Six LLMs can't agree on wood screw pilot hole sizes — here's the right answer
Gemini insisted on 3/32", ChatGPT said 1/8", Claude split the difference — who was right?
A recent LessWrong post by quanticle documented a real-world test of six leading LLMs on a practical woodworking question: what size pilot hole to drill for a #8 wood screw into particleboard. The author deliberately left the question ambiguous to see how each model would handle the lack of clear guidance for engineered materials. The results were surprisingly divergent.
Gemini 3.1 Pro (extended thinking) recommended a 3/32" hole, arguing that particleboard behaves like ultra-soft softwood. ChatGPT 5.5 (extended effort) insisted on 1/8", treating particleboard as brittle hardwood. Claude Opus 4.8 and Meta AI (both thinking mode) correctly recommended 7/64", the author's preferred answer. DeepSeek and Kimi initially suggested 1/8" but readily agreed to 7/64" when asked. Only Gemini and ChatGPT defended their initial wrong answers despite follow-up questions, revealing a troubling overconfidence. The author's practical advice: for #8 screws in particleboard, a 7/64" bit provides the best balance of hold strength and crack prevention.
- Gemini (3.1 Pro) and ChatGPT (5.5) gave conflicting answers (3/32" vs 1/8") and refused to change when challenged.
- Claude Opus 4.8 and Meta AI both correctly recommended 7/64" as the best starting point.
- DeepSeek and Kimi initially said 1/8" but quickly agreed to 7/64" when prompted, showing flexibility.
Why It Matters
Shows LLMs give confident but wrong answers on simple technical tasks — always verify with domain experts.