Use of carriage bolt screws in household furniture

Use of carriage bolt screws in household furniture

03 Mar, 2023

All of us in our lives have sat on benches be it in school, parks or our homes. But have we ever noticed some difference in the way those are made? Probably not. These minute details don’t apparently matter to us but for a carpenter or industry expert, these things are their world. That’s primarily because each screw is different & has its unique application area.

Today we are going to discuss the most common yet underrated carriage bolt screws.
As the name suggests carriage bolts got their name back in the 19th century when carriages & their wheels were first made as a means of transport. Since then they have had an ever-growing popularity but specifically in the furniture category.

Selection of carriage bolts

Design-wise they have a doomed mushroom shape head with a square shank and circular cross-section, they are mainly used in conjunction with nuts, bolts and washers to provide excellent grip & tightness. Certain things need to be considered when selecting the right type of carriage bolt for your household furniture like knowing the type of furniture being made. This is the key to the selection of the right size & length of the screw. It also gives an idea about the nut & washer length to be used as different sizes have different load-handling capacities. Also, the furniture material can range from plastic, wood, and metal to sheets, this variation requires a careful selection of carriage bolts with a particular head and shank type.

Advantages over other screws

Getting to know why a particular screw is better than others is pivotal in the designing of beautiful furniture. Each screw has utilities that are sometimes sector-specific or transcend across sectors. Here are a few of the advantages of carriage bolt screws:

1.  With a doomed head & square shank, it allows easy usability in areas where a finished or smooth surface is required as compared to standard screws.

2.  They are of prime importance in the wood sector where nuts and washers are used frequently with screws and carriage bolts that allow for easy tightening without the aid of an external tool on the nut.

3.  These have great grip & are used extensively in affixing wood & metal sheets together.

4.  They work brilliantly in pre-drilled holes where the square shank helps in preventing the screw to wobble while fastening or affixing things.

5.  Aesthetically and security-wise, these fasteners provide a better overall solution as compared to nails that have pointed or brittle heads & can sometimes tear clothes.

Key application areas:

With the rise of DIY furniture thanks to technological advancement, stores like IKEA, and rising growth in the wooden furniture sector, carriage bolts are hugely in demand. Following are some of the things you can create with carriage bolts.

1.  Swings & frames

Swings and wooden frames are two of the important things that catch the attention of kids and adults respectively, both of them feature carriage bolt screws in their design & construction. It is one screw which looks good, is safe to use and holds objects tightly such that accidents don’t happen often.

2.  Patios & fences

Patios and fences are things that require fastening solutions that are reliable, long-lasting & are easily installable by homeowners themselves. All these things are fulfilled by carriage bolts to the best extent possible.

3.  DIY Furniture

Coming with stainless steel nut and washer, usability without an external tool for affixing, and carriage bolts screw make for the ideal solution for DIY furniture. The disassembly & reassembly features allow them to be versatile & be used in almost all types of self-constructible furniture, making it one of the best screws for household furniture.

Some finishing touches:

Carriage bolts are the go-to solution when it comes to wooden works or home furniture construction, due to their enhanced ease of access, tightening capabilities, versatility, aesthetics and high tensile strength. The only consideration here is, the selection of the right size, length and fit of screws as well as nuts, washers & bolts. Keep in mind while the screw sizes affect its prices, it is also equally true that different sizes are designed for different holding capacities.

For top-quality fastening solutions, try LP screw, one of India’s leading furniture screw manufacturers and discover the difference yourself.