CAMO® Fasteners

CHANGING THE FACE OF DECKING

CAMO Marksman Pro Tools

They are a jig or screw guide with a screw guide hole on each side that you drop a screw into and screw them in at a 50-degree angle through the side of the deck board just below the top corner. They also space the boards as you go and are adjustable to suit different widths.

There are two types of tools:

  • Marksman Pro for 127-147mm wide deck boards ($120 RRP)
  • Marksman Pro NB for 80-123mm wide deck boards ($120 RRP)

CAMO Hidden Deck Screws

These screws are a patented design that can only be used with the Marksman Pro tools. They have a unique cutting tip that cuts through the deck board and removes all the material without splitting the board. This occurs like an Auger that is used to a cut hole in the ice when people go ice fishing in North America.

There are two different types of screws; 48mm that suit 18-25mm thick boards and 60mm that suits 25-38mm thick boards. Screw count pack sizes come in 350, 700 and 1750:

  • 350 Count pack $89.50 RRP (48mm, ProTech ACQ Class 4)
  • 700 Count pack $145 RRP (48mm, ProTech ACQ Class 4)
  • 1750 Count pack $269.50 RRP (48mm, ProTech ACQ Class 4)

The above screw packs sizes also come in a stainless-steel coated black in both lengths.

Pricing per m2 – based on Demak Pricing (April 2020):

  • 90mm Deck Boards: 48 screws per m2 at 15 cents each for bulk count pack of 1750 = $7.40m2
  • 140mm Deck Boards: 32 screws per m2 at 15 cents each for bulk count pack of 1750 = $4.80m2

Protech or Stainless Steels Screws?

ProTech screws are made of carbon steel and coated with our propriety ProTech coating. They are ACQ and CCA compatible and have gone through a 1500-hour salt spray test and is equivalent to Australian Class 4. The ProTech screws are good for up to 500m of the breaking ocean.

If you have a saltwater swimming pool and it is in direct contact with the pool edges (within 5000mm) we would recommend our Stainless 316 CAMO Screws. If you live with 500m of the breaking ocean, we also recommend our Stainless 316 CAMO Screws.

Strength and Durability

We have done uplift and pull testing with CAMO and have found that they performed very well against top fixing. The force ranged between 1614kg – 3599kg per m2 before they failed, using a wide range of deck boards including class 1 hardwood, composite and pine. We used around 20 different types of boards in our testing programme which was independently done.

We have done a 15-year accelerated cycle test using two boards at 1000mm long, 50% was fastened with CAMO and the other with top fastened using screws. The test was conducted by placing the deck in an oven, ramping the temperature over six hours up to 60 degrees, then bring back down over six hours to -28 degrees. They repeated this process 60 times and the result was that CAMO was not blemished and the top fastened screws were all split across the top.

Solid Composite Decking Products

The CAMO system works well on all solid composite decking products; Modwood, Trex, Timber Tech and Ekodeck. Composite Deck Boards are all very stable products and don’t move as much as timber. You do not require construction adhesive under the boards.

  •  Modwood will not recommend CAMO as they warrant any other Fastening System other than their own Kleverclip.

Hardwoods and Pre-Drilling

The CAMO Hidden decking screws are 7 gauge and come in 48mm for 19-25mm thick deck boards and 60mm for 25-38mm boards. We do recommend for a first-time user of CAMO to pre-drill all butt joints, using a 3/16” (4.7mm) drill bit, chucked at 57-60mm.

    1.  Run the drill through the Marksman Pro Tool and then drop a CAMO screw in and drive it. a. This only does a spot 5mm hole into the side of the board – it is the same size as the screw head and is where the screw head finishes when countersunk into the side of the board.
    2.  If the above method fails and the screws are snapping or just not going all the way in when going into class 1 hardwood boards and into seasoned hardwood joists, then do another predrill method ON-TOP of the above method. a. Using a 1/8” (3.2mm) drill bit that is 120mm long and chucked at 90mm and drill it through the tool through the board and into the joist. Remember you must keep the drill centred and at the same angle – Once done then you may drop a screw into the screw guide hole and drive it in.

Decking 65-70mm

For 65mm boards, you can use the Marksman Pro NB by placing 1 x 65mm board in with an extra 15mm packer. Position the tool using the clamping action over, then inserting and driving a screw through one side and then moving the tool and doing the other side using the same process. It’s a little fiddly but it can be achieved.

For 70mm boards, you can use the Marksman Pro by placing 2 x 70mm boards together and position the tool using the clamping action over the top of them and then add a 4.8mm plastic packer in-between the 2 boards. Then inserting driving a screw through each of the outside boards and the moving the tool and placing it in the place of the plastic packer and doing the same process. It’s a little fiddly but it can be achieved.

Decking over 147mm

To do deck boards greater than 147mm, you can use the Marksman Pro tool. Removing the spacer on one side of the tool, position the tool using the clamping action over, then inserting and driving a screw through one side. Then moving the tool and doing the other side using the same process. It’s a little fiddly but it can be achieved. I would recommend using two tools for this process or you can just use the spacer that was taken out to keep the board spacing the equal.

Starting or Finishing a board off at a Wall

View this process on www.camofasteners.com.au via the video gallery.

1. Place the board in position, mark the sides of the board at the centre of each joist, remove the board and place the Marksman Pro Tool over the centre of each board.

2. Place a CAMO Screw in the one side that you can screw the board in once against the wall.

3. Drill the screw in only halfway through the board and then remove the tool.

4. Repeat this process to each joist mark on the side of the board, the place the board back into place for ready for install.

5. Stand on the board and place the tool over the board that was fastened before, so you keep the adjacent board space the same.

6. Once you have screwed all the screws in you will have to fix the edge against the wall with a top fix or use an angle bracket under the board against the side of the joist and fix each side of the bracket to the bottom of the board and side of the joist.

Grooved Board Application

For grooved board applications, you need to have one of our “Grooved Board Torx Drive Bitts”. The grooved bitt is 2mm longer allowing the screw to be driven to the bottom edge of the groove in the side of the board.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the CAMO Screws work with all types of Decking Products?

 Yes

Do you use the same amount of screws as if you were top screwing?

 Yes, you use 50 screws per 10LM of decking, 52 screws per/m2 for 90mm boards and 42 screws per/m2 for 140mm boards.

Will CAMO work with native timbers?

 Ironbark, Merbau and Spotted Gum are some of Australia’s hardest native timbers. CAMO screws will not have a problem going into the side of the board and even into a hardwood joist or treated pine joist.

Should I pre-drill?

We do recommend for a first time user of CAMO to pre-drill all butt joints, using a 3/16” (4.7mm) Drill Bit, chucked at 60mm. Run the drill through the Marksman Pro Tool and then drop a CAMO screw in and drive it. Remember do not push the screw with force let the screw do the work!

For butt joints, we recommend that you keep the screw 25mm away from the end of the board. This will mean that you will have to double block the joist where you have butt joints by cutting off a 150-200mm joist material and bugle or nail it into the side of the adjoining joist.

Make sure you have complete contact with the driver bit and screw when driving the screw into the board using the Marksman Pro Tool, once the driver bit shoulder hits the top of the screw guide hole on the tool you have gone to the right depth, you must immediately stop drilling otherwise you will strip the driver bit.

How do you use the CAMO systems on joists?

CAMO System can be used on all decks that have joists at an angle other than 90 degrees to the board. You will need to move the tool over as you screw into each side of the joist. Please view the installation video on this topic: https://camofasteners.com.au/video/video-45-degree.html

Will CAMO Hidden work on steel joists?

The CAMO Screws will only work with timber joists.

There might be a screw that will cut through steel soon. We just have to solve the problem of the screw slipping on the steel joist at the 45-degree angle.

However, you can install battens to the outside face of the steel purlins, or on top on them.

Five Top Tips

1. Don’t force the screw in, let the screw spin on the surface and allow the screw to do a pre-drill action using the weight of the drill only at the first 5 seconds, then apply a little pressure until the screw takes its self in.

2. Regularly clean out the screw guide hole with the driver bit that comes with the screws or blow the particles out.

3. For all Class 1 hardwoods, we recommend to use our pre-drill method, using a 3/16” (4.7mm) drill bit, chucked at 60mm for 22-38mm boards and 55mm for 18-21mm boards. Run the drill through the Marksman Pro Tool and then drop a CAMO screw in and drive it.

4. Use the pre-drill method on all butt joints with all hardwoods.

5. Remember do not push the screw with force let the screw do the work!

6. Please make sure to tell the person that is using CAMO to read all instructions and website installation videos on www.camofasteners.com.au via the video gallery before practicing on some offcuts. Once you feel comfortable then you can start your deck.