Pocket hole screws vs dowels for face frames. Which is actually faster?

I just finished two kitchens back to back. Used pocket holes on the first one, dowels on the second. The pocket hole cabinet took me 3 days less but I had 4 joints that shifted during assembly. The dowel joints were rock solid from the start. Cost wise they're about the same maybe $20 extra for a decent dowel jig. My old timer buddy swears dowels hold up better over 10 years. Anyone done both and found a winner for production work?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow11429d ago

Oh man, @hannahk19 is spot on about the babysitting thing. I did a set of shaker cabinets last year with pocket holes and had to clamp everything twice because the frames kept walking on me while I was reaching for the drill. The plastic alignment pins help a little but they still shift if you breathe on them wrong. Dowels take me maybe 15 extra minutes per cabinet but I can walk away while the glue dries and come back to perfectly square frames every time.

hannahk191mo ago

Pocket holes are definitely faster but those shifting joints are a real pain. Dowels take a little longer but you don't have to babysit them while the glue dries.

the_piper1mo ago

Hannah, have you ever tried using those little plastic alignment pins with pocket holes? They're super cheap and keep everything from sliding around while you're driving screws... makes a big difference if you're working solo. But honestly, I still reach for dowels on furniture I care about. That extra step of lining everything up just feels more solid in the end. Both have their place though, depends on if you're building a workbench or a dining table.