Screws vs dowels

Jul 28, 2007 42 Replies
M

Well, let me do the usual disclaimer that I'm not an expert, for sure...

It would seem to me that a well fitted dowel with grooves for glue flow would be stronger than a screw in most cases.... The main advantage to a dowel or biscuit, IMO, is the increase in gluing area... because if the joint fails, screws aren't going to help much...

I've done test joints with biscuits and then taken them apart a week later... In every case I had to break the joint before the biscuit let go..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

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G

It's been done. See Hoadly on differential wood movement along the grain of the dowel and the wood which encloses it. Unless you've got the perfect grain match, it'll work loose from the glue as time passes, the wood cycles and the glue becomes more brittle.

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S

There is also a difference between a pin and a plug. A pin is a structural component with the grain oriented *through* the cylinder, intended to provide sheer resitance to pullout of a tennon. A plug is a cross-gram cosmetic cap used to cover a structural component (screw).

You cant "match" the grain on a pin because it is, by definition, in the wrong orientation.

I believe that the OP intended to use dowels as a loose tennon rather than to pin a (not loose) tennon.

Steve

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