On 2/17/2011 3:07 PM, 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.

I select a pilot bit by holding the bit over the screw and seeing if the
bit shaft obscures the shaft of the screw and not the threads. A
touch of saw wax on the screw threads makes it easy to drive into the
wood.

TDD