The Ultimate Thread On Brass Fasteners (aka Brads)

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • The Ultimate Thread On Brass Fasteners (aka Brads)

    It never ceases to boggle my mind why it's so difficult to find the proper size brads if you live outside of Los Angeles. When I completed my first script while living in Florida, I eagerly ran down to my local Staples to buy brads. I couldn't wait to finally fasten my masterpiece together just like how Hollywood prefers it. My script will finally look like...well, a script.

    I froze with confusion when I got to the fasteners section of the store. There was a wide selection of brads to choose from. Like an idiot, I completely forgot what size I needed to get. And I didn't have my script with me to test them out. All I remembered was the brads were suppose to have been made from Chicago or had the word "Chicago" in its name, but then I second-guessed myself and didn't know if those were the ones I had to get or the ones I had to avoid. So I bought every single size, 5 in all.

    I got home and fastened my pages together. I held the script in my hands. This is what a screenplay is suppose to look like! But there was something not right about it. The brads were too short and when I flipped to the third act, the pages fell apart. So I refastened it with a different kind. Now the the brads were too long. I twisted the ends of them, bent them down like I was creating modern art. It looked awful. I cut the ends of them off, but that left what remained of the brads too sharp for reading comfort.

    I went through my how-to-write-a-screenplay books and one told me not to use the Chicago screws while another told me it's okay to use them.

    http://www.writersstore.com/images/supplies/597b.jpg

    <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Chicago Post Fasteners<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> -- <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> A two part screw which is often used to hold pages of a picture album.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

    Ultimately, I learned it is NOT proper to use the Chicago fasteners. But what all the books did agree on was that a script is best held together with Brads 1 1/4 inches long. Exactly the kind that I didn't have.

    http://www.writersstore.com/images/supplies/596b.jpg

    <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Acco Brass Fasteners #5 - 1 1/4"<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> -- <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Round headed, flat sided metal nails with a shaft that splits to be bent wide open.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

    So I went to every office supply and printing shop in town. They didn't have brads 1 1/4 size (as pictured above). I was heart-broken. My masterpiece looks less than perfect and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

    It wasn't until I moved to Los Angeles was I pleasently surprised to find the perfect size brads in every store I went to. 1 1/4 size brads grow on trees here. But wait -- what is this I discovered? I had some scripts printed up at a copy store on Sunset and Ogden and the clerk bound my script with brads and these weird looking things called WASHERS.

    http://www.writersstore.com/images/supplies/599b.jpg

    <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Round-head solid brass washers<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> -- <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> They provide a secure â€-sandwichâ€TM effect that minimizes the stress exerted on brad bound documents.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

    I love washers. When people send me scripts, I tell them don't send them without washers. It just makes for a more comfortable read and makes it easier to travel with scripts without worrying about the pages falling apart. But there's a debate whether industry readers like them because it makes it that much more difficult to copy your script. I personally say go with the washers. Taking them off isn't that hard to do. I think most people appreciate them and no one is going to pass on your script because it was bound with washers.

    I wasn't connected to the internet when I started writing scripts. But you lucky bastards are. So if you can't find the proper brads in your hometown, you can go to www.writersstore.com. They sell a pack of 100 brads for $7.95.

    If you don't need 100 brads, you can go to www.baumgartens.com . They sell a pack of 24 brads for $1.65. Just like the pic below indicates...

    http://www.baumgartens.com/product/j...ansBlister.jpg

    Now here's an age-old question that's been debated ever since Plato visited Syracuse, the chief city of Greek Sicily, to serve as tutor for the new king, Dionysius: <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Two brads or three?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

    In Woody Allen's most recent film, HOLLYWOOD ENDING, the opening scene has several studio execs standing around in an office and talking. On the desk (prominently in the foreground) is a pile of scripts -- and to my shock and horror -- they all had three brads fastening them. I love Woody Allen and his films. I've seen them all several times and proudly display his DVDs in my collection. But the man's been accussed of "living in his own world" and his films becoming too "insular." I use to disregard those critics and pundits when they said that. Now I have to agree with them.

    Dear Woody,

    Please get out more. It's two brads. Not three.

    Sincerely,

    CRASH

  • #2
    don't get these, they're made out of plastic.
    http://www.baumgartens.com/product/j...ansBlister.jpg

    Comment


    • #3
      Really? They sell them at Kinko's here. I use them all the time. They feel like brass to me.

