TIL pocket hole screws can snap if you push too hard on the driver

Was building a cabinet frame last Thursday and ran into a weird issue. I was driving some pocket hole screws into some oak and one just snapped clean off halfway in. Took me an hour to drill it out and patch the hole. Turns out I was leaning into the drill too much instead of letting the screw do the work. Has anyone else had this happen with harder woods like oak or maple?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_palmer4420d ago

Yeah I used to think you could just muscle through any wood but oak humbled me real quick.

dakota41520d ago

Is it actually oak though? A lot of people call red oak just "oak" but forget white oak is way harder to work with by hand. Red oak is tough but manageable if you keep your tools sharp, white oak will chew up your chisels and laugh at you. What kind of oak was it?

jason_lewis320d ago

Dakota, you're close but there's a small mix up here. Red oak is actually the softer of the two, white oak is the denser one, it's got those clogged pores that make it rot resistant but also way harder on your tools. Red oak has open pores that soak up stain like a sponge, it's easier to cut and plane by hand if you stay on top of your sharpening. White oak will definitely wreck a chisel if you're not careful, that's the one that humbles you quick. Parker's right that oak in general will teach you respect, but white oak is the real brute.