Penn State Pocket Hole Jig (aka Blackjack) - many photos

[Jerry Golick]

Hi everyone,

<!--[endif]--> After deciding I wanted a pocket hole jig I was ready to buy the Kreg system when I saw a similar unit under the brand name of “Blackjack” being sold at a local tool supplier. They also had an almost identical tool under the brand name “Sonoma”. The cost seemed a fair bit less, but I was disinclined to purchase it without further research. Not much info was available.<o =""></o>

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->While in the US on a business trip I was surfing the web one night and came across another variant of the same jig by Penn State. The price point (around $65) seemed very good, so figuring “what have you got to lose?” I placed an order.<o =""></o>

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->About 3 days later a nicely packaged box arrived containing the jig. See the first photo below. <o =""></o>

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->I believe that all of these jigs are the same and that they are made in China. <!--[endif]--><o =""></o>

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->The second photo below shows the contents of the box. <!--[endif]--><o =""></o>

- 1 x Jig
- 1 x Drill bit
- 1 x Drill collar (nice weight and heft to it)
- 2 x Drill drivers (long/medium)
- 3 x Allen keys (just what we all need)
- 3 x Bags of fine-threaded pocket screws in 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4 (more about this later)
- 1 x Face clamp
- 1 x Single page instruction sheet of limited value

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->NB: The Kreg manual is available as a free download from their web site and much of the material is relevant. <!--[endif]--><o =""></o>

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->All the contents were in good shape when I opened the box (which does make a handy storage box for the jig and its parts.

My first impression on taking everything out of the box was that the parts looked well machined. The jig appears to be aluminium, but the bores of the drill guides seem to be steel. My second impression was that there seemed to be definite similarities between this jig and the new Kreg K3 system. There was nothing to indicate the composition of the drill so I assume it was HSS. It too has a nice solid heft to it.
<o =""></o>
A more detailed description of the jig is in the next posting.

[Jerry Golick]

The first picture below shows the face of the jig. It offers five settings for materials between 2/4-6/4. Nothing is left to chance since each one of the slot guides has five dados across its width (you can just make out one at the top of the photo) which fit into a groove in the guide holder.
<o =""></o>
BTW – while the numbers appears quite legible, in fact I find them a bit challenging to read. The Blackjack system is black with white letters which some might find better. I found that, since there are only 5 positions, precision is not required. However, the Blackjack also had a white centerline down the drill guides which I thought was useful for alignment purposes when required.<o =""></o>

The jig offers two identical drill guides whose distance between each other can be varied up to a maximum of about 7/4. This can be very useful when working on wider rails or stiles or whatever. The second photo has a close-up view of this part of the jig.
<o =""></o>
One thing that is a bit strange are the two triangular extrusions on the base of the plate. These can be seen in the bottom of the photo. These “feet” run the length of the jig. I suspect that when I get around to mounting it, I will need to run two V grooves to make the thing fit properly. In the meantime, the 2 Festool quick hold down clamps I bought myself as a father’s day present (great clamp btw), prevent the jig from slipping.
<o =""></o>
I should mention in passing that two strips of ½” MDF seemed to be just the right height to provide support for longer materials.
<o =""></o>
The third photo shows the jig from its side.
<o =""></o>
BTW – I should also mention that the guide slots can be removed from the jig and clamped directly to “difficult to use the jig with” locations.
<o =""></o>
The side holes in the drill guides do a good job of removing waste material. The clamping mechanism is adjustable for pieces up too 3” or so (but don’t take my word for it because I didn’t measure it).
<o =""></o>
The basic setup is as follows:
<o =""></o>
1) Set the drill guide height according to the thickness of the material you will be drilling.

2) Set the depth collar.

This is a simple operation. You will need a 1/8” piece of hardboard to use as a stop. Place the stop on the base of the jig and drop the drill through either guide. The bit should rest on the stop. That is the correct height for the collar.

3) Clamp the material.

4) Drill the hole.
<o =""></o>
That’s about it. Even I could do it.
<o =""></o>
If you are interested in more, the next post talks about my first project with the jig

[Jerry Golick]

