Toytown Germany

Mother Screw - The right thread for any job

I needed three M5's, with wall plugs and a left hand threaded M8 but I didn't want to buy the super-packs like you get on the DIY stores. No problem. It cost just over one Euro. Anyone looking to fasten anything anywhere will find what they need at "Schrauben Mutter" on Ickstattstraße. Founded in the fifties by one Wilhemine Mutter, this is a genuine speciality shop. If they don't have the screw you need in stock, they'll get one made for you.

[img]http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich/schrauben_mutter.jpg[/img]

Not that Christine Purgaj, saleswoman at "Schrauben Mutter", made much on my trade. Most of their turnover comes through electronic and mechanical engineering companies, locksmiths and the good ole' Munich City Council. A lot of the screws used in the underground stations in and around Munich, for example, come from this shop.

The manifold world of screws (and nuts and washers for that matter) is overwhelming if you don't know your DIN and ISO norms. But don't let that stop you taking an example screw in and asking for more like that. They have all the right equipment to determine exactly what sort of screw it is be it Slotted, Phillips, Hex, Square, One-Way or Torx driven; Pan Head, Button Head, Round, Flat, Oval, Truss or Fillister Headed; a wood screw, a machine screw, a sheet metal, hig-low or self-tapping screw it's all here. And it's not just the professionals who come in. Someone once bought an M36 as a gift. Possible paperweight for the boss's Xmas present?

[img]http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich/screws.jpg[/img]
A random photo of some screws

Schrauben Mutter
Ickstattstrasse 12, Munich Isarvorstadt
U-Bahn U1/2 Fraunhoferstrasse

By the way, the one screw that Schrauben Mutter don't do is the "long gentle screw against the wall". But you can get those at Reizbar in Schwabing.

For more about screws in general, including explanations about what a "self-tapping screw" actually is, see: Screw - Wikipedia

This article was adapted from a Sueddeutsche Zeitung article from Tuesday 7th December 2004.

I love this place, and have been using it for about 4 years. Because of the US Imperial/Metric crossover in my field, Schrauben Mutter is invaluable.

However, some of the staff are a bit camp for my liking

These people obviously have their heads screwed on the right way.

A self-tapping screw is all I seem to get nowadays.

So you enjoy a sharp thread and that cuts its own hole, with a notch at the tip?

Me too!

So do you countersink the hole first ?

phnarrr phnarrr

Thank (fill in your favorite deity here) for places like this in a world of Starbucks, Home Depot, etc. - Now that I know I may stop by just to buy some stuff and support them.

There are a few times you don't mind getting "screwed" (let's face it this topic is as easy as a 30MPH fastball right over the plate)

Personally, I prefer a cheese head screwdriver to go with my screw selection box.

Do they do BA and Whitworth threads? Almost unobtainable in blighty.