...and driving me there is not a long trip at all. It is usually the little things that get me pissed easily and the screws that came with the new Venetian blinds for our kitchen did just that. Each bracket, there were two brackets for each of three sets of blinds, had only two screws to hold it to the molding. You would think that it would be easy to get the job done, of installing three sets of blinds, requiring only a total of only 12 screws. You might also think that the installer (yours truly) would not be driven nuts in doing it but there you would be wrong.
The screws were hex-nut head screws but also had notches for a Phillips head screwdriver. Not knowing better (because, as I am the first to admit, I am no handyman), I opted to screw them in with the Phillips head screwdriver instead of using a 1/4" nut driver which I id not have (at least not yesterday). Let me tell you, it was a pain in the knuckles to drive them in even though I had drilled the recommended pilot holes for the screws. On every turn of the screwdriver, my knuckles scraped on the molding or the frame of the window. Not bad though, I could deal with that. What was a little worse was that the screws had such fine threads as to require about 500 turns each (or so I seemed) to get them in all the way. The knuckles got a little raw after the first bracket was in (only two screws mind you, but again, I could take it). They actually went it fairly easily except for the fact that there was little to no room to do it without banging or scraping my knuckles. Add to that my having to get on top of the kitchen countertop and crouch down to put in two sets of them, which caused my knees (post two bouts of Lyme disease knees) to ache and stiffen up. Still, I could take it and, after all, I was doing I for my frau.
It was sad, but it took me all of about 5 minutes per screw, maybe even 10 minutes on one of them just to screw them in place. Yes, if you have been counting along, that was for all of 8 screws and only two sets of the three sets of blinds. The last set then went into the window at the end of the room. By then I had figured that it would be easier to use the side mounting holes for the screws, instead of the top mounting holes I had used on the first two sets of brackets. I have to admit, the first screw on the first bracket went in without all that knuckle banging although there was still some. Then the second screw went in screwy, at too much of an angle and the underside of the screw head was not flush as it should have been with the bracket wall. Oh well, I tried to screw it in more and, of course, that stripped the screwdriver notch in the screw head. It would not turn at all. So, I moved onto the next bracket and in went one screw with barely a knuckle scrape. Then the second screw just refused to budge after it was about 3/4 of the way in. I tried with different screwdrivers but the head on that one soon stripped too. Damn Chinese make everything like crap, oh wait these were made in either Canada or the USA as per the label. I guess we have declined somewhat in the manufacturing department but I would bet if made in China they would have been worse, the head probably would have separated from the screw.
Anyway, I was pretty pissed, as I said it is the small things that drive me nuts. Somewhere in there, I was lamenting the fact that I am so easily driven nuts when it dawned on me that the instructions said the tools that might be helpful would include a Phillips head screwdriver, a plain screwdriver (for what I do not know because none of the screws had a slot to fit one of them) and a 1/4" nut driver. I chuckled, I figured I already had the 1/4" nut driver in the form of the 1/4 " hex nut head screws since they had driven me nuts. Regardless, I decided to check the tool box for what I was pretty sure I did not have. I did have a 1/4" box end wrench but that was just about useless. Yes, it would do the job but require double to triple the turns to set the screw.
That was yesterday. I left it as it was and told the wife I would hit up Homer's for the tool I needed. The I promptly got busy on nothing and forgot to go. So today, I was off to Homer's and I looked for a 1/4" nut driver. There were none to be found, not even in a set. They had a nice set of metric nut drivers but that was not what I needed and all I wanted was on - not a set. So I bought a 1/4" socket (I had a 1/4" socket driver somewhere) and brought that baby home. I soon learned what a knucklehead I had been in as much as I had used the Phillips head screwdriver in the first place. The socket on the screwdriver like handle was the way to go from step one as it held in place much better than the screwdriver and when more force was applied - the hex nut design of the screw head held up much better than did the Phillips slot. The screws, even the one that went in on the bad angle, went through the wood like a hot knife through butter - well almost anyway. As it wound up, the job got finished in seconds and when the wife gets home from work I am sure she will be happy, especially since I did not break any of the windows or crack the countertop while doing it.
