This is a brief primer on the kinds of fasteners typically encountered by woodworking hobbyists. Keep in mind that the variety of available fasteners is vast, with many specialized fasteners on the market. Therefore, this is not intended to address all aspects of fasteners nor discuss the topic at an in-depth level for commercial or industrial settings. Rather, this article is intended to provide some basic guidance for a relative newcomer to the pastime. Included are some useful charts of dimensional and technical data.

Fig. 1	Fig. 2	Fig. 3	Fig. 4	Fig. 5	Fig. 6
Fig. 7	Fig. 8	Fig. 9	Fig. 10	Fig. 11	Fig. 12
Fig. 13	Fig. 14	Fig. 15	Fig. 16	Fig. 17

Perhaps the most familiar fastener used by woodworkers is the venerable wood screw, with a countersunk head. The traditional slotted version is shown in Fig. 1. Figure 2 shows the phillips version. Most commonly made of mild steel with with a protective coating, wood screws can be comprised of other metals, such as brass, as seen in Fig. 3, or stainess steel (Fig. 6). Figure 5 shows deck screws with a variety of coatings (L-R): black finish, galvanized, zinc plated, and corrosion-resistant coating.

Screws are available with other head shapes, such as round-head (Fig. 4), pan-head sheet metal screw (Fig. 8), and hex-head lag screws (Fig. 9). Specialy screws, such as the pocket hole screw for joining face frame members (Fig. 7), are available.

Finish nails (Fig. 10) find many uses around the woodworking shop, however many users will find that a pneumatic finish nailer will make life much easier. Once you start using a finish or brad nailer, you'll wonder how you lived without one for so long. A typical "stick" of collated finish nails is shown in Fig. 11. Another useful tool is a narrow-crown stapler (staples shown in Fig. 12). Narrow-crown staples are ideal for fastening thin wood, such as plywood, and are indispensable for attaching plywood backs onto cabinets. The crown of the staple provides more strength to a joint than the small head of finish nails, making the staple less prone to pulling through the wood.

While not normally associated with usual woodworking projects, machine bolts are nevertheless very useful for the construction of workbenches, shelving, shop jigs, etc. Fig. 13 shows three common grades of bolts: (L-R) grade 1, grade 5, and grade 8. The grades of bolts denote, among other factors, their hardness, tensile and shear strengths, with grade 1 having the lowest hardness and strength, and grade 8 having the greatest.

Fig. 14 shows hex-head cap bolts, sometimes called "Allen" bolts. These are useful in applications where the bolt must be frequently loosened or removed, such as in the case of shop-built jigs and fences.

T-nuts and insert nuts are used to provide threaded receptacles for bolts to be mounted in a wood surface. Fig. 15 shows a T-nut with self-gripping prongs that "bite" into the wood as the T-nut is tightened inward using a bolt. The prongs hold the T-nut in place and prevent it from twisting loose under torque. A T-nut can be fitted into a counterbored hole to remain below flush with the wood's surface. Fig. 16 shows an insert nut, with a flange that is drilled and countersunk to allow it to be attached to the wood's surface with small screws. T-nuts and insert nuts are commonly used in the construction of shop-made jigs.

Fig. 17 shows some common specialty fasteners, including wingnuts and threaded knobs. These are very useful in constructing jigs and other shop aids.

Wood magazine online has a couple of very informative articles on wood screws and nails, for your further reading pleasure.

I also have a downloadable PDF chart showing the decimal equivalent dimensions for fractional, letter and number drill bits, and tap drill sizes.

Pilot and Clearance Holes for Wood Screws
Screw Gauge	Clearance Hole	Pilot Softwood	Pilot Hardwood
0	1/16	1/64	1/32
1	5/64	1/32	1/32
2	3/32	1/32	3/64
3	7/64	3/64	1/16
4	7/64	3/64	1/16
5	1/8	1/16	5/64
6	9/64	1/16	5/64
7	5/32	1/16	3/32
8	11/64	5/64	3/32
9	3/16	5/64	7/64
10	3/16	3/32	7/64
11	13/64	3/32	1/8
12	7/32	7/64	1/8
14	1/4	7/64	9/64
16	17/64	9/64	5/32
18	19/64	9/64	3/16
20	21/64	11/64	13/64

Dimensions of Common Nails
Size	Length (in.)	Diameter (in.)	Number/Pound
2d	1.00	0.072	876
3d	1.25	0.080	568
4d	1.50	0.099	316
5d	1.75	0.099	271
6d	2.00	0.113	181
7d	2.25	0.113	161
8d	2.50	0.131	106
9d	2.75	0.131	96
10d	3.00	0.148	69
12d	3.25	0.148	64
16d	3.50	0.162	49
20d	4.00	0.192	31

Drill Bit Speed Chart - Recommended Speeds (RPM)
Twist Drill Bits
Diameter	Softwoods	Hardwoods	Plastics
1/16" - 3/16"	3000	3000	2500
13/64" - 3/8"	3000	1500	2000
25/64" - 5/8"	1500	750	1500
11/16" - 1"	750	500	Not Recommended
Forstner Bits
Diameter	Softwoods	Hardwoods	Plastics
1/4" - 3/8"	2400	700	Not Recommended
1/2" - 5/8"	2400	500	250
3/4" - 1"	1500	500	250
1-1/8" - 1-1/4"	1000	250	250
1-3/8" - 2"	500	250	Not Recommended
Hole Saws
Diameter	Softwoods	Hardwoods	Plastics
3/4" - 1-1/2"	500	350	Not Recommended
1-5/8" - 2"	500	250	Not Recommended
2-1/8" - 3"	350	Not Recommended	Not Recommended
Spade Bits
Diameter	Softwoods	Hardwoods	Plastics
1/4" - 1/2"	2000	1500	Not Recommended
9/16" - 1"	1800	1500	Not Recommended
1-1/8" - 1-1/2"	1500	1000	Not Recommended
Brad-Point Bits
Diameter	Softwoods	Hardwoods	Acrylics
1/8"	1800	1200	1500
1/4"	1800	1000	1500
3/8"	1800	750	1500
1/2"	1800	750	1000
5/8"	1800	500	750
3/4"	1400	250	750
7/8"	1200	250	500
1"	1000	250	250