This is about the most pocket holes I’ve ever put in one faceframe (44). This is to be an entertainment center cabinet.
Two drawers lower left and two drawers lower right for DVD’s & CD’s, center bottom (sub-woofer), middle area shelves for components, top center is a mid channel speaker, top left & right drawers for remotes, etc.
Listeners write in about haunted pipes and building-science tomes, and they ask questions about roof venting and roof leaks.
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Replies
That's a lot of pocket holes!
(I would have used three in the bottom rail though <G>)
The cabinet is about 4' wide and 4' tall and 2' deep...kinda big for a single cabinet, but I decided to just make one.It was a bunch of holes...but cherry drills pretty fast.
Which setup do you have? I tried my buddy's mega-clamp recently and loved it, but we still needed the little guy in a few spots.
I've got the old aluminum jig but like the features on the newer ones.
I have the K2000, that mostly stays in the shop, and a Rocket that rides in the work van.Handy buggers.
"I would have used three in the bottom rail though"
That was my first thought too.
(-:
Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon. [Winnie the Pooh]
It's tough to find fault with Basswood's work--you have to take your opportunities where you can find them ;-)
Thanks...I think.Today is just a day of base and shoe...crawlin' the day away. Not real post worthy.
OK ...
then yer the one to ask.
how do I keep the styles / rails perfectly "flush"?
try and try as I might ... clamp with as much pressure as I can w/o denting the face .... I always get lippage.
not alot mind you ... 1/16th to 1/32nd ...
but I'd love to use my Kreg more often when building with prefinished cabinet fillers .... but w/o being able to sand flush ... I avoid it.
what's the trick ... figure out which way she's gonna slip and start with that much as a set back ... something like that?
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I wanna know, too.
I always thought it was just me.Liberty = Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
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Do you place clamp in line with the hole your screwing and then move it to the next as you go?
I have only used mine a couple of times so far, but I'm hoping that will work.
Jeff:
I'm puzzled by posts that complain about misalignment with Kregs. I've used mine for years and never had an alignment problem.
I use the vice-grip joint clamps to hold the pieces together while screwing, and it works like a charm.
I'm wondering if maybe you have the drill stop adjusted properly. Maybe your holes are not deep enough, so the screw threads don't ever clear the drilled piece? Also, if you're using a power driver, you need to use an extension to get the motor to clear the piece enough so the screw goes in with the proper alignment.
Probably tellin' you stuff you already know, but . . .
Definately a puzzlement. Makin' me go "Hmmmmm."
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Prefinished cab fillers do present a challenge...since you can't just sand out minor misalignment.I do get some very minor shifting at the joints, even with clamping. Most joints are good though, with displacement equal to the thickness of a playing card (1/3 mm) or less--easily sanded out, with unfinished stock.Over driving the PH screws may open the joint slightly at the front side of the faceframe joint.I'll take some pics of my process on my next cabinet.
Jeff, it's critical to place the clamp directly in line with the screw, and to use a lot of pressure when you clamp.
You can also do it by feel without a clamp, but it takes practice. I drill double holes for things like fillers, and only use one hole of each pair. The other is a backup in case the first one doesn't line up well.
cab to cab fillers aren't so much the problem ...
but alot of jobs I run into I'm making custom face frames out of the supplied cabinet material stock ... ie ... extra fillers. Like for islands and such when I'm replicating a flat panel door look ... I make up the styles / rails. Also when cutting down or adding to a cabinet.
alot of my work in the past was with a designer who loved to make custom cabs in the field out of stock cabs. No big deal and actually lotsa fun ... but I could never get the kreg to perform to my liking.
I'll double check next time and make sure I am clamping directly in line with the screws. Gotta be some simple problem I'm overlooking.
use the kreg clamps ... and everything else I can throw at it!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I've improved the alignment by running the screw (or another drill bit) though the pocket prior to clamping up. Seems that little bit of material pushes things out of whack. Hope that make sense.
TFB (Bill)
Jeff,Sometimes there is just the slightest nubbin of a bump in the end of the stock where the pocket has been drilled from the the pocket drill bit not quite breaking through, but pushing the stock out a bit. That can hold the pieces away from each other a bit and then when the screw starts there is the tiniest gap between the pieces, that when pulled in tight at the end results in a mis-alignment. Try scraping away the little bump on the end of the piece with the pocket using a utility knife first and make sure the pieces are touching each other tightly when you start the screw. If the clamp is not tight enough or directly in line with the screw, and the wood is hard, sometimes starting the screw pushes it apart a little too, creating the same problem. Watch when you start the screw, and if you see the pieces push apart a little, back it out, tighten it all up again and try again.Steve
actually that does ...
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Are you using a 'backer' ?
a scrap between the work and the clamp or just relying on the clamp?
"What's an Arkansas flush?......It's a small revolver and any five cards."
have clamped both with backers and just clamps ...
I'll try the double drill trick and scrape it flat first.
does seem like there's a "push" at the last minute ...
could be that little mound getting loaded with dust from the drilled hole.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Which screws are you using and what kind of wood? I find the smaller diameter (#7?), 1-1/4", fine thread works best for most applications. The course threaded and bigger diameter screws seem to push the joint apart more and cause more splits.
I've used each and every kinda screw too!
fine thread does seem to work better in the hardwood filler stock.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I have one and use it infrequently. If you look at the Kreg web site and see the "suggested applications," it reminds me of the phrase, "when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
Byhammerandhand,
If I am catching what you are saying correctly, then we think alike. I have a kreg jig and use it very often. But I still have other tools that can do the job or work in tandem. I keep trying to tell people (no one seems to listen) to use a plate joiner and dry biscuts for alignment in long joints such as corner fillers. Basswood,
As far as the face frame goes...how do you attatch to the carcass? I hope not using pocket screws. I always dado and rabet the face to fit the carcass. Never had a problem with face alignment on rails and stiles, if I did then the frame couldn't fit tight. I'm guessing it's the depth of the pocket hole. Go deeper.gk
With a frame this small and with so many dividers in the carcass connected to the faceframe, glue, clamps and few face nails would be plenty, but I will use a few pocket hole screws too.It is a quick, simple and relatively low budget job for a flood survivor here...so no dados and rabets, no dovetail drawers...just basic boxes. It will hold together fine though.I do check the depth on the step drill bit & collar on every job. I get good results with no sanding needed 90% of the time. 10% of the time, things are off just by the thickness of a playing card or less...fine for the work I do...sands right out.