How do you drive bronze screws into oak?

I was thinking just use the steel screw to form the threads in the oak, then replace with these bronze screws.
If they are a match. Have to drive 20 miles there and 20 miles back to do that though. I may just try driving some screws after drilling like is done normally.

 

If you go to the website, then on the left side choose "same day delivery"

 

Ah yes, the gremlins that lie-in-wait for the unwary seeking to drive bronze screws into hardwoods, and it's all too easy to undersize the holes for pilot and shank.
Some test work on a piece of scrap is always a good idea, it's easy to find that the screw starts going in easily and then as you drive it deeper the force required starts going up exponentially.
Many times, I've had to go back over the pilot holes with a deeper setting on the Fuller tapered pilot bits or even use a number drill or a straight bit that's a 1/64 bigger to get that smidgen of increased clearance.
If you're going to be using varnish, please stay away from any lubricant products that contain wax or silicone, (you can thank me later). The best product is Dolfinite, or even varnish.
Edit: If you are bunging the screws and value the ease of future replacement, use varnish or that brown powder glue to glue-in the bungs.

 

I hope the OP has a brace and a screwdriver bit that is a very good fit in the screw slot.There is no sensible alternative which will give a comparable feel for the resistance encountered while still allowing sufficient force to overcome the friction of driving.

 

one of these, and a bottle of Advil. The top end can be switched to a chest pad. If you ask to borrow my cordless driver, this is what you'll get
If you need to put one in a corner, use this guy -

 

I do have an old brace of my grandfathers.

I got the first piece of the keel repair back in place, glued and screwed with 316 ss 3" screws which will be swapped with bronze ones



It needed a slight rocker bow which I was able to reproduce by the way I shaped that piece of 2.5 SYP board. Not flat, so with it jacked up tight, that taper cut creates a slight bow. I also trial fit it and ground back some more wood out of that filler piece further aft of that taper to get a good fit to the cut I had made into the old skeg keel.

It is tapered from mid board down from 1.5" thick to 1" thick at the bow.
Before I cut out the bad wood in the skeg, I measured every foot from mahogany plank to keel bottom, and my repair is an exact match, which made me very happy, thank God it worked out as it worried me.

White oak board bolts in under this and it is 2" thick by 3 1/2" width and around 85" long. Where it will attach bow wise, I will cut back 3 or 4" of old keel as there is a bronze keel bolt there. In front of that 7" away is another bronze keel bolt, for some reason there are a lot of keel bolts in the bow wood. A bronze keel bolt is also at the aft section and 2 more spaced in between. 4 bronze bolts will hold this oak piece in place, and plank to glue and screw it in too.

I created the curvy connections aft into the old keel wood. The new oak board, plan to cut like 60 degree slanted forwards so as to catch the bow part with the existing old skeg keel wood.

There is a 3" thick by 7" wide white oak inner and even with the chunk cut from the skeg keel it had 5 to 6" of good oak for support.

The open space to fill with the SYP board pressed up into position. I got a decent fit with what I had to work with.
Took a lot of trial and effort to match the aft curve I made into the old skeg keel. After I got close, I used a jig saw with the board lightly clamped up to create decent fit, which took out the high spots.


You can see the new white oak board with a 10 marked on the end, which will be fitted into this place.

 

Never been a fan of screw and rescrew.

just get a pilot bit, use wax, or not if it won’t work with the finishes use a compatible lube

Setup an account with McMaster Carr, great resource for boat builders

 

Reason I power screwed in those 316 ss screws was speed, I wanted to secure the board before the glue set.
I did run in a drill bit first.

I have wondered if 316 is good enough. I pulled out some 316 ss deck screws I used in the most front keel bow in 2005 holding planks which had gotten wet with salt water for years, and they pulled out totally intact wit slight staining. One bronze screw nearby was wasted. I plan to use the 316ss screws to hold the worm shoe on.

All 3 screws installed in 2005, the 316 screws look good enough to use again. All screws bought from Mcfeely.

pic

 

Are you sure it was silicon bronze and not brass? They are completely different alloys.

 

I used tapered drill bits w/countersink as Tops has suggested. It says on the package what size they are used for. Jonny ring wax would be great as Mr. Hardiman has suggested as it might add some extra protection for the tobin bronze or other non-ferrous fasteners from the tannins in the white oak or other wood and the fasteners for ebonizing the wood around it.
I good sharp threaded fasteners as well as good fitting screwdriver bit with a square edge to the bottom of the screwdriver bit to bite into the fastener head. I try not to add any oily subsistence to the wood by means of the fasteners so the glued plug and/or finish would adhere properly.
You have two different type threads to the fasteners in your photo above one is very sharp and the other is rounded can make a big difference. Check with the manufacturer recommendation would be best practices.

 

Drilling the top of the sank of the fastener will take a extra step most likely and a good fit can seal the threads for the elements. Clamping them together before glueing will work better if you have the option. Try to pull two pieces together with the fastener may not be the best practices. When drill plugs clamp board to the drill press bed while drilling them to eliminate any variation in the size of the plug so the glueing presser is correct when driving it home.

 

I changed my mind about screwing that board to the oak. I took out all those 316 ss screws. I am going to drill a larger hole and glue in 2.5" long oak dowels. I can make them myself out of white oak or buy red ok dowels premade. Just thinking 5/16" width is plenty and there will be 14 to 16 in the board.
Screws are a waste here, the board is sandwiched between to white oak sections and thru bolted with 1/2" bronze bolts. I also don't like the idea of buried metal screws there. The board is glued in place, dowels just add more slip security.

Old time boats were wedge doweled together, and it worked without glue. For me glue is the wedge.
Called tree nails, mine wont be so tight, but very impressive procedure.

Treenail - Part 3 - Treenails are used to fasten a hull plank on to Gryahound

 

Great post. Did you hear that fellow huffin and puffin at the end of all the pounding?

 

Yes, lot of pounding and upside down with a heavy sledgehammer.
Was thinking an air hammer might be useful.

The glue greases the way to help drive in those dowels.
This is an excellent way to attach planks to heavy frames.

 

Was involved in some restoration work on a 40' 1952 Norwegian fish boat, built in Risor, the documentation listed the designer as Colin Archer.
The planking was 2-1/4" thick on double-sawn frames that varied with location from 6"x6" to 6"x8", in the engine space the frames were doubled.
The hull and deck were "treenail" fastened, ~1" dia., (those in the know call them "Trunnels",) anyway, the holes for the trunnels were thru-bored, the trunnels drove thru, then sawed flush and a glued wedge driven in.
With a good trunnel there was no way a plank was going to come loose.
On this boat many of the trunnels had failed at the interface, they were of Norwegian Heart Pine, (as was the planking).
Had the trunnels been of Lignum Vitae they'd still be there.
Alas, today Lignum Vitae is almost worth what gold is.