Showerthought: I used to think pocket screws were the best for face frames, but I'm switching back to dowels.

I built two identical maple face frames last month, one with a Kreg jig and one with a simple dowel jig. After a year in a dry house, the pocket screw frame has a tiny gap at one joint you can feel with a fingernail. The doweled one is still tight as a drum. The glue surface on a dowel joint is just bigger and stronger for that kind of stress. Has anyone else seen this happen with seasonal wood movement?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan4102mo ago

Yeah, glue area matters more than screws for wood movement.

jennifer_murphy5322d ago

Its not that serious though. Wood moves like a millimeter either way unless you're building a barn door out of wet lumber. Half the time people overthink this stuff and their project sits in a corner for six months anyway. Glue alone holds most furniture together for decades without any screws at all. As long as the joints fit tight youre probably fine with either method. Just don't use liquid nails on fine furniture lmao.

lindahunt2mo ago

But glue fails too if the wood can't move at all.