Glue or Screw

[ChrisA Edwards]

I'm finishing up some Plantation shutters.

I've mortise an tenon'd the rails and stiles. The tenons are 1/2" x 3" to 4", depending on the rail, and 2" deep.

My shutters will hinge on an outer frame, which is attached to a wall.

I plan to glue the upper and lower rails to the stile that does not have a hinge.

On the other stile, after all the louvers are in place, I could glue it, but that would mean I could never replace a warped, twisted or sagging louver should I ever need to, without destroying the frame.

My thought is to screw the other stile, either through the edge of the stile into the tenon. This screw would pretty much be hidden like the screws of the hinges.

Or I could screw in from the back side on the flat of the stile. These screws would only be visible when the shutter frame is opened.

Being large shutters, the only reason they will be opened, on the hinges, is to access the window for opening or cleaning.

Am I being paranoid about the need to access the louvers?

Thanks

[Dan Hulbert]

You might be a little paranoid. But, have you considered pegging the tenons? Use 1/4" pegs that you could drill out if you ever need to dis-assemble.

[ChrisA Edwards]

No i haven't, but that's an excellent idea.

[Andrew Gibson]

A drawbore peg would be my first choice, it will put tension on the joint keeping it square and tight and can be drilled our if needed in the future for repair.