5 ms·

They are the brown M&M's of the furniture world. Seeing haphazardly driven screws is an indicator that perhaps you should take a close look at everything else,

They are the brown M&M's of the furniture world. Seeing haphazardly driven screws is an indicator that perhaps you should take a close look at everything else, because the builder may not have. Getting them pretty darned close doesn't require any extraordinary measures, and they're being driven into wood anyway. It's not like you're putting them in with a torque wrench according to some chart of screw size and material and wood species. Just don't over-torque brass screws to clock them. That's a sure fire way to break the head off.

thesuitonym 5y ago
And just like brown M&Ms, they have no bearing on the quality of work done otherwise, it's only done to appease micromanagers.
- mauvehaus 5y ago
  Respectfully, I do it to reflect the overall level of quality and care I put into building a piece. This is my business, so I assure you I'm not being micromanaged. I have been accused of being extremely detail-oriented though. Whether the customer notices or not is not my concern. I do it to maintain the same high level of work throughout the building process. It costs approximately zero extra time, and at the price of custom work, I don't want to be explaining to the customer that some detail doesn't matter if it's a small matter to do it right in the first place. Besides, I routinely put $75 worth of hinges alone on a piece[0]. Not clocking the screws would be like putting on a $3000 suit, and then tying the tie with a granny knot and leaving it peeking out from under the collar. The fact that this level of attentiveness to detail and a will to do the job all the way right instead of just 90% right (or less) isn't much valued in software[1] has a lot to do with why I now build furniture instead. [0] https://brusso.com https://brusso.com The quality and tolerances match the price, and they sell sizes and types of hinges that nobody else does. [1] Apologies if your company is one of the rare exceptions.
  - JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
    I tried to look at your furniture but it went to a 404, which I find kind of ironic, Mr. Clocked Screws. https://www.longwalkwoodworking.com/portfolio https://www.longwalkwoodworking.com/portfolio > We couldn't find the page you were looking for. This is either because:
    - mauvehaus 5y ago
      Thanks for the heads-up. Would you mind letting me know where that link was? We deprecated portfolio in favor of catalog, and apparently missed a link. Thanks :-(
progre 5y ago
If you have visable screwheads on your furniture at all that tells you all you need to know about the quality.
- function_seven 5y ago
  Depends on the style of furniture. Campaign furniture [0] has all sorts of brass handles, hinges, and corner brackets with exposed screw heads (or nail heads, brads, etc.) Little details on other furniture types still expose a screw head. Like the strike plate on the locking mechanism of a desk drawer. Or the brackets on a secretary desk. A piano hinge on a piano. Even high-quality pieces of other styles will still use screws. They're not visible from a normal perspective, but can be seen from under a table for example. (Attaching a solid wood tabletop to the frame is often done with screws and figure eights to allow wood movement.) To someone who's really fussy, seeing those screws clocked the same way might spark joy or something. I don't know, seems a bit much to me. Now, exposed cam locks? Yeah, always an indicator of low quality :) [0] https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/1a/d5/c41ad527ebf77a580e76e1e3aa209e6f.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/1a/d5/c41ad527ebf77a580e76...
  - progre 5y ago
    Yes, sorry. Of course it depends on the style. Turns out my elitist prick side comes out after only 3 glases of wine.
    - ineedasername 5y ago
      >elitist prick side That's an unfortunate limitation. I'm able to bring out that side of me without any chemical assistance at all.
ineedasername 5y ago
I wouldn't consider non-clocked to have a haphazard appearance though. I would consider it haphazard if some screws were clearly driven in a bit too much, impressing the wood. Properly driven screws should either be done by hand or with an adjustable torque power driver.

thesuitonym 5y ago

And just like brown M&Ms, they have no bearing on the quality of work done otherwise, it's only done to appease micromanagers.

mauvehaus 5y ago
Respectfully, I do it to reflect the overall level of quality and care I put into building a piece. This is my business, so I assure you I'm not being micromanaged. I have been accused of being extremely detail-oriented though. Whether the customer notices or not is not my concern. I do it to maintain the same high level of work throughout the building process. It costs approximately zero extra time, and at the price of custom work, I don't want to be explaining to the customer that some detail doesn't matter if it's a small matter to do it right in the first place. Besides, I routinely put $75 worth of hinges alone on a piece[0]. Not clocking the screws would be like putting on a $3000 suit, and then tying the tie with a granny knot and leaving it peeking out from under the collar. The fact that this level of attentiveness to detail and a will to do the job all the way right instead of just 90% right (or less) isn't much valued in software[1] has a lot to do with why I now build furniture instead. [0] https://brusso.com https://brusso.com The quality and tolerances match the price, and they sell sizes and types of hinges that nobody else does. [1] Apologies if your company is one of the rare exceptions.
- JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
  I tried to look at your furniture but it went to a 404, which I find kind of ironic, Mr. Clocked Screws. https://www.longwalkwoodworking.com/portfolio https://www.longwalkwoodworking.com/portfolio > We couldn't find the page you were looking for. This is either because:
  - mauvehaus 5y ago
    Thanks for the heads-up. Would you mind letting me know where that link was? We deprecated portfolio in favor of catalog, and apparently missed a link. Thanks :-(

progre 5y ago

If you have visable screwheads on your furniture at all that tells you all you need to know about the quality.

function_seven 5y ago
Depends on the style of furniture. Campaign furniture [0] has all sorts of brass handles, hinges, and corner brackets with exposed screw heads (or nail heads, brads, etc.) Little details on other furniture types still expose a screw head. Like the strike plate on the locking mechanism of a desk drawer. Or the brackets on a secretary desk. A piano hinge on a piano. Even high-quality pieces of other styles will still use screws. They're not visible from a normal perspective, but can be seen from under a table for example. (Attaching a solid wood tabletop to the frame is often done with screws and figure eights to allow wood movement.) To someone who's really fussy, seeing those screws clocked the same way might spark joy or something. I don't know, seems a bit much to me. Now, exposed cam locks? Yeah, always an indicator of low quality :) [0] https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/1a/d5/c41ad527ebf77a580e76e1e3aa209e6f.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/1a/d5/c41ad527ebf77a580e76...
- progre 5y ago
  Yes, sorry. Of course it depends on the style. Turns out my elitist prick side comes out after only 3 glases of wine.
  - ineedasername 5y ago
    >elitist prick side That's an unfortunate limitation. I'm able to bring out that side of me without any chemical assistance at all.

ineedasername 5y ago

I wouldn't consider non-clocked to have a haphazard appearance though. I would consider it haphazard if some screws were clearly driven in a bit too much, impressing the wood. Properly driven screws should either be done by hand or with an adjustable torque power driver.