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Stop using pocket screws for face frames, they're just lazy work
I see too many guys in this trade banking on pocket screws to hold face frames together. I went to a job last month where a cabinet door was sagging because the screws pulled out after a year. A proper mortise and tenon joint doesn't cost that much more time and it'll outlast the house. Why are we skipping basic joinery just to save 20 minutes per frame? Anyone else notice this trend getting worse or is it just the new guys coming in?
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seanperry1mo ago
Mortise and tenon for a face frame? That's overkill unless you're building heirloom furniture that's getting moved every ten years. What kind of sagging we talking here - was the frame racking side to side or did the screws literally rip out of the end grain of the rail? I've seen guys screw into particle board rails with coarse threads and wonder why it fails, but a proper pocket screw into solid hardwood with glue should hold a standard frame together longer than the drywall around it.
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