Did you pocket hole project wobble then fall apart?

[robgul]

Just to clarify, it’s £170 (inc vat) for the mini jig & starter set (bit & connectors) and just to keep things on topic I have a pocket-hole jig that‘s priced around there, too. Back to the Peanut, it depends on wether you want a self-clamping invisible connector or not; if you don’t you don’t, but if you do then the peanut is far and away the cheapest option - especially if you already have the router.

Apologies on the lack of clarification re the complete kit . . . . like the Kreg jig purchaser up-thread I stumbled across my Trend jig with drill, driver bit (new in the box) and two bags of screws for £25!!

Drifting away for a moment, recent tool bargains for me were a couple of traditional CK wooden/brass rivet squares that after a clean are as good as new and a Surform tool (remember them?) for £3 the lot - and a 2 year-old compound Evolution mitre saw for £20. "Keep 'em peeled" as Shaw Taylor used to say

 

[Sandyn]

A bit like duct tape, you’d not want to see it on a surgeons tray but for ducting, it really is just the ticket

Ha!!! From my 101 uses for duct tape list. Use case 23: Support for broken 5th metacarpal.

 

[Setch]

Ha!!! From my 101 uses for duct tape list. Use case 23: Support for broken 5th metacarpal.

View attachment 103494

Also makes the best jobsite/workshop plasters when you stick a freshly sharpened chisel into a poorly positioned digit.

 

[Rorschach]

Also makes the best jobsite/workshop plasters when you stick a freshly sharpened chisel into a poorly positioned digit.

Superglue and tissue paper is what I use, my cuts heal much faster using this method.

 

[Ralfyfix]

I’ve used Kreg pocket hole screws to make a number of drawers for my work shed using ply, MDF, chipboard and wood and varying from 75mm to 250mm high and 600mm deep with roller ball hinges. Absolutely magic and no problems despite some being heavily loaded. On some I have glued some of the joins.

The

 

[recipio]

Anybody use the Kreg plug cutter ? The only advantage I can see over the pre- made plugs is the ability to cut them from a piece of matching scrap if using solid wood. Pricey of course.

 

[novocaine]

Nope,i make a length of 10mm dowel from whatever wood I'm using instead.

 

[AES]

Anybody use the Kreg plug cutter ? The only advantage I can see over the pre- made plugs is the ability to cut them from a piece of matching scrap if using solid wood. Pricey of course.

No I don't use it - as you say, it's quite pricey.

I just use any old bit of dowel I can find, cut it off to (more or less) the right length with a cheapo very fine pull saw, then sand. But then I don't make fine furniture, the stuff I make only gets painted (IF it's lucky)! The one advantage I can see is that IF you need a matching wooden plug, then I guess that Kreg thingy does the job.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I've got to assume that a plug would be preferable to a dowel as a cover for a screw (assuming an exposed wood finish, not paint) as the grain could be, if not perfectly matched, at least aligned. However, I can't quite understand the value in the kreg plug cutter over a set for a tenner like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/WOWOSS-Ten...ywords=plug+cutter+kreg&qid=1613431118&sr=8-9

 

[TheUnicorn]

Realise now as I think about it that taking the angle of the pocket hole into account a dowel would give you a perfectly close grain match. I was stupidly thinking of a plug in a straight hole

 

[sometimewoodworker]

The geometry of a flat underside meeting a flat pocket which is pressing down onto a 15degree face means that the failure mode of pulling through the pocket is a very unusual occurrence, the thread stripping in the wood so not gripping is more usual, but still uncommon.

But change one of those (tapered underside of the screw, tapered hole or, deadly, both ) and pulling through becomes almost the default failure mode.

I have found 1 more failure mode.
last night I was making a test joint in a piece of rubberwood sheet material. So I decided on a little experiment, the panel pieces are 20mm and are cut from pieces that are going to be drawer sides, they are really a bit too thick in my opinion but SWMBO said that they are the size she wants so who am I to argue .
to get back to the test, with 3 pockets in the end of a test piece (end grain) joining to the side of the other, drilled using a Kreg bit and a Kreg jig.

The first correct length 1 ¼ Kreg course thread screw was driven with a clutch drive drill/driver

The second correct length 1 ¼ Kreg course thread screw was driven with an impact driver set on gorilla strength and failed by stripping the thread it cut into the wood

The third incorrect length 1 ½ Kreg course thread screw was driven with an impact driver again set on gorilla strength and failed by the new mode of shearing off where the thread starts.

None of these had a pocket failure despite the excessive force used. This doesn’t rule out pocket failure if the pockets are in a more fragile material like a cheap plywood but a reasonable quality plywood will almost certainly not fail. that is using the correct drill bit jig and sensible driving force, leaving the gorilla in the zoo.


Rubber wood is a softish hardwood but a bit harder than most pines. It is a reasonable material almost white and the 2440 x 1200 sheets are made from short finger jointed pieces, unfortunately like any wide flat wood it can cup or bow here it is in the unfinished state

then with a coloured shellac base

 

[recipio]

No I don't use it - as you say, it's quite pricey.

I just use any old bit of dowel I can find, cut it off to (more or less) the right length with a cheapo very fine pull saw, then sand. But then I don't make fine furniture, the stuff I make only gets painted (IF it's lucky)! The one advantage I can see is that IF you need a matching wooden plug, then I guess that Kreg thingy does the job.

The Kerg pocket hole is an imperial size - 3/8" from memory and you can buy a plug cutter that size. The only advantage of the Kreg plug cutter is that it produces a pre made flat on the dowel. Good if you are in a hurry.

 

[Jar944]

Pocket holes work extremely well for assembling face frames for cabinetry. I'm not a fan of the kreg system, but they are relatively inexpensive.