Coarse Thread Pocket Screws for Melamine Construction?

[petengail]

Greetings!

I am building some cabinets out of melamine and would rather not invest in a Confirmat step bit and screws if I don't have to. Would coarse thread pocket screws be an adequate substitute?

I would use these with Gorilla glue. Additionally, would I be better off routing the coating off the melamine so it is wood fiber glued to wood fiber or does it not matter, i.e., would the glue bond the ripped edge of the melamine just as well to the slick surface as the substrate?

Thanks for your input,

D'ohBoy

[RayV]

Depends on the use of the cabinets but I doubt pocket screws would work. They would probably just pull right through as you tightened them. Have you looked here:

[GROVER]

[Pat Barber]

Call the boys at Mcfeely's and ask them. They sell a screw that is suitable for melamine... A pocket hole screw will work, but is a weak joint in melamine.

THe screws I used were 2.5" long and will hold a butt joint nice and tight.

Watch melamine close to the ends. You MUST pre-drill to prevent splitting.

I can't remember the name of that screw.

C> Greetings!

[bridgerfafc]

sounds sketchy to me, but the only way to tell if it'll work for your application is to mock up the joint with some scrap and test it to destruction. I predict it'll be very easy to destroy.

I generally try to use a screw that goes all of the way through for locations where I can put the head in a non-visible place, and a biscuit where I have to show the face.

use melamine glue, not gorilla glue. it's a lot stronger for your application, and a lot cheaper.

[JGS]

[Pat Barber]

[GROVER]

This post is a slightly off topic but it might interest a few in the group. Melamine board developed by necessity in Germany right after WWll ended. Germany was in ruins as a consequence of the allied bombing raids. There was very little wood available to begin reconstruction. There was however a great deal of destroyed wooden material at hand and a process was developed to grind the available wood into chips suitable for rolling into sheet goods using formaldehyde glue as a binder. Plastic sheets were adhered to the outside surfaces to provide a finish as the substrate was not conducive to traditional finishing techniques. The German hardware industry developed the 32 mm system with catalogs full of specialized screws, hinges, drawer slides, connectors et al to work with the particular properties of the new board. Therefore the confirmat screw.

Joe G

[Pat Barber]

Very interesting and I often wondered where the 32mm started and why.

I just thought the germans wanteed to be different or they had found some deep dark reason for all that hole spacing.

GROVER wrote:

[GROVER]

[CW]

Yeah, and I have a pterodactyl as a pet.

[GROVER]

messagenews: [e-mail]...

[Jim]

When I build cabinets, I don't use glue and use 2 or 2.5 inch particle board screws. All holes must be predrilled and awy from the edge. Havent had a problem so far.

Jim

[Hank Gillette]

Why not just use McFeely's Confirmat style screws?

[Pat Barber]

This was pretty old article but I recall the original guy "not" wanting to use confirmats due to cost.

Confirmat's require a pretty pricey drill bit and if your screwing skills are not excellent, you can screw up the holes.

Using the more traditional screws would be easier for a novice to use in my opinion.

All you need is coutersink bit and a screw driver.

Hank Gillette wrote:

[Bill]

I doubt there's a man among us who would admit to having less than excellent screwing skills...

[Pat Barber]

Errrr..true

I should have said "drilling skills"...

I got to get these bi-focals swapped out.

Bill wrote:

[Hank Gillette]

Which is why I suggested the McFeely's Confirmat style. Rockler sells Confirmat screws 8 for $2.09. McFeely's copies are $7.53 for a 100, which doesn't seem prohibitive to me, especially if the Confirmat style screw is as much better for particle board as claimed.

I was surprised at the price of the drill bit, but Rockler, who sells the genuine Confirmat simply says that they need a 7/32" pilot hole.

Still, it seems better to use the proper tool for the job and learn the skills needed to use it than to compromise on something that won't hold up.