Originally Posted by cmac2012

Jeez, I was all primed to display my woodworking prowess, but these two fellows about covered everything. On brass screws, I generally drill the pilot hole bigger than the shank, usually the bit just one size below the outside diameter of the threads themself. I hate breaking a small brass screw in a hinge attachment. Frequently, you have to dig them out and pack the hole with bondo, sand it flat, and try again.

Using a steel screw for a pilot is a great idea -- it's amazing how often it can be hard to find a steel screw with the same pitch as the brass screw, though. You wouldn't think it would be a problem, but about half the time, the pitch is slightly different. It doesn't seem to be as tightly specified as machine screws, where the size and pitch have to match a nut.