PSA: I tried a 'finish nailer only' approach on a cabinet face frame and the glue did more work than the nails

Last week I decided to skip the pocket screws on a face frame job for a kitchen in Austin, just used glue and a 16 gauge finish nailer. The frame came out looking clean but after letting it sit overnight, I found the joints were pulling apart at the corners. Turned out the nails weren't holding the miters tight enough while the glue dried. Learned that I still need clamps or pocket screws for those mitered corners, no way around it. Has anyone else found a trick to make nailers work better on mitered frames?

2 comments

2 Comments

charliestone14d ago

I'm gonna push back a bit here. I've been building face frames with nothing but glue and a 16 gauge nailer for years and never had joints pull apart. The trick is you can't just shoot one nail and walk away. You need to tack the miter from both directions, maybe three nails per corner if the wood is being stubborn. Also, make sure your miters are dead flat and tight before you even touch the nailer. Any gap at all and the glue will just squeeze out and leave you with nothing holding it. Sounds like maybe the issue was the miters weren't fitting right to begin with. Glue and nails work fine if the joint is snug.

bennett.nora14d ago

Totally agree. A tight joint makes all the difference.