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Old timer told me to stop using glue on pocket holes, he was right
Guy named Frank who's been building cabinets since the 70s told me to skip the glue on pocket hole joints. I thought he was crazy, kept doing it anyway for 2 years. Last month I had to take apart a shelf unit I built and the glued pocket holes stripped out the wood when I tried to unscrew them. Now I just use glue on the joint faces and leave the screws alone. Anyone else have old school advice they ignored at first?
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evab5215d ago
Wait, are you telling me I've been applying wood glue to my pocket screws like some kind of overachieving DIY YouTuber this whole time?
I always thought more glue = stronger joint, but now I'm realizing I was basically just creating a permanent, unsolvable mess. That's like putting superglue on a Lego set and wondering why you can't take it apart later.
Frank sounds like he knows his stuff though, old timers usually do. They've been through the "what was I thinking" phase decades before we even picked up a drill. I bet he also has a tip about sawdust and wood filler that'll blow our minds.
I'm definitely ditching the glue on the screws now. Last thing I need is to build something and then have to fight my own hardware when I need to fix it.
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evab5215d ago
And Frank's trick about using a little wax on the screw threads... is that just for pocket holes, or would it help with any screw that might need to come out later? I've got a drawer pull that's been stuck on there since 2019 and I'm about ready to take a sledgehammer to it, honestly. If a dab of wax would've saved me that headache I'm gonna be a little mad I didn't ask sooner.
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