My mentor told me to stop using pocket screws on face frames

Old timer named Harold in our shop said I was ruining my face frames by relying on pocket screws instead of dominoes. I argued with him for a month straight until I tried a $300 Festool Domino on a maple bookcase job. The joints came out SO much tighter and faster. Has anyone else switched and seen a real difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

murray.drew5d ago

Haha, "ruining my face frames" hit home. I resisted for years because I thought my pocket screw game was tight, but then I tried a Domino on a job and realized my joints were basically held together by hope and a little glue. The fit was night and day tighter, and I felt like an idiot for arguing with my Harold for so long. Now I look at my pocket screw jig and it's basically a paperweight for holding down blueprints. It's just not even close once you dial in the milling.

miles_roberts5d ago

Harold's "ruining my face frames" sticks with me too. @murray.drew is right about the pocket screw joints being held together by hope and a little glue. It's funny how in woodworking and life, you sometimes have to get burned before you see the pattern. I notice it a lot with people who insist shortcuts work fine until they finally try the real way and can't believe what they were missing. Pocket screws are great for quick stuff but trying to pass them off as fine joinery is like using duct tape to fix a broken chair leg. Once you feel how tight a Domino joint is, it changes your standard for what "good enough" really means.