Particle board is notoriously brittle and not much fun to work with.
If you’ve bought Ikea furniture, you’ve probably dealt with MDF or particle board before.
If you have to screw particle board, you should do so carefully.
You should also choose your screws wisely. (Click here to view our top rated screws for particle board)
Perhaps even more important than screw selection is taking the appropriate steps, like drilling pilot holes and not screwing too close to the edge of your particle board.
Here are a few guidelines:
1. PILOT HOLES SHOULD BE 85% OF SCREW DIAMETER
2. PILOT HOLES SHOULD BE SLIGHTLY DEEPER THAN THE SCREW
3. SCREWS INTO THE FACE SHOULD MORE THAN AN INCH FROM THE EDGE
4. SCREWS IN THE EDGE SHOULD BE AT LEAST 2.5 INCHES FROM END
5. Don't Over-tighten Screws
When you screw into particle board, do it slowly.
Over-tightening is a recipe for weakening the hold of the board, so be sure that you stop once the screw is tight enough for your job.
If you follow these tips, there are a number of different screws that will work for your particle board project.
However, some of the best screws for particle board are Spax.
I'd suggest this kit here with a variety of sizes.
One pro tip is to take a little bit of wood glue and drop it down into your pilot hole before drilling in your screw. The glue will harden and ultimately strengthen the particle board around the screw.
The tips listed above come from Norbord Europe. To watch their full guide to working with particle and MDF board, see the video below:
