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Adjusting screws buying guide for a batten or foot

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are about to order an adjusting screw, and the first results mix two products. One fixes a timber batten and then sets the gap. The other is a threaded foot for a rocking table or speaker. Length, drive and coating mean nothing until you know which object you are buying. Prices and the fields that fight the titles stay on the [adjusting screws comparison](/hub/screws-and-accessories/adjusting-screws). Peter F., DIY & tools editor, read those listings and the manufacturer pages named here. This is not a lab test. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to order an adjusting screw, and the first results mix two products. One fixes a timber batten and then sets the gap. The other is a threaded foot for a rocking table or speaker.

Our top picks

TIANLIN TIANLIN M6 x 16 mm

Best overall

TIANLIN TIANLIN M6 x 16 mm
6.9/10about £6.99
View offer
SPAX SPAX 6 x 160 mm

Rank 2

SPAX SPAX 6 x 160 mm
7.0/10about £26.95
View offer
fischer fischer FAFS 5 x 80

Alternative

fischer fischer FAFS 5 x 80
6.6/10about £27.42
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two products share the name
  2. 2.Length, gap and drive
  3. 3.Coating and the room the screw will live in
  4. 4.What to ignore in the listing
  5. 5.What to measure, then which page next

Two products share the name

An adjusting screw goes through a batten into wood and then lets you change the gap. SPAX uses retaining grooves under a flat head. fischer FAFS uses a clip that stays in the timber while the screw turns. A furniture foot screws into a leg. A foot under £10 will not level a ceiling batten. If a table, stool, speaker or light cabinet rocks, open furniture levelling feet.

Length, gap and drive

The SPAX listing is the 6 x 160 mm pack, at £26.95 for a stated 100. The flyer row lists 40 mm maximum wood thickness and 120 mm maximum distance. The fischer listing is FAFS 5 x 80 mm, at £27.42, with 60 mm maximum distance and 20 mm minimum timber. SPAX is T30 and fischer is TX25. The clip setting tool is not in the amazon included line. The motions are in how to level timber battens.
TIANLIN TIANLIN M6 x 16 mm

Testsieger

TIANLIN TIANLIN M6 x 16 mm
6.9/10about £6.99
View offer

Coating and the room the screw will live in

SPAX describes WIROX for indoors and for outdoors that is not directly weathered, service class 1 and 2. Direct rain wants stainless A2, and A4 on the coast. The finish field says untreated, which conflicts with WIROX in the title. fischer states zinc plated, and outdoor use is unanswered. Neither box is a rained-on deck screw. Masonry is allowed on the fischer page only with a DuoPower or UX 6 x 50, and that plug is not in the pack.

What to ignore in the listing

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods must match the description. The SPAX card also shows 8 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm, #0-80 and M80, and one review marked Germany says 6 x 80 mm arrived. On the fischer card, included components says 100 screws and the piece-count fields say 1. The thread field says UNC. Confirm count and length on arrival. Grooves against the clip are on SPAX vs fischer adjusting screw.

What to measure, then which page next

Measure batten thickness, the gap, and whether the substrate is timber or masonry. Up to 40 mm of wood and 120 mm of distance points at the SPAX row, if 160 mm arrived. At least 20 mm of timber and a gap within 60 mm points at FAFS 5 x 80, if you have TX25 and the setting tool. For a leg, this set is M6, M8 and M10. A BS EN 14592 drawing, or a deck in the rain, is outside these five listings.

Common questions

Are furniture feet adjusting screws?
Shops use the words for both. A furniture levelling foot screws into a leg and changes the height of that leg. A timber adjusting screw fixes a batten and sets a gap. They sit in the same comparison because the query is ambiguous, and they are not substitutes. If the floor is uneven under a chair, you want a foot. If a ceiling batten needs a set distance from the joist, you want the timber screw.
How long a screw do I need for a 40 mm batten?
SPAX’s flyer maps 6 x 160 mm to a maximum wood thickness of 40 mm and a maximum distance of 120 mm. That is the only SPAX length in this set, listed at £26.95. A thinner batten wants a shorter screw from the same table, and those shorter screws are not among the five cards. FAFS 5 x 80 is a different limit: 60 mm maximum distance and 20 mm minimum timber on the fischer UK page.
Should I buy T30 or TX25?
Buy the drive the screw you chose actually uses. The SPAX title in this set is T-STAR plus T30. The fischer title is TX25. A T30 bit in a TX25 recess, or the other way round, is a common way for a head to round. The fischer setting tool is a separate piece, and the amazon included line does not list it.
Can WIROX go in the rain?
SPAX places WIROX in service class 1 and 2, which is indoors and outdoors that is not directly weathered. Direct rain is the case for stainless in SPAX’s coating notes, A2 in the weather and A4 on the coast. This listing also has a finish field that says untreated, so confirm the coating in the box. Zinc plate on the fischer card is not a deck-board screw either.
What is a junk specification line?
It is a field that cannot describe the product in the title. On these cards that includes #0-80, M80, UNC on a metric FAFS screw, untreated beside WIROX, and a piece count of 1 beside an included line of 100. Ignore the junk line when you choose, and still check the goods against the title, because that description is what the listing offered you.
When is this a BS EN 14592 job?
When a designer or a structural drawing has specified a dowel-type fastener for load-bearing timber. BS EN 14592:2022 is that specification. A DIY pack chosen from a star rating is not a substitute for it. A furniture foot is outside the standard. If you are also replacing a window, that work sits with a competent-person scheme, not with a box of adjusting screws.
Do I still need packers on a floor?
Yes, after you have adjusted, if you are following the SPAX flyer. The screw sets the batten. The flyer then tells you to shim a floor with wedges so the load is not left on the adjustment alone. A wall or a ceiling batten in a sheltered room is a different sequence, and that sequence is on the how-to page.

Related pages

SPAX screws comparison

Adjusting screws

Best adjusting screws for a batten or a light foot

Furniture levelling feet: match the M6, M8 or M10 hole

How to level timber battens with an adjusting screw

SPAX vs fischer adjusting screw for timber battens

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are the stored amazon.co.uk listings for these five ASINs, not a live re-check and not a laboratory test. SPAX and fischer review texts in the files are marked Germany. Uni-Fine has no UK-marked review in the file.

  1. SPAX UK, Adjusting screw WIROX (retrieved October 2026)
  2. SPAX adjusting screw flyer (retrieved October 2026)
  3. fischer UK, FAFS adjusting screw (retrieved October 2026)
  4. fischer UK, JUSS adjustable screw (retrieved October 2026)
  5. BSI, BS EN 14592:2022 (retrieved October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, competent person schemes (retrieved October 2026)
  8. SPAX coating notes (retrieved October 2026)