Wood Screws - Withdrawal Force
Allowable withdrawal load or force of a common wood screw into side grain perpendicular to the fibers of seasoned dry wood can be expressed as
F = 2850 SG2D (1)
where
F = allowable withdrawal load or force - lb per inch of penetration (lb/in)
SG = specific gravity of oven dry wood
D = diameter of screw (in)
Note the difference between allowable load and failure load. Allowable load includes design and safety factors and ranges typically between 2 and 10. Depending on the case allowable load is normally 10 - 50% of the failure load.
Example - Screw Allowable Withdrawal Load
The specific gravity of Canadian Spruce is 0.45 . The diameter of no. 10 screw is 0.190 inches . The withdrawal force per inch of penetration can be estimated as
F = 2850 (0.45)2(0.190 in)
= 109 lb per inch of penetration
Screw Withdrawal Force Calculator
Imperial Units
Metric Units
Related Topics
• Fasteners
Bolts, nuts and threaded rods - torque, tension and loads.
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