Here’s the long and the short of it, screws that is

On a recent project I worked with a lot of 1/2″ material. Most hardware is intended for 3/4″ stock. So the obvious problem is that most of the screws supplied were too long. Now you can buy shorter 1/2″ screws, but when you mortise your hinges, 1/2″ screws are still too long.

So what do you do? You cut down the screws (I know what you’re saying, but that’s another post!) Here’s how I did it after trying to clamp the screws in a couple of different vices to no avail.

All you need is a scrap piece of hardwood, I used red oak. Drill a hole in the wood that’s equal to the shank size of the screw, screw in the screw like this and clamp the wood in a vise:

Then cut off the length with a fine hacksaw blade.

Then file the point with a file to get rid of any burrs that WILL wallow out the hole. Be sure you file it!

I suggest you pre-drill the holes in your project, and establish the threads before installing the cut screws.  While it’s a bit meticulous, especially when you need a lot of short screws, this method works great!