Does this need screws?

Greg Guarino · 2017-01-16T16:43:17+00:00

Pictorial: It's a shelf/cubbyhole unit, intended to hang from the wall. It's six feet long and a little over 11" deep. The material is red oak. All the joints are dadoed or rabbeted (1/4" deep) and glued, as can be seen here: And there's the rub. I'm still just a weekend hobbyist and I had not considered that the joints would involve end grain when I designed the piece. I only thought about it as I was applying the glue. :( The unit consists of about 18 feet of solid red oak 1x12. One of those online calculators tells me that's about 30 pounds, unloaded. There won't be books in (and on) these shelves, mostly percussion instruments including some hand drums. Still, I can imagine it weighing 60-80 lbs. in use. The top of the unit will be about six feet off the ground. I figure that means that only people over 6'3" will ever see it. Even the bottom will be largely obscured by speakers and a pair of computer monitors. So it wouldn't be a disaster to add a couple of screws to each joint, maybe those flat power-head socket type. Any advice about whether or not I need screws, and if so where I can get some that are reasonably decorative?

Jan 16, 2017 20 Replies

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DerbyDad03 9 years ago

It's necessary if it will stop you from constantly worrying about whether the item will fail or not.

It's known as Peace Of Mind and not something to be taken lightly.

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Does this need screws?

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