Archived from the Tools In Action forum (In The Shop). This thread is read-only.
I was wondering what everyone’s take on pocket holes is. TIA just did a video about them. I have the Porter Cable Jig and the small Kreg Jig
I think they have their place in projects. On the plus side they make building things fast and easy, the downside is they make building things fast and easy. That can lead to them being overused and people not looking into other, possibly better forms of joinery. If I want to build some simple shop storage out of plywood then it’s probably getting pocket holes because there are very few shop projects I want to spend days or weeks on. I’m not going to dovetail a cabinet for glue and finishes, it’s probably going to get both spilled in it at some point.
I like them in general, but with a few reservations. I really, really hate the fact that the tend to make the pieces move just a hair when you put the screw in. For a project a year or so ago, I was using pocket screws to attach the face frame to a shelf and the damned things kept shifting 1/32″ no matter how hard I had them clamped down. This wasn’t a problem when it made the frame proud of the shelf, but when it shifted the frame to be below the shelf surface, it was significantly more troublesome.