Best answer
Drill a pilot hole
People also ask
How to stop screws from splitting wood?
This is particularly a problem when you鈥檙e driving a screw near the very end or edge of the board. Once the head tightens up, you can see what happens, it splits the wood. Now, to prevent that what you can do is drill a pilot hole or a screw-shank clearance hole with a drill bit, then come back with a screwdriver bit to drive the screw.
What happens if you screw too close to wood?
If the wood is dry, the boards are narrow or you screw too close to the end, however, the displacement of the screw can force fibres apart, creating a less-than-perfect joint and possibly ruining the wood. Mark the position of the screw and drill a pilot hole with a drill bit slightly smaller in diameter than the shank of the screw.
Can you use screws to join wood together?
Using screws is an effective way to join wood as long as the wood doesn’t split. If the wood is dry, the boards are narrow or you screw too close to the end, however, the displacement of the screw can force fibers apart, creating a less-than-perfect joint and possibly ruining the wood.
How do you drill a split in wood?
Either hard or soft wood will split when you screw near to the end or the side of a board, as you can see in the first photo. A proper pilot hole will have three separate cuts: the smallest drill provides for the shaft of the screw to go into the wood without pushing sidewise but the threads will bite into the wood.