Let's get the sexual innuendo out of the way. I am talking about one of the most pleasurable ways of joining two bits of wood together. So, get your mind out of the gutter while reading this very important information. This is a Reisser Cutter screw and it has become my favourite when working with wood. This is not a promotion or a paid-for advertisement, I am just a happy customer and marvel at the design) A normal screw is really such a simple iconic design. A metal spike with a spiral thread running its length, a point at one end and some sort of keyed mechanism at the other to allow you to drive it into the wood. Making two pieces of wood become one
What makes the Cutter screw a bit different and a great design improvement is the fact that the pointy end actually has some little slots cut into it transforming it into a drill bit. This allows it to cut its way into the wood rather than just push the wood fibres apart as it is inserted,
It is covered in a special coating which also helps it glide easier into the wood and at the top end just as it is to driven home the head has another cutting texture that creates its own countersink.
I know what you are thinking, it is just a bloody screw but these improvements make it a joy to use. Screwing had never been such fun. Especially when used at the end of a board.
Here are two screws from yesterday. The traditional one at the bottom and the cutter at the top. You will notice also that the cutter has a smooth shaft near the top. (Stop it!). This appears on some other screws also and it means that the screw will slip in the hole made in the first wood and help pull the two pieces together when it is driven all the way in.
Let us drive them both in around 1 inch or 2.2cm from the end. The traditional screw is a bit wider but I hope you will get the idea. Girth, in this case, is not important
The proof is in the pudding. this kind of join will usually require some sort of pilot hole to be drilled but with the cutter screw, it is not necessary.
The wood has cracked as the traditional screw brute forces it's the way through the wood but the Cutter has no such problem as it makes its own pilot hole. You will also notice that the head of the normal screw sits proud of the surface whereas on the Cutter it has used its last few turns to make itself a nice countersink and can sit flush without splitting the wood.
These screws can save a lot of time when building especially in the type of work I do. I have to build 4 vegetable planters tomorrow and all I need is wood and a driver.
I hope someone finds this post useful and if you have any questions ask away down below.
