Help sourcing small chubby head M5 8mm screws please!

[Angelheart1412]

I would not mind any head as long as it fits properly.

 

[Angelheart1412]

Can you post a picture of where the screw would be used? AFAIK they only sell towel radiators.

 

[Tigercubrider]

is that a wall bracket?

why not a domed screw? washer if needed

 

[opps]

Strangely, when I look at the fitting instructions, the show pan head screws and not countersunk. That said, I may have been looking at a different Crosswater towel warmer.

Looking at your photo, I don't understand why a countersunk screw would be used in the first place. Doesn't the head need to span the width of the slot, if yes, the underside of the head should be both flat and wider than the slot. Had the edges of the slot been chamfered, I would understand the need for a countersunk screw.

 

[JohnD]

See pics.

The singular is the screw on its own, the other is up to a standard M5 8mm screw to show difference.

I notice the left-hand one is a Pozi and the right-hand one is a Phillips.

The Phillips might not be metric and therefore might not be the same size. It looks a little smaller.

Which one is original?

How old is it?

Was it made for the American market?

 

[foxhole]

Cut the oversize thread off, cut a slot into the top and use flat driver on it.

 

[JohnD]

If, as I suspect, the original screw is not metric, it would be greatly preferable to measure it accurately and order one (or more) in the correct size.

I had a similar problem a while ago
https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/annoying-british-screw-size.551750/#post-4719102

5mm is a bit less than quarter inch.

unfortunately yours is very short, so difficult to measure TPI accurately. It may well be UNC or UNF.

Might be BSW if made in India

 

[Angelheart1412]

Strangely, when I look at the fitting instructions, the show pan head screws and not countersunk. That said, I may have been looking at a different Crosswater towel warmer.

Looking at your photo, I don't understand why a countersunk screw would be used in the first place. Doesn't the head need to span the width of the slot, if yes, the underside of the head should be both flat and wider than the slot. Had the edges of the slot been chamfered, I would understand the need for a countersunk screw.

I don’t know. I have two of the svelte radiators and both have the same screws, just one rad is missing two. Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place by looking for an M5 screw then as these are machine screws and perhaps not the right type.

 

[Angelheart1412]

I notice the left-hand one is a Pozi and the right-hand one is a Phillips.

The Phillips might not be metric and therefore might not be the same size. It looks a little smaller.

Which one is original?

How old is it?

Was it made for the American market?

The original is the Phillips on the right. This is a current model of Crosswater or Bauhaus radiator.

 

[JohnD]

do you have an accurate engineering measure? Or a magnifying glass that you can hold when using a steel measure?

if not, hold it against your metric screw. do the threads, and the diameter, match exactly? or is one a bit smaller or finer?

what does the screw go into? What does it hold or support?

are there any longer screws of the same thread?

there are some American screws of diameter 4.826mm but it will be very difficult for you to measure, and I haven't got one I could send you to try.

please don't drive your metric screw into a hole it doesn't quite fit.

The rest of the world uses metric, which is a billion times easier.

here is an American moaning about it
http://eriknilssonblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-sae-can-you-see.html

 

[JohnD]

if the M5 screw actually fits the hole, then I honestly think the shape of the head doesn't matter. you could use a round head, and as long as all the visible screws had the same one, they would match.

 

[lostinthelight]

is that a wall bracket?

why not a domed screw? washer if needed

Or ? https://www.toolstation.com/snap-on...m_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed

 

[Captain Nemesis]

Id never heard the term for these screws, so I wondered what they looked like and did an image search for chubby head.

Big mistake

 

[opps]

kool

I don’t know. I have two of the svelte radiators and both have the same screws, just one rad is missing two. Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place by looking for an M5 screw then as these are machine screws and perhaps not the right type.

Annoyingly the "fitting" instructions for your rad (available online) do not show any fitting instructions...

Looking at your photo, I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that the upper part of the metal is attached to the rad, and that the inner section is screwed to the wall. If that is the case, then the purpose of the elusive screw is to fix the rad to the wall mounts. I still do not understand why they used countersunk screws in the first place. They are the wrong type of screws. Countersunk screws are countersunk so that when used they "disappear" below the surface. A screw with a flat base provides a bigger surface area to "grab" the substrate below.

It isn't a biggie though. Regardless of head profile, the countersunk screw will prevent someone pulling the rad off the wall but it will be less able to hold the rad in place. That said it is a towel rail and not a climbing frame.

The thing that worries me more is that the instructions say that the item, sold as a towel rail, cannot be used for "Drying towels or clothes on the chrome plated version". Admittedly, I have seen chrome plated towel rails that eventually rust, and yes, it might be prudent to pay the extra for a stainless steel towel rail but they, and others, do not market their products as being unsuitable for towels that are used in bathrooms.