Somewhere I read about using screws for joints in MDF. The advice was to insert and glue a dowel into one of the MDF pieces, then screw through the joining piece of MDF and into the dowel.
Assuming one is not using Confirmat screws, is the advice about dowels right?
Replies
Assuming that you drill and insert the dowel through the side so that you are screwing into the side of the dowel and there is sufficient MDF material holding in the dowel (don't count on the glue), then this would work. But I can't imagine why you would want to do this?
Todd
Just curious. Somewhere I read that the screw/dowel method was the preferred way of joining MDF.
Maybe it was preferred in the past, but I don't think that it is now. Most use biscuits, conformat (or similiar) scews, or rout and glue the edges (lock miters, rabets, dados, etc.)Todd
This joint works if the dowel is placed crosswise to the screw, like a barrel nut. This works because the core of the MDF is softer than the faces and won't hold a conventional screw well. The crosswise dowel is stronger because it transfers the load on the screw to the hard faces of the MDF.
John W.
Edited 6/14/2006 3:36 pm ET by JohnWW
Why not just biscuit the MDF? We used to make our kitchens that way. The other industry standard is to dowel the MDF directly. They have multi-spindle boring machines and dowel insertion guns. A proper pilot hole and screws from say McFeely's where the thread only goes up the screw shank 3/4's of the way is fine also.
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