Staples Or Screws

[johns 10+ year member]

I was wondering I've seen alot of people using staples to build subwoofer boxes instead of screws.

My question is what size staples to use and are they as strong as screws if you

use alot of them

thank you for your comments

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[azbass 5,000+ posts]

its all personal preference, how people build boxes.

 

[baseballer1100 5,000+ posts]

I use staples. Its my preference

 

[kickerlivinloud 10+ year member]

11/2" staples will work fine. They are plenty strong with glue, we use them at work all the time, and they have yet to fail us. I build houses for a living...

Jon

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

I was wondering I've seen alot of people using staples to build subwoofer boxes instead of screws.My question is what size staples to use and are they as strong as screws if you

use alot of them

thank you for your comments

just keep in mind, it is the GLUE that holds the box together. Screws or staples just let you keep building while the glue dries.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

You dont need anything with perfect cuts...use a table saw and wood glue, nothing else //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

wood glue is a very strong method to fasten your together, with out issues.

but by personal preference i would never use that fastening method alone, since to me it seams to be kind of the prefab way. again personal preference here. nothing agains those who use that method alone.

now one of my personal prefrence and used more often then i like to is to use glue and brad nails, its fast and easy. who doesn't like that. lol

now my favorite method of fastening an enclosure together, although it takes longer and some people would say its a total waist of time and money, is the glue and screws fastening method.

the glue being titebond II again personal preference, i like the fact that it has a fast curing time. the screws, i use the 1 5/8" long coarse screws, reason for that is because if you drive the screw 1/8" deep on a 3/4" mdf panel. you'll have close to a 1" of screw on the other side of the panel for the mechanical hold. now i use a kind of special screw driving bit on my electric drill, that stops the screw at 1/8" below the panel.

now a solid technic is to have 6" of separation between screws and predrilling with a 3/32" drill bit, that way youre sure to not split the wood, using the 3/32" drill bit, i have found that the screw gets more bite on the wood. while not spliting the wood. of coarse make sure you stay at least 1.5" to 3" away from any corners to avoid spliting of the wood if it was to happen.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, I use Titebond (We pronounce it "tit-e-bond") and 1 5/8" coarse drywall screws.

 

[teylix 10+ year member]

yeah doesnt matter.

glue is all you need really. screws will fail LONG before anything happens to the glued connections

 

[Bumpn Focus 10+ year member]

I like using screws. Pretty much because thats how I was taught, and I've pretty much stuck with it.

 

[rpfuror 10+ year member]

I have used both many times. I like the braid nailer approach as it is much quicker and you don't have to counter sink anything. The only thing with either is that if you get to close to the edge of the wood you WILL split it.

With straight cuts and time, I just glue, clamp and let dry.

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

yeah doesnt matter.
glue is all you need really. screws will fail LONG before anything happens to the glued connections

hmm that is very interesting. would you be kind enough to elaborate and provide more detailed information on how a screw will fail LONG before anything happens to the glue connection.

im not arguing your knowledge on this subject, just trying to get more info so i can increase my knowledge on this particular subject.

 

[bjfish11 5,000+ posts]

I use screws and wood glue. This is because I dont clamp my panels. I personally dont think brads (or staples) alone will pull the panels together tight enough to make a good joint. Screws take longer, but to me, its not worth it.

 

[kickerlivinloud 10+ year member]

I use screws and wood glue. This is because I dont clamp my panels. I personally dont think brads (or staples) alone will pull the panels together tight enough to make a good joint. Screws take longer, but to me, its not worth it.

2X!!!!! Screws are the best for pulling the panels together.

Jon

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

hmm that is very interesting. would you be kind enough to elaborate and provide more detailed information on how a screw will fail LONG before anything happens to the glue connection.im not arguing your knowledge on this subject, just trying to get more info so i can increase my knowledge on this particular subject.

Its very hard to get a good answer on that...on one hand its obvious that glue is stronger than the screw, conduct a simple test yourself. Screw two panels together and glue the other two with wood glue. The screws will snap or sheer the wood off before the wood glue fails. Ive done it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
However, its hard to tell if using nails/screws in conjunction with glue will increase or decrease the strength of the joints. The way i see it however, if the glue is stronger than the wood itself, why would you need anything else? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif