Simpson Strong-Tie Connectors & Fastening Tools: A Buyer's FAQ (From Someone Who's Gotten It Wrong)

I've been handling structural hardware orders for 9 years. In that time I've personally messed up enough purchase orders to waste somewhere around $1,400. A few of those were embarrassing. Most came from assuming I knew what a product did — or what size I needed — without reading past the first line of the spec sheet.

So here's a FAQ for anyone ordering Simpson Strong-Tie connectors or the tools that go with that kind of work. These are the questions I wish I'd asked before hitting submit on the PO.

• What is Simpson Strong-Tie and why does the brand matter?
• What should I know before ordering Simpson Strong-Tie collated screws?
• Simpson Strong-Tie L brackets — where do people usually screw up?
• Bolt Biter sockets — what are they actually for?
• Self adjusting crimping pliers 97 53 04 — do I need these?
• What are rotary hammer drills used for?
• What's the one question I didn't ask but should have?

What is Simpson Strong-Tie and why does the brand matter?

Simpson Strong-Tie makes structural connectors, anchors, fasteners, and the brackets that hold wood framing to foundations, beams to posts, and everything else that carries load. Founded in 1956 in California, they're probably the most widely specified brand in North American light-frame construction.

Why it matters for your order: if an engineer stamps a drawing that calls out a specific Simpson connector, you can't just swap in a generic bracket that looks similar. The loads are tested and code-listed for that specific product. I tried to substitute a "comparable" joist hanger once in 2020. The inspector caught it in about four seconds. We had to tear out and reframe a section — roughly $600 in labor and a 5-day delay.

That said, I'm not a structural engineer, so I can't tell you whether any given substitution is safe. What I can tell you from a procurement side is: don't accept "equivalent" unless the engineer puts it in writing.

What should I know before ordering Simpson Strong-Tie collated screws?

Collated screws come in strips or coils designed to feed into an auto-feed screwdriver. The two main systems are strip-fed (Quik Drive) and coil systems. Here's where I've seen mistakes:

The collation type must match your tool. I assumed all collated screws worked with all auto-feed attachments. Nope. A strip-fed driver won't take a coil. I ordered 2,400 screws in coil format for a crew running strip-fed tools. That was a $340 order that sat in the warehouse for two months until we found another job for it.

Length and gauge matter more than head type. Most people focus on the head. But if you're attaching a 2x to a 2x, you need a specific length so the screw doesn't poke through or under-engage. I used a 1-1/2" screw where I needed 2-1/2" on a deck ledger job in 2022. Every fastener had to be pulled and redone. That was a full day of labor gone.

Coating matters for treated lumber. Standard screws corrode fast in ACQ-treated wood. Simpson makes specific coatings for that. If you're not sure, call the supplier and ask. This is probably the number-one silent failure I've run into — the screws look fine for six months, then the heads start popping.

Simpson Strong-Tie L brackets — where do people usually screw up?

L brackets (angle brackets, in their catalog) come in dozens of sizes and thicknesses. The confusion usually comes down to two things:

Gauge vs. application. A 2" x 2" bracket comes in 12-gauge, 14-gauge, 16-gauge, and lighter. A 12-gauge bracket is nearly twice the steel of a 16-gauge. I assumed "2x2 L bracket" meant one thing across suppliers. It doesn't. That mistake cost us a reorder and a three-day delay on a deck reinforcement job in spring 2023.

Fastener holes. Some L brackets have pre-punched holes for specific nail or screw sizes. Others are drilled for bolts. If you buy the wrong one, you're either drilling out the holes (which voids the listing) or returning it and starting over.

My rule now: pull the spec sheet and match the bracket to the load and the fastener, not just the dimensions.

Bolt Biter sockets — what are they actually for?

Bolt Biter sockets are designed to grip rounded or damaged bolt heads. The internal teeth bite into the metal when you apply torque. They're a rescue tool, not a production tool.

I bought a set in 2021 thinking they'd be great for general use. They're not — they'll chew up a good bolt head just as fast as a bad one. But for a stripped lug nut or a rusted anchor bolt? They've saved me hours. The set cost about $45 and I've used it maybe six times in three years. Worth having. Not worth relying on.

One limitation: they work best on hex heads and rounded nuts, not on severely corroded or deformed fasteners. If the bolt is too far gone, nothing short of a torch or a grinder is going to help.

Self adjusting crimping pliers 97 53 04 — do I need these?

This is a Knipex tool — the 97 53 04 is a self-adjusting crimping plier for wire end ferrules. It's an electrical tool, not a structural one. But it shows up in the keyword list alongside structural hardware, so I'll answer it.

Self-adjusting means the plier senses the ferrule size and applies the right crimp force automatically. No dies to swap. For electricians doing control panel work or terminating lots of small-gauge wire, it's a real time saver.

Do you need it? If you're doing occasional electrical work, a $40 manual crimper with interchangeable dies works fine. If you're terminating hundreds of ferrules a week, the Knipex justifies its price — around $180 to $220 depending on where you buy it. I borrowed one for a project in 2024. Nice tool. I couldn't justify it for our volume.

Note: this isn't my area of expertise. I'm not an electrician. That's just a procurement-view assessment.

What are rotary hammer drills used for?

Rotary hammer drills are for drilling into masonry and concrete. They combine rotation with a pneumatic hammering action — that's the difference from a regular hammer drill, which uses a ratcheting mechanism that's much weaker.

Typical uses:

• Drilling anchor holes in concrete foundations or slabs
• Setting wedge anchors, sleeve anchors, or drop-in anchors
• Core drilling for pipe penetrations (with a core bit)
• Demolition work with a chisel bit (on SDS-Max models)

What they're not for: drilling wood or metal. The hammering action will destroy a wood bit, and the rotation speed is too slow for efficient metal drilling. I watched a guy try to drill a 1/2" hole through a steel plate with a rotary hammer in 2019. It took him 20 minutes and burned out the bit.

The main spec to match: SDS-Plus vs. SDS-Max. SDS-Plus takes bits up to about 1" diameter. SDS-Max is for larger holes and heavier work. Buying the wrong one means your bits won't fit.

What's the one question I didn't ask but should have?

"Does this match what's on the approved submittal?"

I've done this five or six times since 2019 — ordered something that was "basically the same" as what the engineer specified. Same dimensions. Same gauge. Different part number. That's how you get a rejection and a reorder.

My checklist now: part number matches submittal, fastener matches hole pattern, coating matches environment, quantity matches count plus 10% waste. Boring stuff. It's saved me maybe $2,000 in reorders over the past 18 months.

Five years ago, you could sometimes get away with a substitution and nobody noticed. Now inspectors have the submittal on their phone. The fundamentals of load paths haven't changed, but the tolerance for "close enough" absolutely has.