"dpb" wrote in message

Given the tensile strength of steel, it would take a very large dowel to
exceed it from a purely mechanical viewpoint. The screw will almost
invariably pull from the wood by the wood failing long before the screw
itself will fail.

Food for thought:

Old timey, wooden shutter frames around here were often made with M&T joints
(one side, top and bottom, purposely unglued to facilitate replacing the
shutters) and with a screw countersunk into the edge of the shutter frame
and driven directly into the end grain of the tenons.

The screw hole was plugged to keep out the elements, but could be drilled
out later if/when it eventually came time to replace the shutter slats.

It made for a helluva strong joint on big window shutters, even without
glue.

Haven't seen them made that way in a long time, but it was once a common
method in this part of the country.

As it is a very similar principle, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that was
where old Sam got his idea for screwing his chair joints together?

There's not much new under the sun.



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Last update: 6/1/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)