# Using screws along with joinery



## BalsaWood (Mar 25, 2015)

I have pretty much used joints and glue for aprons but was wondering would adding screws help reinforce the joinery or be of any help?


----------



## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Feel free to use screws anytime you want, Sam maloof used them in his rocking chairs.I have found a properly installed screw takes some skill and is hard to beat!


----------



## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Im sure it helps some but the glue is where the strengths at.


----------



## Dabcan (Feb 1, 2011)

It depends on the joint, too big a screw or too thin wood and you might make it worse. as Aj2 said, if it's done properly it can help a lot though.


----------



## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I like to use screws so I bought a counter-bore to put on a 1/8" twist drill. Makes a pilot hole and a flat bottomed counter-bore to accept a tapered plug to cover the screw head.


----------



## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

Screws are the clamps that hold joinery together until the glue dries and gives it "permanent" rigidity.


----------



## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

> Im sure it helps some but the glue is where the strengths at.
> 
> - TheFridge


Agreed. In most cases, the wood will fail before the glue joint does.


----------



## bruc101 (Sep 13, 2008)

One nice cool morning this Spring I was sitting outside my daughters office with them having a cup of coffee and breakfast with them listening to them discuss an up coming project that had a lot of different joinery.

One of the twins said she had come upon a woodworkers business website recently and the guy was talking about a piece of furniture he'd made.

She said he was bragging on pocket screw joinery and a certainly jig and it was the greatest invention ever to woodworkers. He said he had recently built one of these chest for his daughter and when he finished he had 95 screws in it and it would never come apart.

Our youngest daughter now 15 started laughing and asked what have you bums done to me? Since day one when I was 8 and started working in the shop I was told we use screws for face frame joinery only. And then she asked, are we the only ones still using traditional joinery unless something either needs or has to backed up with screws?

Personally I have nothing against using screws when and where needed but not to build a piece of furniture or farm table with them. Not going to happen in my daughter's shop and definitely not in my shop.


----------



## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

I don't see how anyone can answer the question without knowing what joint you're talking about.

Assuming its an apron/leg joint, and assuming its a mortise and tenon, pegging it increases the strength immensely.

Or, use a dovetail joint.

There is no advantage using screws in most joinery if done properly.
If you're looking for a shortcut, sure go ahead and use them.
For that matter, just use butt joints and forgo the hassle of building furniture properly…...;-)


----------



## dealmaster (Jun 17, 2015)

I'm gonna be using drawbored dowels with my mortise and tenon joints on this table I'm building. However, I will be using screws with elongated holes to attach the top to the stretchers.


----------

