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I finally saw why the old guys refuse to use pocket screws
Helped a guy build a kitchen in a 1920s house in Portland last week, and he insisted on face framing everything with mortise and tenon joints. Took us twice as long but the old growth fir didn't split or shift even a little bit. Have any of you tried traditional joinery on older houses and noticed the same thing?
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masondixon10d ago
Three extra days" is worth it when the cabinet outlasts the house.
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blair_green8612d ago
Right, because why use a screw that actually works when you can spend three extra days cutting little pegs like it's 1825? I bet that fir didn't split but your back sure did from leaning over all those hand-cut joints. Sounds like a REAL fun way to build a kitchen you'll never see again.
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gavinhunt11d ago
...Three extra days? Try THREE WEEKS. You clearly have never worked with old growth fir that's been drying out for a hundred years. That stuff is HARD, man. A single pilot hole takes like double the time because the wood fights back. But here's the thing - when you put a pocket screw into that rock-solid old growth, it either strips out or blows the grain sideways. The mortise and tenon joints actually BITE into the wood and hold. I watched that kitchen shift a little during assembly and those joints just settled in tight. No squeaks, no creaks. You can have your pocket screws, I'll take the method that actually WORKS on this stuff.
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