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Tried bracing my workbench with a 2x4 scrap and pocket screws, and the whole thing racked sideways on the first hand plane pass
Half the forum says pocket screws alone are plenty for shop furniture and the other half says anything that racks like that needed real joinery, so which camp is right when a $4 2x4 and 8 screws just cost me a Saturday rebuild?
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aaronroberts1d ago
So what was your bracing actually doing? A single 2x4 across the back only stops racking in one direction, and if it's screwed flat to the legs it can just pivot on those screws. Pocket screws hold parts tight against each other but they don't resist a joint trying to swing sideways, that's the whole problem. Did you run the brace corner to corner on the diagonal, or was it just a straight piece across the top and bottom? And how thick is the top you're planing on, because a bench that light will move unless the base is tied together both ways. The pocket screw camp isn't wrong for a lot of shop stuff, but a hand plane puts way more force into a bench than people give it credit for.
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