Unpopular opinion: pocket hole joinery gets way too much hype compared to actual mortise and tenon joints

I built two identical nightstands six months ago, one with pocket screws and one with real mortise and tenon, and the pocket hole one already has a loose drawer face while the other is still rock solid, so why are we acting like a jig and some screws can replace actual joinery, anyone else feel like pocket holes are just the fast food of woodworking?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron8967d ago

I built a set of cabinet doors three years ago using pocket holes for the first batch and M&T for the second batch. The pocket hole doors started sagging at the joints after about 18 months to the point they don't close right anymore. The mortise and tenon doors still look and feel like the day I built them, no gaps no movement. Pocket holes are great for quick assembly on stuff that doesn't take much stress like a simple shelf or a jig. But for anything that has to hold up over time like doors or drawers or table legs they just don't have the same mechanical grip that a wedged tenon or even a glued dowel joint gives you.

blake_smith6d ago

That "mechanical grip" thing you mentioned is the real key here. Pocket holes rely on the screw threads biting into the softer wood fibers, but over time with wood movement and temperature changes those fibers relax and the screw loses its bite. With a mortise and tenon you've got a big surface area of glue plus the mechanical lock of the joint itself. I think the problem is people see these Instagram builders cranking out furniture in a weekend with pocket holes and think it's a shortcut that works the same. But those same builders probably aren't showing you what their stuff looks like two years later when the glue starts letting go. The fast food comparison is pretty spot on. It gets the job done quick and tastes good in the moment, but your body pays for it later.