On 04/13/2010 05:34 PM, Puckdropper wrote:
The pilot hole is there to prevent
the wood from splitting, so as long as it's sufficiently smaller than
the screw head it'll still do it's job.

While that's one reason for it, a suitably sized pilot hole will
actually increase the strength of the joint. A pilot hole that is too
small results in crushed wood fibers which have less structural strength.

Chris