      Comment


      • #4
        Plastic? Come on... Steel coated with brass maybe... but plastic?

        That is physically impossible...

        Comment


        • #5
          well they're weak. i use the OIC Brass Plated Fasteners from Office Depot

          Comment


          • #6
            And if you can't find them in your local store the internet makes them easy to get. Heck, we even offer them through Office Depot: www.scriptsales.com/Supplies/

            Comment


            • #7
              I would like to request that the moderators place a "sticky" feature on this thread so that no other would be brad question having low lifes will dare to ever ask again (with a whiney voice accompanying) "what type of brads should I use?"

              Comment


              • #8
                Viking Office Products ( www.vikingop.com/ ).

                Box of 100 Solid Brass Acco #5's -- $4.99

                They also stock washers ($1.99 a box), card stock (for covers), and other good stuff.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Astounding! I had the same predicament when I finished my first script. Not a single damned brad to be found anywhere. Had to special order the f*ckers. (Strangely, to this day, The Office Depot here doesn't stock them.)

                  I was overjoyed when my box arrived. I thought I had just made the transition to pro. My first box of brads. And nobody else in my screenwriting class had them! My guaranteed ticket to success.

                  I've got one brad left from that box. I keep it next to my computer to remind me what sparked it all...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Great post, Crash. They should move this to the FAQ forum...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thanks for the correction, Pipe.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Seriously, the matter of brads is puzzling.

                        Where I live is a long way from California, but it is a suburb of a large city that has connections with the entertainment industry. You can find brads here, but not the right size. You may not get Acco, but you can find everything except, of course, Acco #5. It is the one size that is NOT stocked. Now, does that make any sense? I mean, what are the damn things used for, except screenplays?

                        My theory is that when an Office Depot or Staples or whatever opens up, there are certain items that are initially stocked, including brads. The few boxes of #5-size brads are eventually sold, and the others sit on the shelf in perpetuity.

                        But washers? Fuhgittaboutit! I have looked and have never seen washers available locally.

                        Okay, since this is the ultimate, <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> sine qua non<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> brad thread, we need to cover all bases. With that in mind, then, I have an addendum, and two questions:

                        <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START-->Addendum<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END-->
                        1. Brads are inserted from the front, so that the prongs are at the back of the script. (We have had this question asked before.)

                        <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START-->Questions<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END-->
                        1. Do washers go (a) on the back side, to keep the prongs from tearing at the holes (but only two, not three!) and eventually coming loose; or (b) on the front, to keep a small brad head from squeezing through the hole? I would think (a), on the back, but the matter is not entirely intuitive, at least not to me.

                        2. Is it really true that a perfectionist will use a rubber mallet to pound brads into a state of immobile obedience, or is that just a "snipe hunt" story that Hollywood veterans have fabricated for their amusement at the expense of credulous newby wannabes to make them buy hammers?

                        Okay, so I'm having a little fun here, but these really are legitimate questions.

                        Good post, Crash.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote>Quote:<hr> Do washers go (a) on the back side, to keep the prongs from tearing at the holes (but only two, not three!) and eventually coming loose; or (b) on the front, to keep a small brad head from squeezing through the hole? I would think (a), on the back, but the matter is not entirely intuitive, at least not to me.

                          <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END-->

                          The washers go on the back side of the script.

                          <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote>Quote:<hr> Is it really true that a perfectionist will use a rubber mallet to pound brads into a state of immobile obedience, or is that just a "snipe hunt" story that Hollywood veterans have fabricated for their amusement at the expense of credulous newby wannabes to make them buy hammers?
                          <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END-->

                          The the use of rubber mallet is common practice among print shops here in Hollywood. Watching them pound on your script is much like watching a chef make your sushi right in front of you.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I killed a man for a box of Acco brads once.

                            He's buried in a hole outside of Santa Clarita.


                            Acco #5 Solid Brass Brads: Never leave home without them.



                            Crash=Obi Wan

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I went to the local Staples to get mine. They only had two sizes- one inch "stubbies" and two inch "rhino stabbers." I bought the box of two inchers. They're called Stockwell "Brass Fasteners." Even though the top and shanks are all made from one piece of metal, it says it has a 1/2 inch "brass top." This surprises me because I just picked up one of the "brass" brads with a magnet. (Do I smell a class action lawsuit?) Unfortunately it turns out my cardstock covers have more stiffness than these things.

                              R28

                              PS: I've learned that brads go in front to back. People here are so helpful.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X