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I received a metal bed frame without the bolts. The directions have the sizes used in hardware list.

I went to hardware store but they didn’t have M6 bolts with hex head as shown. The sales associate suggested Phillips head. I can only screw them in so far. I thought maybe that’s why they use Allen wrench in directions for more leverage. I found Allen wrench shaped device with Phillips head but could only get one all the way in using it. The rest are stripping the head.

Do I need to find bolts with the hex head instead and use an Allen wrench, or do I need to drill the holes bigger, or is it the material of the screw?

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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. It's hard to tell how to help you; a picture of the problem might help, but even then this may not be a good fit for our site. You should probably take our tour so you'll know you'll know the details of contributing here.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 2:20
  • Are they shank bolts? In which case they won’t go in fully.
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 4:21
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    Your problem is probably a "Pitch" issue, it's how close the grooves on the bolt are. You may have an M6-1.0x30 and a M6-0.75x30 and the would both be the same length and diameter, but the grooves on the 1.0 will be 1 mm apart, while the 0.75 will be 3/4 of a mm apart.
    – NoSparksPlease
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 4:22
  • I would track down (hey! use this internet thingy!!! :-) ) the correct hex-head bolts. They are much easier to use and much more difficult to damage.
    – Carl Witthoft
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 17:51
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    Almost any hardware store has metric bolts, but they're in the little slidey trays, not in the bins.
    – isherwood
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 18:19

2 Answers 2

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A Phillips head bolt can be more difficult to drive tight than one with an Allen (or hex) head, because the screwdriver will easily slip out of the screw when resistance increases. The way the hex key fits in to an Allen bolt will prevent it from slipping.

However, NoSparksPlease's comment about thread pitch is probably your main issue. Looking for an M6 bolt is only half the battle. You have to have the right pitch and length, as well. If the thread pitch is right, you shouldn't run into nearly as much resistance to driving the screw and a Phillips head should do the job.

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Are you, maybe, using a Phillips screwdriver to drive Pozidriv srews? Pozi are easy to identify, as they have the extra small points between the four main lugs.

enter image description here

The tip angles are different for the two types, and Phillips-in-Pozi will cam out very easily.

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    Oh, great, another set of drivers to get! :( Oh, wait... more toys!!! :)
    – FreeMan
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 22:13

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