Ed Kowaski
Member
- Messages
- 23
Congrats on your first box! Thankfully the rest are much easier.
I assume my dislike of pocket screws and face frames is largely irrelevent to most although I have good reasons for it.
I my view a pocket screw is nothing more then one method of hiding a mechanical fastener. It's not as sound as a through screw but the fastener is hidden and for many applications it's strong enough.
I don't see pocket screws as an efficient production method. You have to drill the pockets and install the screws one at a time. Nothing aligns the part so probably clamps and likely fiddling with alignment are required prior to driving the screws. Yes the screws are hidden but that is not an issue for kitchen cabinets, infact through screws are even more hidden. I fail to see any pay off in using pocket screws like this. Perhaps you can show me the light, why pocket screws and not through screws?
Biscuts are an excellent solution for many one off customs. In production their strength becomes their weakness. Parts are not percisely and automatically aligned.
In my experience dowels don't fail. Over the past 25 or so years I or my shop have produced literally thousands of doweled boxes, including drawers maybe over ten thousand. Dowel failure zero.
It seems to me that the vast majority of cabinet manufacturers worldwide have chosen dowels as the most rational solution to date. I happen to agree with them.
You have a wonderfully shop Doug, in some ways just starting you've already accomplished more then most ever do. Enjoy it.
I assume my dislike of pocket screws and face frames is largely irrelevent to most although I have good reasons for it.
I my view a pocket screw is nothing more then one method of hiding a mechanical fastener. It's not as sound as a through screw but the fastener is hidden and for many applications it's strong enough.
I don't see pocket screws as an efficient production method. You have to drill the pockets and install the screws one at a time. Nothing aligns the part so probably clamps and likely fiddling with alignment are required prior to driving the screws. Yes the screws are hidden but that is not an issue for kitchen cabinets, infact through screws are even more hidden. I fail to see any pay off in using pocket screws like this. Perhaps you can show me the light, why pocket screws and not through screws?
Biscuts are an excellent solution for many one off customs. In production their strength becomes their weakness. Parts are not percisely and automatically aligned.
In my experience dowels don't fail. Over the past 25 or so years I or my shop have produced literally thousands of doweled boxes, including drawers maybe over ten thousand. Dowel failure zero.
It seems to me that the vast majority of cabinet manufacturers worldwide have chosen dowels as the most rational solution to date. I happen to agree with them.
You have a wonderfully shop Doug, in some ways just starting you've already accomplished more then most ever do. Enjoy it.