POCKET HOLE JOINTS: IS GLUE NECESSARY?

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There are a handful of topics and questions that pop up pretty regularly in the woodworking world. Most commonly: should I or shouldn’t I add glue to pocket hole joints? If you ask a room full of woodworkers you’ll probably get answers that fall on both sides of the fence. We decided to do a little experiment. Now we know that we didn’t take a hugely scientific approach to this, but it provides some results that are interesting.

THE EXPERIMENT
We made up two pocket hole joints. One with glue in it, one without (The specific glue used was Titebond Quick and Thick). With one leg of the joint held in a vise, we yanked on the other leg, looking for a fracture. One measure was; how much force does it take to break the joint. The other was; what exactly does the joint look like after it’s been broken.

THE RESULTS
Well, we’re not going to give away the results of our experiment here. You’ll have to watch the video. But we can say you’re going to want to incorporate the results into your projects.

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APPLICATIONS FOR POCKET HOLE JOINTS
There are so many places you can use pocket hole joints and screws. This is a such a versatile way of putting wood together. While most of us probably use it for face frames, or similar applications, pocket hole joinery can be used in lots of other applications.

ALSO IMPORTANT…
Choosing the right joint for your project is important, and choosing the right glue is important too. Have a look at 4 Types of Glue You Can Stick With to make sure you’re using the best glue for your projects.

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[SaintCronch]

I recently needed some long (6.5 meters long) 1x4 boards for the exterior of the house, after trying on doing them with finger joints, 45 degree butt joints and whatever I settled on pocket holes. I saw a huge difference in using glue vs not glue, I also had to redo all the joints where I didn't put glue on both pieces.

[gndnone]

thanks for the simple but valuable tip

[firpofutbol]

Awesome tip! Always wondered about that.

[TedAlexander]

Adding glue to wood joints is like Frank’s Redhot sauce. I put that ___ on everything!

[Namtov]

Comments :-)
The screws seems to have very different lengths. Are the pocketholes not drilled in the same depth ?
The way you clamp the bottom piece prevents the screws to be pulled out of the bottom piece. You are are actually clamping the screws together with the bottom piece.
Higher bottom piece and same hole depth :-)

But glue... always use that :-)

[David_K_pi]

It seems to me that this would depend a lot on the application, i.e., how strong does the joint need to be.
If it's a furniture project, by all means, glue it.
If it's a face frame or some other low stress application, why would you need glue?
Comments?