Slotted flat head —Used for basic fastening and has a low-torque drive because the screwdriver might slip out of the slot. Good for countersinking below the surface of the material.Often you will need a countersink bit to drill countersunk holes into material to create a chamfer.

Phillips—This cross-point drive is great for higher torque because the driver will not slip, but it is susceptible to being easily stripped out if the wrong size driver is used.

Hex, Torx, and Pozidrive—These fasteners require a specific type and size of driving tool. The advantage is less stripping, but the disadvantage is that you must have the exact tool for the job.

Pan—This is a good basic fastener, but the shallow head might cause slippage with the driver. Drawbacks or benefits are the pan head can protrude above the material being connected.

Round—The taller head makes this fastener good for less driver slippage and higher-torque applications. You can use a slotted or Phillips screwdriver to drive some of these.

Countersunk—This fastener, also called a flat head, is used when the head must be flush with the surface of the project, and requires a countersunk hole.

Fillister—This fastener has a super deep head for extra torque.

Glues

Cyanoacrylate, otherwise known as superglue, is an important glue for making quick and strong connections in porous materials. You can use cyanoacrylate to glue bits of balsa and/or basswood together or for building lasting artworks and inventions. The work Autopoiesis in Chapter 1 was glued together with cyanoacrylate and baking soda.

Hobby shops in your town are the best source of cyanoacrylate. Stay away from small tubes of this stuff found in your local market because it needs to be fresh in order to work properly. You can get this glue in different speeds of curing and thicknesse, but I am partial to the thin variety used with baking soda.

Be careful with this stuff, as it is very easy to stick your fingers together as well as get this in your eye. Never bring your hands near your face or eyes when using it. Use in a well-ventilated room.

I like to use baking powder because it is common and safe.

Wood glue is an excellent glue for fastening all sorts of wood products. It is runny but will allow you to have very strong bonds.

E6000 Is one of my favorite glues, as it will stick almost anything to anything else, such as fabric to glass and wood to wood. It creates a very strong bond that will be difficult to break and it maintains a bit of flexibility, so it is fine in environments that have some vibration. You definitely need ventilation when using this glue, as the fumes are toxic. Fabric stores are good places to find this glue. Another strong glue comparable to E6000 is Gorilla glue, available at most hardware stores.

Epoxies are important glues for all forms of extremely strong glue joints.

Generally, the longer the glue cures the more strength it will have, and therefore, five-minute epoxy is excellent for quick points of attachment but not as strong as glues that dry for 48 hours.

The PC 7, 11, and 12 epoxies have fiber in the mix and are extremely strong, but require some cleanup for clean-looking junctions.

There is also a silver conductive epoxy, which can be used for repairing traces or creating traces on board or other surfaces however you cannot solder to this epoxy or it will melt.