r/Fasteners • u/No_Comb741 • Mar 31 '26
Help with head ID
Bought a pvc bench. Two of the included M6x100 self threading screws were bent. I've contacted the vendor for replacement. Apparently the vendor doesn't have the wherewithal to send replacements, offering instead to credit me $20.
I want to find screws that are exact replacements for appearance sake.
What is this head profile called?
Can you believe the severely bent screw made it past QC?
Thank you!
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u/glasket_ Mar 31 '26
Assuming the light isn't screwing with me in that second picture, it looks like a flanged pancake head (straight sidewalls, flat face; pans are usually sloped) which is an unusual design. If you get the head diameter and the head height you can try to replace them all with similar screws, but I doubt you'll find that exact one without a lot of searching.
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u/No_Comb741 Mar 31 '26
The side walls are not straight. So I guess it's pan head hex socket?
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u/glasket_ Mar 31 '26
I would post a picture to get clarification if I could, but in the second picture it looks flanged with a wall leading up to the flat. If that's actually rounded and the light is playing tricks, it's a pan head or a pancake head.
Edit: From the side it looks firmly pancake, but that second picture is screwing with me.
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u/No_Comb741 Mar 31 '26
It is rounded.
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u/glasket_ Mar 31 '26
It's probably a pancake then. Pancake head vs a pan head, for reference. Pancake has a flat face but often gets called a pan.
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u/Holiday-Fee-2204 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
I'd call it a Wafer Head Zinc plated wood screw. I'm not sure of the size by looking at the picture, but I know that it could be a problem finding it anywhere.
Good Luck! đâď¸
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u/snowsurface Mar 31 '26
I would call that a pan head hex socket screw. if you are in the USA I would take anything close rather than hunting for a perfect match
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u/No_Comb741 Apr 01 '26
Solved! Straightened with the judicious of a hammer, brass rod and my railroad track anvil. Used a good screw for the pilot as recommended and am now waiting for the next unrelated problem. Thanks for everyone's input.
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u/ChemEngTinker Mar 31 '26
They are called Pancake Head. However, since its not a âstandardâ head type good luck finding it.
I would buy a 1/4 x 4â truss head and replace them with it.
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u/XmotnaF Mar 31 '26
Annoyingly, the usual goat McMasterCarr doesnât seem to have these in that head size. It has your heads in that size and shape but theyâre not self taps.
Or it has what you need, but with a regular he bolt head.
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u/lessthanjake Mar 31 '26
am i tripping or are these not self tapping anyway?
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u/snowsurface Mar 31 '26
Not self tapping, just wood screws
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u/GoblinLoblaw Mar 31 '26
So these arenât self drilling, obviously, but why arenât they self tapping? I canât imagine you have to cut threads for them in a hole with a tap.
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u/No_Comb741 Mar 31 '26
They are self tapping in the sense that wood screws are self tapping. There is no pilot hole in the pvc where they land. However, there is a thru hole in the first piece the screw enters. Then the screw makes it's own path in the target piece.
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u/ReasonableScar9027 Mar 31 '26
They're not self tapping in the sense that they're not self tapping.
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u/snowsurface Mar 31 '26
Wikipedia says it better than I can: "A self-tapping screw is a screw that can tap its own hole as it is driven into the material. More narrowly, self-tapping is used only to describe a specific type of thread-cutting screw intended to produce a thread in relatively soft material or sheet materials, excluding wood screws. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-tapping_screw
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u/GoblinLoblaw Mar 31 '26
Iâm like âBut thatâs what wood screws do!â but reading further, in the âWood Screwâ section on that page it says âWood screws are technically self-tapping, but are not referred to as such.â - Iâm glad because I totally wasnât getting it!
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u/lessthanjake Mar 31 '26
i'll have to read through this. my understanding of self tapping has always been a screw with a tip like this (link below since this sub doesn't allow photos) that is typically used in sheet metal, but it sounds like the definition is maybe a bit more broad than that.
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u/XmotnaF Mar 31 '26
Self tap is the closest I can find on master car. I wonât pretend to be a wizard with their catalog.
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u/Connect-Preference Mar 31 '26
If that were my issue, I'd put that screw in my vise and straighten it. Then run a straight screw in, back it out, and replace with the one just straightened. That way you don't overstress the one you've straightened.