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Thread: What screws for building cabinet boxes with melamine ?

  1. #1
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    What screws for building cabinet boxes with melamine ?

    I have used' confirmats' in the past.Is there any other good options available now ? I will be building production cabinets going forward.

  2. #2
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    Why not use confirmats? They’re designed for that job.

  3. #3
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    Hi Mike - I've used confirmats and agree with Jamie that they are well suited for mel- Good holding strength and if you install them square they'll help keep the carcass square.

    I also use a high quality square drive wood screw on smaller boxes. I like these because there's less sawdust and a smaller hole. When I have the time, I like to use dominos too - Hard to beat for alignment.

  4. #4
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    I am actually using plywood core melamine for this set of cabinets ,sorry I had that wrong in my title. So I guess that I was wondering if other screw choices would be better for that .

  5. #5
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    I think a #8 wood screw would be great in this material.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Hockenberg View Post
    I think a #8 wood screw would be great in this material.
    That's all I've ever used, although I do look for ones where the threads appear to have a sharper edge. Deck screws rank up there for me.

  7. #7
    I've probably looked at hundreds of not thousands of commercial cabs in out area a d never once seen a confirmat. Screws everywhere on backs decks and unfinished sides but never a confirmat. That's an outrageously expensive way to build boxes that are suppose to be cheap.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Bolton View Post
    I've probably looked at hundreds of not thousands of commercial cabs in out area a d never once seen a confirmat. Screws everywhere on backs decks and unfinished sides but never a confirmat. That's an outrageously expensive way to build boxes that are suppose to be cheap.
    Not if your set up to do them. Once your set up to do cabinets this way there's no other way that makes sense. I converted maybe 10 years ago or so and never looked back.

    JeffD

  9. #9
    Im probably newly converted but we are running CNC and now a 1435SE bander and the shops we compete with are running banders that cost as much as my house and I have NEVER seen a confirmat on a single screw together cab they ship. Of course a bunch of their cabs are case clamp and dowel but none the less the ones that arent never use confirmats. We could never compete if we had to use them.

  10. #10
    Plus one on regular old "drywall" type screws. I find that going a little long provides plenty of pulling strength and avoids spinning. I reserve confirmats for builds that need to be set up and broken down onsite without power tools.

  11. #11
    We used Wurth's Assembly screws. Self drilling with nibs under the head.

  12. #12
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    I am going to go with deck screws. Hopefully can find a box with nibs on the heads. I was curious what others have been using ,thanks for the replies.

  13. #13
    confirmats are good for that job the screws that are good to work with melamine a coarse threaded screw,such as a drywall screw,will work better than a standard wood screw or metal screw

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Kees View Post
    I am going to go with deck screws. Hopefully can find a box with nibs on the heads. I was curious what others have been using ,thanks for the replies.
    That's a decent choice relative to availability. For carcass construction in plywood, I generally use #8 square drive screws from McFeeley's for ~3/4" material and #7 trim head square drive screws from the same source for ~1/2" material. If your melamine was the more common particle board or MDF type cores, Confirmats definitely would get the nod.

    ----
    Allen, drywall screws are generally discouraged for woodworking, despite how common, available and inexpensive they are, because they are brittle and not designed for holding wood joinery together. "Wood screws" are available in a wide variety of thread configurations, from very fine to pretty darn aggressive and coarse.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 08-27-2019 at 9:23 AM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
    I believe Confirmat screws are designed specifically for particle board.

    While you certainly can use them in plywood, they aren't necessary I would just use a good wood screw.

    I prefer square drive screws because the bit will hold the screw.

    But I also use quite a lot of GRK screws.

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