Thread: Pocket hole jig advice?

I have the kreg jig, and have never had a problem with it. There are now some cheaper ones from the TV selling shows but I am not sure how good or accurate they are .


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Welcome MattB2085,
ditto what Steve r said.

I bought my Kreg second hand on eBay. Very happy.

I have the cheap kreg. Carbatec have a great special on atm:

https://www.carbatec.com.au/kreg-jig...et-hole-system

I bought my R3 years ago and later bought that clamp separately. It makes the jig much faster. I have not used the dearer versions, it is possible thier clamping system is quicker or easier for some jobs.

I really love my kreg. I mostly (try) use traditional joinery like mortice and tennon and dovetails but if I have a job I just want to get done out comes the kreg. Also fantastic for making jigs.

If you don't care about getting into traditional joinery the pocket hole system makes strong fast joints which solve almost every problem.

The kreg system is the most highly developed, best supported and carbatec sells the screws as cheap as I've found them anywhere. The kreg forum is great and they have free plans. I have not seen another jig that is sufficiently cheaper than the kregs to bother with.

That's my opinion, worth what you paid for it

What Damien said. I have the older version of the R3 and it’s made hundreds of joints. Highly recommend you get the face clamp as well and as Carbatec are doing a promo with the jig and the face clamp thrown in for $60 it’s really good value.

I know you posted that funds are tight but this is quite a low price and will last you a lifetime. My jig is 15 years old now and shows no sign of wearing out in a hurry.

BTW, if you were considering buying one of the bigger Kreg jigs the R3 can be mounted in a homemade jig to replicate everything they do.

Hi Guys

Thanks so much for all your input.
I’ve just purchased the R3 $60 offer as it seemed too good a deal not to grab.

Again thanks for the help!!

Now anyone got any cheap clamps?

Cheers Matt



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I have the jig from Screw It Screws and it does all that I want it for. Any reasonably well built jig will do the job as all they have to do is drill a counterbored hole at an angle in a piece of timber with a nice sharp drill bit. I have heard that the one that gets advertised on TV from time to time is a bit weak and flexes therefore not holding the timber solidly. There are some videos out there where some pretty shoddy pocket holing is done but the end product looks okay (at least from a distance)
Here is a video of Rob setting up his jig which is what I have done. This one has some ideas on the use of a jig. What is important when using any of these jigs is that you cut your timber straight and square on the ends as this is pretty much the only thing that keeps your finished project square.
If you are not sure if pocket hole joinery is for you and the budget is a bit tight you can always start off with one of these as they still do the job and then upgrade later on if you like the style.
I don't use mine a lot as I prefer traditional joinery where I can but it is very handy for those quick jobs when you just want to get something made.
Below is a little side table I made using some information from the Screw It Screws website just to try the technique on something more furniture like.

IMG_20180811_103635.jpg

Originally Posted by Treecycle

I have the jig from Screw It Screws and it does all that I want it for. Any reasonably well built jig will do the job as all they have to do is drill a counterbored hole at an angle in a piece of timber with a nice sharp drill bit. I have heard that the one that gets advertised on TV from time to time is a bit weak and flexes therefore not holding the timber solidly. There are some videos out there where some pretty shoddy pocket holing is done but the end product looks okay (at least from a distance)
Here is a video of Rob setting up his jig which is what I have done. This one has some ideas on the use of a jig. What is important when using any of these jigs is that you cut your timber straight and square on the ends as this is pretty much the only thing that keeps your finished project square.
I don't use mine a lot as I prefer traditional joinery where I can but it is very handy for those quick jobs when you just want to get something made.
Below is a little side table I made using some information from the Screw It Screws website just to try the technique on something more furniture like.

IMG_20180811_103635.jpg

Thanks for the advice.
Nice job. Looks great!!


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My concern with buying anything other than a brand name or one distributed by a known woodworking retailer would be the aforementioned possibility of poor quality of both the jig itself and more particularly the tooling that comes with it. The TV specials would be a no go option for me.

Apart from being a forum sponsor Screw it Screws travel all over the place demonstrating and selling their products, they value their reputation. That's a really good price on the Kreg from Carbatec though.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

BTW, if you were considering buying one of the bigger Kreg jigs the R3 can be mounted in a homemade jig to replicate everything they do.

Really ? Do you have a link for that ? I was unaware. Thank you for the heads up.

I picked up a library book years ago; it was either purely about pocket hole joinery or might have been a more generic workshop jig design manual, but basically you make a wooden version of the K4 etc systems like this example:



That picture was taken from this advertised book, it might well have been the book I read at the time.

Cheapest place I could find it is ebay:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/The-Pock...rt=nc#viTabs_0

With bonus mini face clamp. Not sure if this is a good deal but worth checking if are in the market for a Kreg R3:
https://www.totaltools.com.au/r3-poc...content=118540

Originally Posted by Pete57

With bonus mini face clamp. Not sure if this is a good deal but worth checking if are in the market for a Kreg R3:
https://www.totaltools.com.au/r3-poc...content=118540

Thanks Pete, great deal and I’ve made a purchase.

Cheers


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