Talk:Set screw

Usage, types, advantages, and applications

I am looking for information on the uses for the many different types of set screw points. Cone Point, Cup Point, Knurled Cup Point, Flat Point, Oval Point, dog point and half dog point, What are the advantages to each and how each should be applied, ie how tight they should be, should one use a thread locking compound?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.253.245.126 (talk) 18:46, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

A dog point is a smooth extension to the shank of the grub screw. It is designed to allow that portion to rotate like an axle. A half dog is just a shorter tip extension. The article describes some of the other types. Cone or pointed tips allow some penetration of the material it is screwed into. Threadlock is commonly used to secure a grub screw because grub screws don't have a head or nut to provide any clamping force. 94.193.18.88 (talk) 12:02, 16 November 2019 (UTC)

Worm screw

Is this sometimes called a "worm screw" ("grub screw" in English)? Or is that something different? Should the term be included as a variant? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.107.32.7 (talk) 07:46, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Regional variations in terms

Note that in some places (especially many American on-line glossaries of fasteners) "set screw" is thought of only in terms of a screw with no head that in other regions would normally be called a grub screw, while in New Zealand (and, I think, England and Australia) a set screw is almost exclusively thought of as a fastener with a (hex) head but without a shank... something that would probably always be called a Tap Bolt in American situations. (see, for example: https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/terminology.aspx and https://www.bayengineerssupplies.co.nz/products/engineering-consumables/fasteners/set-screws) Maitchy (talk) 00:07, 15 October 2018 (UTC)

Requested move 6 November 2019

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: No consensus. (non-admin closure) Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:22, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

---

Set screw → Grub screw – The term "set screw" has different applications in different countries. In the US it commonly refers to a grub screw or similar small-headed or headless bolt. In the UK it refers to a normal-headed bolt (often, but not only hex) with a fully-threaded shank. I believe that Australia and New Zealand follow the UK terminology, at least some of the time. On the other hand, there is no confusion about the term "grub screw"; so far as I'm aware everywhere understands it as a headless type of bolt. Lithopsian (talk) 14:37, 6 November 2019 (UTC)—Relisted. – Ammarpad (talk) 06:43, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Additional citations for uses of "set screw"/"set-screw"/"setscrew":

• Andrew Livesey; A Robinson (11 February 2013). The Repair of Vehicle Bodies, 6th ed. Routledge. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-135-12049-8.
• David A. Madsen (July 2001). Engineering Drawing and Design. Cengage Learning. pp. 398–. ISBN 0-7668-1634-6.
• M12x80 stainless steel set screw
• M14x30 set screw
• Hexagon setscrew
• High tensile set screw
• Flanged serrated setscrew

That should be enough for now, to at least show there is something to talk about. Lithopsian (talk) 16:38, 10 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose. Is this article about a type of bolt defined by geometry (e.g. headless) or function (e.g. "used to secure an object within or against another object")? I'd say the latter and therefore the current title is fine. Also, you have provided no evidence that "grub screw" is understood at all in the US or Canada. Srnec (talk) 02:58, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

My contention is that by either definition, set screw is regionally specific. Not only is the described object (or class of objects) not known by that name elsewhere in the world, the term is specifically used for a different type of object. I thought grub screw would be a more inclusive term, but if it isn't then we still have a problem. The article could be made to describe two different things with the same name, but that really requires a split and we still end up looking for new titles. Although the article is very sparsely referenced, it does include references (recently added by me) concerning the regional differences. Lithopsian (talk) 20:45, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

So in the UK they would not refer to a grub screw "used to secure an object within or against another object" as a set screw? The Oxford Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering and Dictionary of Construction, Surveying and Civil Engineering have entries for "set screw". They define it as A short, headless screw with a recess at one end to receive a screwdriver or key, the other end being pointed, square, or otherwise shaped. Typically used to secure a pulley, gear, or other component on a shaft and A screw with a rectangular head that can be tightened by a spanner to create friction and fix another object into place. Headless screws, also known as grub screws, are available with recessed hexagon heads allowing an allen key to be inserted into the screw and tightened, locking other units into place, respectively. See here for Canadian usage. Srnec (talk) 00:42, 9 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose per WP:RETAIN, as an American who has never encountered the term "grub screw". Dicklyon (talk) 02:38, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

Would "blind screw" be more universally acceptable? The article has the term "grub screw" in the lead as a synonym; if it isn't widely-recognised, it should perhaps be mentioned only as a regional variation. Lithopsian (talk) 21:58, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

• Oppose per Srnec and Dicklyon. The term "grub screw" does not seem generally recognizable in U.S. English. Is there some other Wikipedia article that discusses the other meaning of "set screw"? If not, then there is no need to worry about disambiguation. Moreover, this article currently does discuss "set screws" that have heads: "If a set screw has a head, the thread will extend all the way to the head (whereas a bolt might have an unthreaded shank between the head and thread)." —BarrelProof (talk) 21:25, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

I added it about a week ago ;) However, having a paragraph stating that the article title also refers to something other than the content of the article seemed less than ideal. Lithopsian (talk) 21:58, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

---

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Consistency

Hi, In the introduction, the first paragraph, "A set screw is normally used without a nut (which distinguishes it from a bolt), ...". No problem.

Then in the third paragraph, "In the UK, the term "set screw" or "setscrew" refers simply to a bolt which is fully threaded, ...". No nut is involved. Glaringly inconsistent with the earlier sentence. Is there an argument against "... a screw which is fully threaded, ..."? Thanks, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 17:11, 22 February 2022 (UTC)