Pocket hole versus M and Tenon and Dowel joints
- Thread starter themackay
- Start date
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gidon
Established Member
Think he needs to repeat test with glue as well. The only time you'd use pocket hole screws without glue is if you want to take apart, surely!
I wonder if these people actually now make a living from YouTube - must take him ages doing all these contraptions!
Gidon
I wonder if these people actually now make a living from YouTube - must take him ages doing all these contraptions!
Gidon
Job and Knock
Established Member
Yes, but what would the result be if he were to turn the test piece through 90 degrees? Myself, I don't like pocket hole screws because I had far too many items made up from them fail when being manhandled off the van and into the client's house or manouvered into position - back when I was fitting kitchens for a living. They work well enough in plywood and solid wood but for MDF or MFC they are totally inadequate - glue or no glue.
I use pocket holes in MDF, primarily in conjunction with Dominos. Seems to be fine.
blackrodd
Established Member
As Gidon says, the pocket joint should have been screwed and glued, for a fairer test IMO.
But as I would have guessed, the good old M&T is still better.
Rodders
But as I would have guessed, the good old M&T is still better.
Rodders
gidon
Established Member
DennisCA":2v03r8h9 said:
Maybe that's the thing - people demonstrating things on YouTube perhaps aren't actually using them! It's obvious you need glue to get a strong joint - the pocket screws are pulling the joint together to save clamping and offer some mechanical strength too.
I'm not saying they are a great joint - but they can be useful. As an example - I've made some retail furniture for my shop using pocket holes. I use dominoes for alignment as well. But no glue otherwise I wouldn't be able to get them apart or into the shop in the first place!
Gidon
rafezetter
Troll Hunter
When I saw the topic headline I was just about to send you a link to Matthias Wendel for his tests on those joints - as there are others apart from this one.. anyhoo - regarding do people make money... some do, IIRC once you get over 100k hits youtube start to pay you a very small royalty and Matthias in particular does because he gets a lot of hits and has quite a number of vids.
As an example "grumpy cat" - that's the white.. well grumpy looking cat, has made his owner a millionaire because of youtube, yes seriously.
As an example "grumpy cat" - that's the white.. well grumpy looking cat, has made his owner a millionaire because of youtube, yes seriously.
Graham Orm
Established Member
This saw bench was assembled using pocket hole screws alone. 3 Reasons, 1 speed, 2 so that I can disassemble to change if required, and 3 so it can be disassembled to remove. It's been there 2 years now and carries my table saw, router/cabinet and all the bits that go with it and my extraction system.
It gets moved around on castors all the time and never flexes or twists. I've never had a regret about how it's constructed.
A note on glue. The bond created on end grain is hardly worth bothering with unless you use epoxy, which isn't practical.
It gets moved around on castors all the time and never flexes or twists. I've never had a regret about how it's constructed.
A note on glue. The bond created on end grain is hardly worth bothering with unless you use epoxy, which isn't practical.
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gidon":a4hxllce said:
When I used the phrasing I did, I didn't mean people where just showing what a pockethole joint was, but people building actual things where the pockethole was just the means used. Jay Bates uses it a lot in his projects and I've never seen him glue a joint.
From a woodworking video perspective I am always a bit disappointed when someone pulls out the pockethole jigs or dominoes. Sure it works, but I as a viewer enjoy watching traditional joinery a lot more, especially with the clever approach Matthias takes.
I suppose one trouble with pocket hole joinery is that any glue joint will be end grain to long grain whereas mortice and tenon or dominos / biscuits will be long grain to long grain making the joint inherently much stronger.
