To glue or not to glue, that is the question

[Christopher Foote]

Hello all,
I'm attaching some bed brackets to black walnut. I have snapped off one to many screws in past projects, and decided to tap some holes and use machine screws to attach the brackets. The stainless steel screws are 8-32 and 3/4" long. I want them to stay snug forever. If it was metal I would use a nut/bolt locker. Since it's wood, I thought gorilla glue could serve the same purpose. My one concern is that the glue will make the threads in the walnut brittle and weaken the connection between wood and screw. Any cogent thoughts?
Thanks!

[Joe Jensen]

Hello all,
I'm attaching some bed brackets to black walnut. I have snapped off one to many screws in past projects, and decided to tap some holes and use machine screws to attach the brackets. The stainless steel screws are 8-32 and 3/4" long. I want them to stay snug forever. If it was metal I would use a nut/bolt locker. Since it's wood, I thought gorilla glue could serve the same purpose. My one concern is that the glue will make the threads in the walnut brittle and weaken the connection between wood and screw. Any cogent thoughts?
Thanks!

I've solved that problem in the past by using steel thread inserts in the wood. The ones I use have very sharp threads and hold incredibly well in wood. I do this wherever there is high stress on a fastener..joe

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

If you think glue is the thing use Epoxy not gorilla glue.

If you want a stronger glue use a fiber filler such a kevlar or fiberglass fibers.

Gorilla glue isn't very strong when it's at it's best. It was designed to work on oily tropical hardwoods in beastly high humidity.

[Jeff Duncan]

Wood screws have been used successfully for this type of situation for a very long time. The reason your having difficulties is b/c of your technique, not b/c of the type of screw. Pre-drill with the correct size and type of bit and if you want to add extra insurance put a little wax on your screws.
Otherwise your trying to re-invent the wheel and use a technique that has no track record. Machine screws are made for metal, wood screws are made for wood. The threads in machine screws are too fine in my opinion, and with expansion and contaction of the wood would very likely fail. If you epoxy them in place you have no ability to disassemble in the future.
That's my opinion, good luck.
JeffD