Last year we added a screened in porch to out home. We’ve enjoyed it very much, but it was lacking a table. Sandra asked if I could build one. Having never built one before, and not always having a great deal of time at my disposal, I decided to take the easy way out and use a pocket hole approach. After a little research I figured I knew enough about the theoretical idea of building a simple rail table. I chose to use pine since a) it was my first time doing it and b) it was inexpensive. If I made mistakes, I didn’t want to have to worry about doing bad things to beautiful pieces of wood. Pine had another advantage for me. Since I don’t own a jointer or planer I need to get my stock as dimensioned as possible. 2S pine is easy to get around here, and from John Lucas’s web site I have learned how to use my Festools to joint an edge quickly and easily.
<o =""></o>
The photos below show some parts of the process. The first one shows a table rail about to have two holes drilled into one end. The second photo shows the holes. As long as you drill with the grain there is no problem. Pine does tear when go cross grain. The third photo shows an example.
<o =""></o>
Speaking about pine, there are two types of screws available, fine-thread and coarse thread. Pine needs the coarse threads. Unfortunately the package does not come with any. A trip to the tool store offered a better selection, but they were completely sold out of 5/4 coarse, so I ended up having to buy to “selection” packs which contained a bunch of fine-threaded screws I didn’t need, just to get the ones I did. In the future, I will buy my screws directly from Kreg, who seem to offer a wide variety and a greater selection of lengths.
<o =""></o>
The fourth photo shows the difference between the fine and coarse screws.
<o =""></o>
If you are still interested in seeing what happened you can find more info in the next post.

[Jerry Golick]

The first photo shows the pockets on the table’s rails. This took me about 15 minutes. The biggest problem was sweeping away the shavings, there was a fair amount. I wished the jig had a vacuum port like the one on the new Kreg K3! I followed the Kreg instructions about overdrilling the holes which would be used to attach the tabletop. That, and backing off a quarter turn is suppose to provide enough room for wood movement. I shall see.
<o =""></o>
The second photo (sorry about the quality) shows table top being glued up. Rather than laying out the pockets every six inches I alternated on either side of edge. I felt that this way the clamping pressure of the screws would be more balanced. Of course it is easy to see that no clamps are required. Which was good, since I don’t own a forest of long clamps that I would have normally needed to do this sort of glue-up. The screws do a great job of holding everything together. There was only a minimal amount of glue-out.
<o =""></o>
BTW – it took about an hour to joint all the boards using John’s system. A really great way to use a Festool.
<o =""></o>
The third photo shows one the gussets I made to add additional support at the corners. As you can see, they are not too complicated to put together. BTW – the table leg was “store bought”. I don’t have a lathe or a band saw and I wanted something with a bit more style than square. Besides, I thought they would fit in well with the overall feel of the table. They were the most expensive bit of material I had to buy.
<o =""></o>
The fourth photo is the finished table. Total project time (excluding finishing) was about 10 hours. Total cost of materials (excluding the cost of the jig) was about $150 CDN.
<o =""></o>
Lessons learned: When setting the drill guide height it is better to err on the side of safety. My table top boards were 5/4 dimensioned (the setting I used) when in reality they are more like 9/8. I should have used the 1” height instead of the 1 ¼”

Overall, I found the jig very easy to work with and I am quite pleased with my purchase.

Take care.

[Bill Fields]

Thanks, Jerry:

Your post illustrates perfectly the problem most of us hobbyists face. And, most consumers face, for that matter.

I have the Kreg tool, and while clumsy, it works very well.

The product you are showing seems a couple of steps beyond the Kreg--for a whole lot less money.

I'm from the bicycle industry, and 80%+ of bikes sold in the USA come from China (not Taiwan). Some of them are very good/sturdy quality--but only if they are assembled by someone who is a professional.

Just took delivery of a Harbor Freight 12" dual compound sliding miter saw for $170. No, it does not remind me of the precision of a Bosch/DeWalt, etc. However, it seems to work well. 1/3 the price--arrived slightly damaged.

Jury is out.

If I were a professional at woodworking, I probably would not touch not-made in-USA stuff--unless it was German/Japannese/Taiwanese.

Best


BILL FIELDS

[Vaughn McMillan]

Thanks for the info and pics, Jerry. The Penn State system looks pretty substantial, and it's at about my price point, too. I've never used the Kreg system, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but it obviously does what it is designed to do, as evidenced by your table project.

I'm still working on getting to the point where I can consistently make some of the more traditional joints to decent tolerances, but there are some cases where the pocket hole would be just the ticket. I have a cabinet door shortening project coming up (doing a favor for a neighbor) and haven't decided whether to use pocket holes or biscuits. Since I have neither the pocket hole jig or a biscuit joiner, it looks like the Penn State rig would be the least expensive way to go. (Classic case of using a project as an excuse to buy a new tool.)

Nice table, BTW, and a great example of ways you can use a pocket hole.

- Vaughn

[aurelio alarcon]

Excellent choice! I have the original aluminum jig by Kreg and like it. But if I buy another, it will be the Penn State jig. I guess I would pay more and get the Kreg if there were a big difference between them. However, from what I can tell, they're both about the same. Thanks for a great review!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jerry...congrats on the tool! My BIL gave me the same tool but I haven't had the need to use it yet. Thanks for the thorough review!