My take on pocket hole joinery for face frames

I know everyone loves pocket holes for speed, but I had a whole set of maple face frames shift on me last week after the glue dried. The screws pulled everything about an eighth inch out of square across a 7 foot run. I had to pull them apart and redo the joints with proper mortise and tenons, which took a full day. Has anyone else had this happen, or am I just doing something wrong with my clamp setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly9681mo ago

Clamp the holy heck out of them before you drive the screws. That movement is a classic sign the parts weren't held dead still.

alicec861mo ago

Yeah @kelly968 is totally right, I learned that the hard way when a whole panel shifted on me last week.