Oh well, live and learn. Next time there is an option to use a slotted or Phillips head screwdriver versus a nut driver or socket wrench, you can bet I will opt for one of the latter.
All the best,
Glenn B
The screws were hex-nut head screws but also had notches for a Phillips head screwdriver. Not knowing better (because, as I am the first to admit, I am no handyman), I opted to screw them in with the Phillips head screwdriver instead of using a 1/4" nut driver which I id not have (at least not yesterday). Let me tell you, it was a pain in the knuckles to drive them in even though I had drilled the recommended pilot holes for the screws. On every turn of the screwdriver, my knuckles scraped on the molding or the frame of the window. Not bad though, I could deal with that. What was a little worse was that the screws had such fine threads as to require about 500 turns each (or so I seemed) to get them in all the way. The knuckles got a little raw after the first bracket was in (only two screws mind you, but again, I could take it). They actually went it fairly easily except for the fact that there was little to no room to do it without banging or scraping my knuckles. Add to that my having to get on top of the kitchen countertop and crouch down to put in two sets of them, which caused my knees (post two bouts of Lyme disease knees) to ache and stiffen up. Still, I could take it and, after all, I was doing I for my frau.
It was sad, but it took me all of about 5 minutes per screw, maybe even 10 minutes on one of them just to screw them in place. Yes, if you have been counting along, that was for all of 8 screws and only two sets of the three sets of blinds. The last set then went into the window at the end of the room. By then I had figured that it would be easier to use the side mounting holes for the screws, instead of the top mounting holes I had used on the first two sets of brackets. I have to admit, the first screw on the first bracket went in without all that knuckle banging although there was still some. Then the second screw went in screwy, at too much of an angle and the underside of the screw head was not flush as it should have been with the bracket wall. Oh well, I tried to screw it in more and, of course, that stripped the screwdriver notch in the screw head. It would not turn at all. So, I moved onto the next bracket and in went one screw with barely a knuckle scrape. Then the second screw just refused to budge after it was about 3/4 of the way in. I tried with different screwdrivers but the head on that one soon stripped too. Damn Chinese make everything like crap, oh wait these were made in either Canada or the USA as per the label. I guess we have declined somewhat in the manufacturing department but I would bet if made in China they would have been worse, the head probably would have separated from the screw.
Anyway, I was pretty pissed, as I said it is the small things that drive me nuts. Somewhere in there, I was lamenting the fact that I am so easily driven nuts when it dawned on me that the instructions said the tools that might be helpful would include a Phillips head screwdriver, a plain screwdriver (for what I do not know because none of the screws had a slot to fit one of them) and a 1/4" nut driver. I chuckled, I figured I already had the 1/4" nut driver in the form of the 1/4 " hex nut head screws since they had driven me nuts. Regardless, I decided to check the tool box for what I was pretty sure I did not have. I did have a 1/4" box end wrench but that was just about useless. Yes, it would do the job but require double to triple the turns to set the screw.
That was yesterday. I left it as it was and told the wife I would hit up Homer's for the tool I needed. The I promptly got busy on nothing and forgot to go. So today, I was off to Homer's and I looked for a 1/4" nut driver. There were none to be found, not even in a set. They had a nice set of metric nut drivers but that was not what I needed and all I wanted was on - not a set. So I bought a 1/4" socket (I had a 1/4" socket driver somewhere) and brought that baby home. I soon learned what a knucklehead I had been in as much as I had used the Phillips head screwdriver in the first place. The socket on the screwdriver like handle was the way to go from step one as it held in place much better than the screwdriver and when more force was applied - the hex nut design of the screw head held up much better than did the Phillips slot. The screws, even the one that went in on the bad angle, went through the wood like a hot knife through butter - well almost anyway. As it wound up, the job got finished in seconds and when the wife gets home from work I am sure she will be happy, especially since I did not break any of the windows or crack the countertop while doing it.
Oh well, live and learn. Next time there is an option to use a slotted or Phillips head screwdriver versus a nut driver or socket wrench, you can bet I will opt for one of the latter.
All the best,
Glenn B
1 comment:
Never buy one of those Christmas yard decorations that's the metal reindeer on a stick that moves it's legs, unless you own a set of metric tools, a sledgehammer and a gun. Trust me on this.
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