Pocket Screws
#38
My Grandpa uaed to say, "a nail will hold a man." With 10 pocket screws per board, Grandpa would say that's good for 2000 lbs if all the weight was on one board.

These ramps are over-engineered.
Wink
Dave Arbuckle was kind enough to create a Sketchup model of my WorkMate benchtop: http://www.arbolloco.com/sketchup/MauleSkinnerBenchtop.skp
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#39
Steve: I appreciate your comments! I'm an old guy and the kids, and grand kids, have run out of projects for me to do. So I thought I should work on my M&T skills. I found a photo of a rather complex table and decided I'd try to make it using M&T joinery. I found out that making the joints isn't too difficult with the right tools, but aligning everything is the real challenge. It's slow going but I am picking-up little tricks that I am sure an accomplished cabinet maker takes for granted. It's kind of fun to see what a "pre-elctricity" guy had to deal with.

That said: I think Kreg is a godsend for the amateur!

R.
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#40
I look at it this way it depends on what you are building: 

Some Examples-

Heirloom quality blanket chest- I'd go (and went) mortise and tenon.

Chairs- I'd stay away from pocket screws.  Due to the stresses combined with expansion and contraction that can loosen screws over time.  

Face frames for cabinets- pockets screws for sure, and combined with glue a great place for them.

Shop jigs- pocket screws for sure!
JB

"Give me an army of West Point graduates, I'll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war!"
--Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.


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#41
There is a school of engineering called, "That oughta be strong enough".  

If you watch enough home improvement TV shows you will see that it is taught at schools all over the country.
Smile
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#42
(08-29-2017, 10:04 AM)GeorgeV Wrote: At the risk of being?

 I dislike pocket screws and think that while they accomplish what is intended they inhibit the development of fundamental woodworking skills that provide for better joinery, i.e mortise and tenon.

Pocket screws are a shortcut that short changes the woodworker.

Just my $0.02 worth
It seems a good thing that woodworkers did not have this attitude when metal screws were developed, or when the dovetail was invented, or when...
Ralph Bagnall
www.woodcademy.com
Watch Woodcademy TV free on our website.
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#43
(08-18-2017, 10:06 AM)FrankAtl Wrote: I agree with AHill. Nothing wrong with doing what YOU want to do. Just ignore anyone that complains about it.


This.  I dig pocket screws.
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#44
Every joinery option has a place. If colonial woodworkers had this as an option it would have been embraced wholeheartedly for certain projects.

At the end of the day most Americans would not have a clue about how a wood piece was assembled or care. All they would be doing is complaining about the cost, since M&T takes more precision, ie time.

If you are making a special piece for someone, use M&T and sleep better knowing a piece of your work will outlive you and hopefully be enjoyed by generations. And it will last too. I am sure the shelf life of pocket screw joinery is longer than we realize but probably not as long as tried and true joinery.

I have done joinery both ways. If I am making a piece with a certain shelf life like a bathroom vanity I will use pocket screws, knowing the next homeowner may replace it.
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