Nail vs screw's?

Screws.  NO NAILS.  Let me throw this out.  My layout is 32.5 years old and the plywood is topped with Homosote that was glued and screwed.  I have many hundreds of feet of tubular track screwed to the homosote.  In all this time, not one screw has ever backed out of the Homosote.

Screws, Screws, Screws unless doing trim work then finish nails with an gun.

Ken M

Hi

Not shure what you are referring to when you say "building my new layout nail or screw?"

do youmean benchwork or laying track?

If its benchwork, everybody knows  you use screws to grab the wood to hold it together.  nails don't do that because they are too splippery.

When laying track that have track ties, the best is to use those black plastic straps.

You drill a hole on each side of the metal or wood tie and slip the tie strap threw it and and secure it tightly. Though not too tight because it will press the track down so that it will not be as level as the other piece of track.

The advantage of using plastic tie straps is they create no vibration like screws or nails.

Also, using plastic tie straps makes it so much easier to remove track.  Simply cut them with diagonal clippers and up they come nice and clean. Oh, yeah.  And for curved track that isn't quite level, using plastic tie straps on opposite sides of the track ties to tighten down the raised side can solve that problem.  Works great.

Of course this doesn't work with Lionel's fastrack unless you drill holes in it.  And that wouldn't look very good anyway with the plastic strap showing.

If you don't use screws, you are screwy. 

No nails on my layout, bench work & track, all screwed together.

     If you want to make a change, this is the way to go.

Nails have no place in a model railroad bench-work.  I have only used nails to tack down HO and N track.  Always use screws!  Much easier to change.

I built my whole layout with Home Depot purchased drywall screws.  I did first drill pilot holes with a counter sink and then put in the drywall screws with my DeWalt screw driver that has a torque setting so the driver stops when the screw is properly seated.  Over torqueing weakens or breaks the drywall screws.  They are plenty strong enough for layout purposes.  We're not building a house.  I weigh 250 and can put all my weight on one side board and have never broken through yet.  Old photo example attached.

.....

Dennis

In building bench work, I dado 2x4's to let my 1 by material in.  I use carriage bolts to attach my 1 by material to the 2x4's easy to take apart.  I use drywall screws to attach cross members on 24 inch centers.  Drywall screws to attach the osb to the frame and glue Homasote to the osb.  Tough enough.

Attaching track is only screws.

No nails anywhere!

I framed my layout like a wall and plywooded the top using screws and only screws on track,install through Woodland Scenics foam road bed with no sound issues.

Mikey

Gentlemen,

   I use screws on everything, deck screws on the platform, Phillips head of many different sizes from McMasters Car for Track, Trestle, Bridges ect.  No nails at all for many many years.  We reconstruct the Christmas layouts each and every year.

PCRR/Dave

Nail use is really becoming a thing of the past, limited to certain applications concerned with speed, finish, or relying on the "softness" of nail-steel for structural reasons.

 Screws, with proper pilot holes

There is a fair amount of nails used in construction.  You see air nailers and in some cases gas cartridge powered nailers. Both are quick, require some safety precautions and hold well.  In most cases the nails are rosin coated, difficult to remove.

The whole world of metal framing is held together with #6 button head screws.

 Air

Gas cartridge, no air hose attached.

I wouldn't throw the hammer away just yet.   Pictures from a quick internet search.

Nails are quick and cheap, leading to use in construction...  then again, this has been around for a decade or two and works out well for hanging drywall... 

In either case, not the best tool for building quality framing... you need a nice pilot hole for that, and, as far as I am aware there are no automatic devices that drill then sink a fastener with one tool.  

Screws, if you plan to change it later, nails, if you are sure it won't be changed.  As to holding power, your house is probably put together with nails, and, it's holding your life.  I think nails offer plenty of holding power.  Have done for a long time, and will do so in the future.  And, if you have a compressor and a nail gun, it's a lot faster.

It's still your choice, use what ever you are comfortable with.  

Screws for sure.  Being a retired Wood Shop teacher, that's what my students learned to use with the procedure of pre drilling out pilot hole,  then countersinking hole, then finally using wood screws.  You can always reuse when dismantling.

Screws, for sure.  I use coarse thread drywall screws with a drilled pilot hole where I don't want to split the wood.

Nails have higher shear strength than screws, so carry more load in that regard, which is why they're used to build houses.  However, they do pull out more easily than screws, which is why old floors squeak, and we get nail pops in drywall.  Ring shank and glued nails hold better, but are very permanent. 

Screws have great holding power, but not so great shear strength.  They will also draw materials together, whereas nails will not.  That said, they are perfect for layout benchwork - they can be removed easily, hold well, and, since we're not building houses, are strong enough.

The only place I use nails is to use 5/8" brads to hold cork track bed down on Homasote - I can push them in with pliers, and remove them easily, and they do that job well.

Galvanized deck screws here.  Not as brittle as dry wall screws.