Sheet Metal Screws vs. Wood Screws
I'm getting ready to mount my solar panels to my 5ver roof. It's 3/8" plywood. I'm planning two screws per bracket and four brackets per panel. I bought stainless steel screws for the mounting and pla...
Forum Discussion
dockmasterdave wrote:
Wood screws generally have a much coarser, deeper thread. I wouldn't recommend using them to hold panels to the roof while driving down the road.
I think you have a misconception of the physics of the screw and the material.
The deeper and coarser the thread for a wood screw allows it to drill a relatively narrow hole using it's wider "shoulders" to grip the material.
If the threads are too close together and not "wide" (larger in diameter) enough relative to the shank then what you get is basically a drilled hole with very little "grip" or holding power.
There is a good reason to use wood screws here.
