Bl Working

Woodworking Projects – Tips for working with long screws

Woodworking projects that require extra long screws means you have a
higher chance of the wood splitting and making even small woodworking
projects a major pain!  I’ve developed my own three step process that
greatly reduces the chance of this happening and I’m going to share it
here with you.

Step 1 – Counterbore:  Since I alchoices cover the screws with wood plugs
the first step is to drill a counter bore sized to accommodate the
wood plug and the head of the screw.

Step 2 – Shank Hole:  The second step is to drill a shank hole.  Now
usually you only do this through the outside wood piece but what I do
is to clamp the two pieces together and drill the hole through the
outside piece and into the mating piece.  Remember to drill the shank
hole the depth of the unthreaded part of the screw, taking into
account the conterbore you made during the first step.

Step 3 – Pilot Hole:  This is the last step and you should leave the
pieces clamped together.  Keep in mind that unless you use an extra
long bit the pilot hole won’t be as deep as the screw.  So to play it
safe you can unclamp the pieces first and use a standard drill bit to
drill pilot holes the full depth of the screw.

This simple little three step process has made it easier when using
really long screws.  I discovered this when working on a simple
workbench for a mudroom.  I hope you found this tip useful and can use
it when doing your woodworking projects.