My garage shelf project came down to pocket holes vs. dado joints

I was building some heavy duty shelving for my shop and had to pick between pocket screws and cutting dado slots. I went with pocket holes since I don't own a dado blade and figured it'd be faster. Total time was about 4 hours and they held up fine so far, but has anyone had issues with pocket holes sagging under 200+ pounds per shelf?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel1404d ago

Oh man, I went through the exact same thing last year! I built some heavy duty shelving for my basement and had the same debate with myself. I went with pocket holes too because I didn't want to mess with setting up a dado jig. My shelves have been holding about 250 pounds of canned goods for six months now and they're still solid. Just make sure you use coarse thread screws and plenty of glue, that's what really locks it in.

emmaclark3d ago

Actually @daniel140, I hate to be that guy but coarse thread screws in MDF or plywood can actually split the wood if you're not careful. Fine thread is usually better for hardwood and plywood shelving since they grab without cracking the material. Glue is definitely the real hero here though, that stuff makes everything bulletproof.

mark_carr73d ago

Totally agree with you @emmaclark, I learned that lesson the hard way. Tried to hang a heavy shelf in my garage last year with coarse thread screws in some cheap plywood and it split right down the middle, shelf hit the floor before I even got a level on it. I felt like a real genius that day. Now I'm team fine thread all the way for anything that's not solid softwood. Glue really does make everything bulletproof though, I slather it on like I'm buttering toast and my stuff never budges.