Pocket holes burnishing - blunt drill bit?

[moosepig]

Hi all,

I'm a big fan of pocket hole joinery and use my UJK jig extensively. Recently I've been drilling some bog standard softwood, and have noticed that the holes are requiring more force than I would expect to get them drilled, and once they are the holes are discoloured and burnished smooth. Also the hole outlines are a touch ragged (not too much but noticeably).

Is this just a sign of a worn drill bit? I've probably drilled 500 to 1000 holes with this bit, but have no idea how much life to expect from it.

If it needs sharpening - any tips on how to go about this? These bits are over £20 a pop so I'd like to keep it going if I can.

 

[Normancb]

Sounds like it's either blunt or clagged up with resin (not uncommon in softwood). If the latter then a spray of oven cleaner, a few minutes wait and a wash will fix it. If the former it's problematic. Step drills are not easy to sharpen but you could give it a go with a fine needle file - not a lot to lose.

 

[petermillard]

These bits are over £20 a pop so I'd like to keep it going if I can.

They're available for about a fiver. Or get a genuine Kreg one for about 15 quid from Amazon - comes with a free mini jig

HTH Pete

 

[sitefive]

anyone actually buys the actual pockethole screws or just use the regular screws?
I use pocketholes A LOT and I would go broke if I had to buy those screws..

 

[sitefive]

anyone actually buys the actual pockethole screws or just use the regular screws?
I use pocketholes A LOT and I would go broke if I had to buy those screws..

 

[blackrodd]

I think you'll find that the proper shaped screw is necessary for the strength of the joint to be maintained.
As obviously the "usual" screws will easily pull through in a short space of time.
Regards Rodders

 

[sitefive]

I think you'll find that the proper shaped screw is necessary for the strength of the joint to be maintained.
As obviously the "usual" screws will easily pull through in a short space of time.
Regards Rodders

I believe the joints are strong when- the stock is cut perfectly accurate so there isn't any gap or off-angle left between, and the screw head is large enough and rather flat same as the original screws. Btw where can you even get those kregg screws other than from ebay?
I have the mini pocket hole kregg jig for £15 and it's brilliant however I have never tested those kregg screws.

I use pocketholes just to give the extra strength and hold everything together while I also glue everything up, So far haven't had one failure because of the screws I'm using.

 

[BearTricks]

Those UJK drill bits are awful. I snapped two, one from being overzealous with the drill and one by hitting a knot that I didn't know was there. From what I understand it's a common problem. Where the 'step' is, the join is weak.

Those cheap Chinese ones on eBay are much better and come with a stop collar for free. No forking out extra for the UJK one. You can either get them direct fro. China or pay slightly extra to the sellers who seem to be buying them in and just shipping fro the UK at a slightly higher price. They're the same product, just the Chinese one takes about three weeks longer to arrive and costs about a pound less.

Axminster UJK screws are great though and cheaper/more available than kreg. Only difference is that they're T20 torx head so you will need a longer than usual Torx drill bit.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

anyone actually buys the actual pockethole screws or just use the regular screws?
I use pocketholes A LOT and I would go broke if I had to buy those screws..

The Axminster ones are about 4p each - how many do you use for each joint? A hundred?