Fastening table legs to surrounding skirts? Securing knee braces on a post and beam structure? Anchoring a shelf under a workbench? Lag bolts are your answer. Despite their name, these aren’t bolts at all — at least not where it counts. They’re just big screws, though they do have a hex-shaped bolt head. Drive them with a socket wrench.
Ordinary decking screws are the cheapest option you’ll find, offering excellent performance in general applications. Premium wood screws look like regular decking screws, except for a few key features. Serrated threads greatly reduce the tendency to split wood, and the best include a dual head design that accepts both Robertson and Phillips drivers.
Brass screws are classier than decking screws and lag bolts, but you need to be careful. Even the best brass screws are quite soft compared with steel ones. Predrilling proper-sized pilot holes that are only slightly smaller than brass screw threads is key, especially in hardwood. If it takes more than a moderate amount of torque to drive a brass screw, stop and enlarge the pilot hole. Even if the screw shank doesn’t break (and it probably will), the head will probably be mangled as your screwdrivers slips.
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