TIL the hard way: pocket screws vs dowels on a face frame

I was building a client's kitchen in Arlington last month and had to pick between pocket screws and dowels for the face frames. I usually go with pocket screws because they are faster and I can fix mistakes easy. But this job had a lot of exposed end grain on the upper cabinets, and the client wanted everything super clean. So I tried dowels for the first time on a big build like this. Man, the alignment jig I bought saved me but it took forever. I got the hang of it after the third joint though. Have any of you switched methods mid job and regretted it or was it worth the extra time?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.nora4d ago

It's like getting halfway through painting a room and switching brushes.

the_elizabeth5d ago

Wait, you actually ditched pocket screws DURING a kitchen job?

claire_gibson4d ago

Swapped them out mid-cabinet at 10pm with a sore back and a lot of bad words. Figured if my joinery was gonna fail, better it fail on my own bad decision than on some screws I already didn't trust. Worked out fine in the end, just added a few extra grey hairs to the collection.