Pilot Hole Sizes for Wood Screws

Pilot holes are important for a variety of reasons, but primarily they will make it easier to drive your screw in (and even easier still when combined with a screw thread lubricant like our screw lube), they'll help prevent the wood you're using from splitting when the screw drives in, and they're great for making sure your screw locations are as precise as can be. Too large of a pilot hole will prevent the screw's threads from biting and holding as well as possible, but too small of a pilot hole will make it easy to strip out a screw's head or even split the timber you're working with. That's why we have this handy chart below to help with sizing.

Pilot hole sizing is especially important when working with screws made of softer metals like our silicon bronze wood screws. With a properly drilled hole, a bit of thread lubricant, and some care you should be able to avoid stripping out screw heads even in the hardest of hard woods.