Shoddy Hardware (Was: Re: WW fixtures (was Re: "New" PDP-8))

Just bad bag of that screws. Toss it and buy bag of decent screws. If find a peecee screw that is still chewing or "seizing up" touch bit of oil to the thread. Fixed for good. This happens because of poor lubing or nothing or low quality steel in production of those crappy fasteners. Those that makes shavings is because of cracks in the thread tips. Almost all screws, bolts are smashed on one end of cut rods to make heads slots, philips, hex, torx etc, rolled in thread dies to form threads. Very few uses true machined fasteners. Quality smooshed on heads and rolled fasteners are *stronger* because of compressed grain. Machining process cuts into this grain and introduces crack stress beause of too sharp corners. I know because machined fasteners were used frequently in clocks and watches. Yes I did break machined screws for any reason not just from over-tightening. Machined are very sharp corners, ground-look. Rolled and squished heads looks well that, smooth or dull and look at ends of these fasteners is convex. Actually not. IBM used mass-produced rolled screws of good quality and early machines did use mass-produced fasteners that were good quality. Yes, *can* still buy decent peecee cases made with rolled edges. Acer is one, Antec is another so on. Aluminum cases is making slow coming back. I know classic 'puters were made in large numbers with aluminum cases early days. Cheers, Wizard