bought a large quantity a long time ago. On mild steel you could drill/tap several holes with the same screw.

The one on the left looks.........cheesy somehow. Is it any good?

joe-nwt said:

I use ones that look like the one on the right. Even the same finish. I think they were "TEKS" brand, but I bought a large quantity a long time ago. On mild steel you could drill/tap several holes with the same screw.

The one on the left looks.........cheesy somehow. Is it any good?

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The difference? About $.15 each. And amazingly, the ones on the left actually work quite well. I was surprised the first time I used them. In some steel they actually work better than the cut ones.

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Forge Boyz said:

The difference? About $.15 each. And amazingly, the ones on the left actually work quite well. I was surprised the first time I used them. In some steel they actually work better than the cut ones.

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What brand?

joe-nwt said:

What brand?

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The cut ones were Fastenal. The stamped ones are bulk off Ebay. I dont do that purchasing so I don't have a brand for you.

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GigawattsGW said:

T5 screws what are the difference between these two View attachment 176502

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Left is electro galvanized.
Right is hot dipped galvanized, for a more robust environment.

Wardenclyffe said:

View attachment 176513

These are Fastenal. No idea on cost

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Those are regular self drilling screws, the Tek 5 type point will drill through an I-beam flange. They are a lot more expensive.

Forge Boyz said:

The difference? About $.15 each. And amazingly, the ones on the left actually work quite well. I was surprised the first time I used them. In some steel they actually work better than the cut ones.

Click to expand...

Forge Boyz said:

The cut ones were Fastenal. The stamped ones are bulk off Ebay. I dont do that purchasing so I don't have a brand for you.

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I've tried both and I haven't had any problems with the eBay ones, but I remember a thread a while back where people got some clunkers off eBay. The genuine ITW Teks are a lot more expensive but they're still less than beam clamps. Teks® 5 Steel-to-Steel Self-Drilling Screws On ITW Commercial Construction - North America (itwbuildex.com) I buy the #12 x 1-1/4" and 12 x 1-1/2" but it would be great if they made the 1/4" in a shorter length.

Here's a pro tip, if you drill and remove the #12 Tek-5's, you can redrill and tap it with a 1/4" x 20 combo drill-tap super easy, and you'll get several holes per Tek-5. I like this because I can use short screws and you don't have those dagger points sticking out the other side.

splatz said:

Here's a pro tip, if you drill and remove the #12 Tek-5's, you can redrill and tap it with a 1/4" x 20 combo drill-tap super easy, and you'll get several holes per Tek-5.

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I just buy the 1/4" Teks and be done with it. The screws are worth about 30seconds of my time at the rate I charge, I can only play around with them so long.