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My old boss said to always pre-drill stair treads, and I blew him off till a $60 oak board split on me
Back when I was framing in Bakersfield, my foreman Ray kept telling me to pre-drill every stair tread before driving screws, and I thought he was just slow and old school. Last Tuesday I was rushing a set of red oak treads for a customer and skipped the pilot hole on the third one, and the board split clean down the grain right at the screw. Had to eat the cost of a new tread plus drive 40 minutes back to the yard. Ray retired 4 years ago and I still hear his voice every time I pick up the drill. Any of you pre-drill even with self-tapping trim screws, or am I just cursed with cheap oak?
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singh.jordan5d ago
Wouldnt soft maple or pine be way more forgiving than oak even with self tappers? Oak is hard and brittle so the screw has nowhere to go but split the grain, and Ray was right no matter how old school it sounds.
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