Although I myself prefer the exact Countersinks you use in the video FYI H.B.Fuller Company also. Have Carbide Tipped Counter Sinks that do hold an edge. Longer I like the HSS ones because with a Jewlers file Set I can quickly “Dress “ the edges and have A Sharpened. Set to use In a Professional Setting as a Cabinet Installer I have Fuller brand Counter Sinks I’ve used daily for over 35 years most of the Cabinets I installed were. Built out of Melamine Structures that. Can dull tooling. Pretty quickly !
I've just brought a set of cutters and I can't wait to try them out having never used such things before...after recently deciding to take up woodwork for a hobby...why Oh why didn't I start years ago....? better late than never they say...
Great video, clearly presented with useful information, thank you. just an idea, I'd really appreciate it if you made a video, showing how you would remover a plug that has been installed and flush cut to remover the hidden screw.
Thanks Jon, I also use countersinks on almost all of the screws I run. WL Fuller went from my favorites to second place after I stated using the Amana adjustable countersinks. There not cheap, but are versatile and hold an edge longer than the others.
Personally I would match the direction of the grain with the plug. Perhaps comment that a flush cutting saw is needed to avoid marking the surface and to always sand in the direction of the grain.
yeah, I mean these 3 tips would be the most important, so that such common mistakes are not performed by any beginner. But none of them are highlighted in the video... :(
Im not sure if i agree with Pianova's comment about the screws being flush...considering you're also showing the use of a plug afterwards. But one thing that i have noticed on some of your previous videos is that you do seem to go deep on your countersinks in areas where you later cover up with molding, trim, or a face frame. To me, this weakens the strength of the wood by minimizing its thickness. But you're a complete pro in my book. Thanks for all your videos.
Something to keep in mind is woodworkers tend to make their joints far stronger than they need to be. Just glue will usually be much stronger than the wood itself and many times nails and screws are just for a little added strength or just to act like clamps to give the glue time to fully cure. Even without glue, using multiple fasteners also helps spread the load and makes it less important how strong each one may be by itself... It also depends on the type of wood you are using. Like you put a screw into a piece of oak just a few threads and it can hold your weight but in a soft wood it would rip out. Plywood is engineered wood and will generally be stronger and more stable than real wood. There are always trade offs but it would have to be pretty badly put together to not be able to trade off a little strength for a better final look... But there's examples like pocket holes that are normally deeply embedded but still offer plenty of strength. A dowel joint can be around 1.5x stronger than a pocket hole but pocket holes are very common and still rarely break, and you don't have to drill that deep to just cover a screw with a wood plug, which means it should still usually be stronger than a pocket hole... Some resources to look up for hard data on the subject... Wood by Wright did an extensive testing of a long list of glues... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZoaTZY5cSQE.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JFEPTPTtFsw.html Gosforth Handyman channel has a number of tests on fasteners, drywall/plaster screws, wood screws, MDF screws, etc. have to search his channel but a lot of videos on it... And there's lots of videos done by many different people on strength of different types of joints for comparison...
This always confuses me? So the idea is that the screw isn’t really screwing into the first plywood, but only the second piece? Or is it screwing a little in the first one as well? It looked like you almost predrill Ed completely through the first plywood?
You can pre-drill with a smaller diameter than the threaded screw has in total, especially in hardwoods; you are surely aware that you can only drill through the wood to be fastened with a diameter that corresponds to the screw neck (the unthreaded part for partially threaded screws or the threaded screw diameter for fully threaded screws). The point of this is that you can then pull the wood to be fastened with the screw head towards the wood without running the risk of not being able to make a conclusive connection if there is too little contact pressure on the wood to be fastened, because perhaps one or two threads of the screw in the too narrow drill hole prevent you from closing the gap correctly. If a larger hole is drilled in the wood to be fastened to countersink the screw head, this will of course not go all the way through - I would say countersink up to max. 2/3 of the wood thickness - otherwise fastening is no longer possible. But I'm sure you're aware of this last variant yourself.
Jon, good instruction. I always enjoy your videos. Thanks. Question unrelated to this video: What are your thoughts on using drywall compound to seal MDF before priming and painting? I'm specifically thinking about sealing the edges of MDF with drywall compound before sanding, priming and painting it. I think I might have seen one of your videos in which you used drywall compound to fill nail holes and such before painting. Thank you very much. Larson Bennett
Thanks! Yes that will work but prime it first with an acrylic primer… I like fresh start by Benjamin Moore and I often use the heavy body fresh start to help fill. Prime let it dry fill then sand then prime again
The plug cutter John used in the video works better on the drill press...it wants to walk if you use a hand drill. There are plug cutters with spring loaded centering pins that are much better for cutting plugs in the field, at least in my experience
Are use both because the tapered bits Seemed to be more available but lately I’m using the straight ones. Tapered bits were designed for tapered wood screws and generally I’m not using tapered wood screws anymore
I’m not sure if you should countersink this type of screws that much. They’re meant to be flush with the surface or to be only a little bit below the surface of your material :D
These things are garbage! (The Irwin 1/4 hex)The ones with the hex peace strip. I’ve had two of them strip and I took off the actual countersink with the two eyehole screws and put them on actual solid drill bits. Irwin used to be a decent quality tool. Chinese junk.
Can somebody explain the .."quick-change" 1/4 shank.Does that mean it can be used free hand - the plug cutter I mean, the drill is obviously can. I tried and its positively impossible, at least I couldn't do it. Any reply is much appreciated.
Great simple video! This past weekend, I ordered a set of countersink bits; they are in the mail. The set I ordered is better than the junk I've been using but not as nice as yours. I'll see how I like them. I'm waiting to see your quarantine haircut.
