Material → Fastener → Tool

Projects

A build is where the three databases meet: the material decides the fastener, and the fastener decides what you need to drive it. This section sets out that chain and the rules behind it.

The chain, in order

Most build mistakes trace back to choosing these in the wrong order. Picking the screw before deciding the material, or picking the tool before knowing the tightening torque, leaves the one constraint that actually matters until last — when it is expensive to change.

Each step below names the question that governs it, and links to the part of the database that answers it.

What decides the material?
Exposure first, load second. Indoors and dry, plain steel with a coating is adequate. Outdoors, or anywhere chlorides are present — coast, salt water, swimming pool plant rooms — stainless A4 (316) is the only one of the common alloys that resists pitting. Load only becomes the governing question once the corrosion question is settled. Browse materials →
What decides the fastener?
The material it goes into, not the material it is made of. Softwood takes a wood screw directly; hardwood and engineered board normally want a pilot hole or they split. Metal-to-metal joints use machine screws or bolts, and masonry needs an anchor rather than a screw. The thread — coarse for wood and plastic, fine for metal — is what makes the difference. Browse fasteners →
What decides the tool?
The drive and the torque. A hex socket head needs an Allen key or bit; a slotted head needs a driver that matches its width or it cams out and chews the slot. Where a tightening torque is specified, the tool has to be able to measure it — a torque wrench, not an impact driver, which will exceed the figure without telling you. Torque calculator →

Project categorieswhere the chain plays out differently

PlannedFurnitureIndoor stock, usually hardwood or engineered board, fastened with wood screws in pilot holes.TablesChairsShelvingCabinetsWorkbenches
PlannedOutdoorThe exposure drives the choice, not the load: stainless A4 or hot-dip galvanised, because a coating that scratches will rust from the scratch.DecksFencesPergolasPlanters
PlannedStructuralLoad-bearing joints, so the property class is the governing number and the tightening torque has to be honoured.FramingPartitionsRackingBracketry
PlannedRepairHere the base material is unknown until you look, and the anchor choice follows from what you actually find.Wall fixingFloor boardsFixing into masonry

Written project pages are not published yet — deliberately. A project page is only worth publishing when its bill of materials comes from a real, checkable construction. Generated ones look complete and are not, which is worse than an honest gap.

Start from a database instead

MaterialsDensity, applications and property classes for metals, wood and plastics — the first decision in the chain.Open →Fasteners2,273 specification pages with dimension tables, thread data and weight estimates.Open →Weight calculatorTurn a drawing into a shipping weight before you order stock.Open →