Gary Sokolisch wrote:
If you pre-drill, the screw doesn't have much to grab onto. In the
old days, they simply turned the screw without any pilot holes. In
fact, my dad used to do it that way. The screw threads thereby get a
good "bite" into the wood.

Drywall screws go into fir without any trouble, but that's about the limit
of both screw size and wood softness.

If your screw is bigger than a drywall screw, and/or you are drilling
through something harder than fir, then you need a pilot hole.

Jon

?
"Jon Danniken" wrote

Drywall screws go into fir without any trouble, but that's about the limit
of both screw size and wood softness.


Drywall screws are OK as wood screws if quality and longevity don't matter
so much. They are too brittle and break easily when stressed. If you want
easy to drive screws, look for Spax from Lee Valley, McFeelys, and other
good suppliers. They go in easily.

http://www.mcfeelys.com/category.aspx?cat=spax-screws&s_kwcid=TC|4266|spax%20screws||S||472991345 5
That combination of the 4CUT T point and serrated thread is effective enough
to eliminate pre-drilling unless you're driving into either masonry or sheet
metal better than 24 gauge. A special word of caution applies here, however.
The fully-threaded versions of the SPAX® screw doesn't allow for as much
adjustment, once driven, as you may be accustomed to having. That's because
the thread forms a mechanical attachment in both the horizontal and vertical
planes.