3/4 Who woulda thunk that screws would make such a big difference in this project? Up to now, I was using #10 3/4″ and 1″ flat head Phillips screws for the boxes and cabinets. Apparently, I was using too much torque and was stripping the stupid things every time I tried to drive one into the birch plywood. I think the #10 size was too thick for the wood as well. After using the (Evertight or something like that) screws from HD and stripping half of them, I dove in to more YouTube videos to see if I could find out what was happening with the screws I was using.

Steve Ramsey – Woodworking for Mere Mortals makes videos for us newbies. I’ve learned a lot from his channel and found a video that featured different types of screws and how they worked or not. He recommended using Spax #8 screws because the heads are star-shaped that would make it easier to drill into hardwood and not strip the heads easily. You can use these screws for just about anything including wood and sheet metal. Thanks, Steve!

I bought the Spax #8 1-1/2″ for the cabinets and 2-1/2″ screws for the 2×2’s that will be used for framing the bed and the rest of the lower cabinets and used them to finish constructing the upper cabinets. The box mentions that pre-drilling is not required, but after all of this, I think it’s a good practice. Hopefully, you can see the star shape in the picture. Each box comes with a bit to attach to the driver. It is itty bitty and I used my extension to make it work. They worked really well, and even though HD carried them, they didn’t have the screw driver with the star tip. I had to get that at a regular hardware store. Thanks to Devon-Clark Hardware for helping. Now I’m just screwing away using these awesome screws! (That doesn’t sound right…)