Leave screws in or take em out?

[bean438]

Oops, I meant shoot the screw in, lol.

I know i only have to lay a bead on the upright panels, but just for piece of mind it isnt much work to put a dab of PL on the screws. Since I am leaving them in, i dont need the THT to shake them out.

[Mark Coward]

The OP stated drywall screws. I used to use these as well, but they will "bury" into the wood. "Real" wood screws have a bit of bare shaft between the head and threads, and do a much better job of pulling panels together. I just drill pilot holes, no counter sink, and remove the screws (and re-use) after the glue sets. Drywall screws will often pop splinters off when you try to remove them, requiring more bondo. I shoot brads wherever possible, and only use screws when necessary usually on the large side panels.

On a side note, a carpenter friend showed me a neat trick. Like, when screwing on the side panel you find there's a bit of concave warp in the top/bottom/front/back. It can be difficult to impossible to use a "spreader" type clamp in some areas. What you do is run a screw in the warped piece, an inch or two underneath where it butts to the side panel, just far enough for a good hold. Then with an ordinary hammer forked over this screw head and butted against the edge of the side piece, you can pull the warp out flush with one hand while you drill a pilot hole and run a screw in. May need more than one "helper" screw to get it straight, just remove them when done and fill the holes.

If doing a large project I like bondo, for smaller stuff I prefer wood filler so I don't have to worry about mixing small amounts and can just do a bit at a time.

[Harley]

The OP stated drywall screws. I used to use these as well, but they will "bury" into the wood. .

The Gib ( drywall ) screws we have here, have a smooth taper, more like a trumpet flare than a straight taper. They are designed to press into the Gib-board ( drywall ) without damaging the paper surface. They don;t bite into the ply and it's necessary to countersink the hole first if you want to leave them in and underneath the surface

The 'fix-all' screws on the other hand have a sharp knurl on the taper and these little blighters will counter-sink their own way to China if you let them.

Proper wood screws come with only slotted heads here, and they're just not user friendly for battery drills.