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?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan41018d ago

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

lindahunt18d ago

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