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Warning: I drilled pilot holes for 6 years with the wrong bit and it cost me two shelves
For years I grabbed whatever bit was closest when I needed a pilot hole for a screw. I used a bit the same size as the screw shaft, drove it home, and about 1 in 4 times the wood split or the head snapped off. Last month I was hanging two oak shelves in my garage in Boise and popped a $4 bit of pine right down the middle. My neighbor, who does cabinet work, watched me and said the pilot hole should match the screw's shank, not its threads, and you only drill the full depth on hardwoods. On soft wood you go shallow and let the threads bite. I switched to a bit just under the shank size, marked the depth with a strip of tape, and every screw went in flush with zero cracks. It took me one trip to the hardware store to get a $12 bit set with the sizes labeled for screws. Now I check the screw against the bits before I drill anything. Anyone else have a basic thing they did wrong for years and only caught it because someone nearby pointed it out?
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