Kreg Update

2016-01-02 180640 020

When making a fine piece of wood furniture, I generally avoid the use of all hardware, fabricating necessary joints from wood and glue. When I need to build something really fast, there is no more useful method of joining two pieces of wood than a pocket hole screw. Fifteen years ago, I fashioned a pneumatically clamped pocket hole jig with components from the Kreg company. It is one of my most often used tools. Today I rebuilt the fixture incorporating new design features that further expands its versatility and the speed with which it can be used. Rather than clamping the jig in my table vise, I have added switchable magnets so that it can be secured directly to the top of my table saw. This allows me to angle the fixture so that I can use it with even the longest pieces of wood and reduces setup and breakdown time. Next, I made provisions to allow the clamp to work with wood stock up to a 4 inches (previously I was limited to 2 inches). Finally, I added left and right stops so to ensure symmetrical and repeatable joint location. The heart of the new fixture is a right-angle, 3D printed bracket for the pneumatic cylinder which incorporates features that enable it to be repositioned easily. I also printed two knobs which are used to fix the bracket in place.
2016-01-02 175948 014