Since I am starting the cabinets in the remodel finally, I thought it might be a good idea to brush up on my Kreg jig, and pocket holes in general.
A few recent posts complained of problems getting the boards to stay aligned, and I too, have had that problem, usually the left side of the rail raises slightly looking at the face of the project. Sanding takes care of it, but sometimes it is a little too much.
OK, here goes. I started by reading the info that came with the jig for the first time. As you know, it calls for putting the larger surface of the clamp on the FACE side of the joint (IE at the bottom). It also calls for drilling the holes almost through the rail, but not quite. Now that part is interesting, as I was told recently that another maker of jigs recommends going all the way through.
I have three types of Kreg clamps. One is the original type which uses a 6" vise grip, the next is what I think they call their premium clamp, which has larger pads on it, and is made on a 9" vise grip. My third kind was the one with the peg leg on it that is made for holding the panel to the stile while fastening. I have added 2x2 blocks of wood with an indent to put the peg leg in, as well as putting 100 grit sandpaper on the block (see my recent village idiot posting).
OK. Here goes:
I made 15 practice joints in 3/4" oak, eight were made with no glue, and seven with glue. I did this many basically because I never thought I would get that far into it, and after doing the no glue tests I wanted to see how much difference the slippery glue would make.
Half of the joints were made with stopped holes where the drill did not go through. The other half were through holes. All except the last one were made using a sheet of melamine as a table, and I clamped to it.
Stopped holes with no glue:
#1. Standard clamp, srewing in the right hole first, it slightly pushed the piece away. Snugged up with very slight misalignment.
#2. Premium clamp, screwing R hole first, a slight misalignment as above.
#3. Pegleg clamp, R hole first. Slight pushaway on R side, but snugged up perfect.
4#. Same as #3, but L hole first. Less pushaway, and snugged up perfect.
Through holes, no glue:
#5. Standard clamp, L screw first. No pushaway, snugged up very nicely.
#6. Premium clamp, L screw. No pushaway, snugged up very nicely.
#7. Pegleg clamp, L screw. No pushaway, snugged up very nicely.
Stopped holes, with glue:
#1. Standard clamp, screwing the right hole first, it slightly pushed away as I was screwing, but straightened up ok when I tightened it. It seemed to torque the left side up a bit when putting the right screw in first.
#2. Premium clamp, L screw first, again a slight pushaway when the first screw entered, but it straighted up ok.
#3. Pegleg clamp, L screw first, very slight pushaway, straighten up ok.
Through holes, no glue:
#4. Std clamp, R screw first. Very slight pushaway, straightened up ok.
#5. Premium clamp, L screw first. No pushaway, straight.
#6. Pegleg clamp, L screw first. No pushaway, straight.
#7. Pegleg clamp, L screw, no table, just clamp. No pushaway, straight.
I suppose you want to know about #15, which was actually the first one. I had moderate pressure on the standard clamp and it twisted, misaligning the face. The rest of the joints I clamped very tight...much better. All the other joints were fine with a quick sanding.
OK, what did I learn from all this??
1: The larger clamps are better.
2: Squeeze those suckers tight.
3: I prefer to drill through holes.
4: Push hard on the drill when starting to screw.
5: The sandpaper glued on the wood block works great.
6: I prefer to start with the left screw.
7: The center of the clamp goes over the center of the joint for best hold.
8: I like to butter glue on the end grain only, then clamp. Two coats, the first to seal it, then a minute later the other coat.
Sorry about the length, If you are still with me, I repeat...in my case most misalignment problems seem to be caused by not clamping well.
Rick Potter
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Originally Posted by Greg Sznajdruk
