Screw into plywood edge

[Luckbox72]

I was working on installing a door in my router table using a Blum face frame hinge. As I was attaching it to the plywood frame the screws did not bite into the wood and will not pull the hinge tight. Is there a way to do this. I was think I might need to drill out the hole and then insert a dowel cut it flush and then screw into that, but I did not know if there was a better way.

 

[Mike Davis]

The better way is to drill through the plywood and glue a dowel so the screw will go into the side of the dowel rather than into the end grain of the dowel.

 

[Timmy]

The better way is to drill through the plywood and glue a dowel so the screw will go into the side of the dowel rather than into the end grain of the dowel.

Do you insert the dowel into the side so it can't have any chance of pulling out, or just better strength for the screw to bite into?

 

[Mike Davis]

Both.

 

[ehpoole]

Another alternative if you don't need a lot of holding strength is to pre-drill the hole, partly fill with epoxy, then screw as securely as possible (tight, but shy of stripping out). Wipe up any epoxy that escapes.Then allow the epoxy to set and harden. It also helps to use as long a screw as practical for such applications (not just the short screws that came with the hardware). Just beware that if you apply too much epoxy, and then drive the screw in, you may find epoxy leaking out of interesting places since it will migrate (under pressure) to wherever there are flaws in the wood (or plywood), so squirt a little epoxy in the hole and then coat the screw threads.

However, Mike's suggestion is by far the most preferred solution, especially where maximum strength is required.

 

[Joe Scharle]

I cut plugs, which give me face grain to screw into. And you can get the same result with an inlay kit, by inlaying a 'football' plug. The same thing you see on sheets of CDX ply. But for me, drilling a half inch hole and gluing in a half inch plug is much quicker. If you use a forstner bit, you won't have to drill through.

 

[Luckbox72]

Thanks, I think I will try the plug idea

 

[Howard Acheson]

Yes, you can drill and glue into the dowel. However, that is not a particularly strong method for screwing. You are screwing into end grain which is not all that strong. The strongest solution is the glue a 1" wide hardwood end on the plywood. Then you can screw into the hardwood and have a very secure attachment.

If you elect to use the dowel solution, be sure to use screws at least 1 1/2" long.

 

[Mike Davis]

Just to be sure this is understood...

If you are screwing one sheet of plywood to another you wouldn't want to glue a hardwood strip in between.

 

[Luckbox72]

Cool, Gotcha. I am just trying to attach the door to the table. The table case was built with plywood and the door hinges are set so I need to screw into the exposed edge of the plywood. This looks like it would be pretty solid, I also liked Joes idea. I have plug cutters so I could drill a hole and then insert plugs so that I would be screwing into the face of the plug.

 

[workingwood]

I like this dowel idea. I normally have just filled the hole with 3 to 4 toothpicks and then drilled which has held up for me, but the use of a dowel I think is a much better idea.

 

[Howard Acheson]

I was working on installing a door in my router table using a Blum face frame hinge. As I was attaching it to the plywood frame the screws did not bite into the wood and will not pull the hinge tight. Is there a way to do this. I was think I might need to drill out the hole and then insert a dowel cut it flush and then screw into that, but I did not know if there was a better way.

That is called a "cross dowel" and provides and excellent way to get a more secure joint. The only caveat is to be sure to drill a pilot hole into the dowel or the screw may cause the dowel to to split and damage the plywood.

As I understood the OP, he was installing hinges so he would have to install a cross dowel for each screw. My choice would be to glue on the hardwood strip but there is more than one way to skin the cat.

 

[Mike Davis]

Right, cross dowel.

Lacking any formal training, I don't know many of the correct terms to use and mostly do what I have learned through many years of trial and error and more trials.

Cross dowels work.