What am I doing wrong with my "pocket holes"?

[Randall Clark]

I can't seem to get my pocket hole joints to stay flush. The screw side board almost always wants to creep up higher than the joint. Am I missing an easy way to use this "technology"? I know that you experienced "pocket-hole" guys can help an ignorant woodworker. Thank You!

[Matt Day]

Are you using a Kreg style clamp to hold the two boards flush when you drive the screw?

[Matt Meiser]

Its all in the clamping. If they are allowed to shift at all, they do. In the past I've clamped the joint flat to my work bench or work table with good results. C-style vise grip clamps from Harbor Freight work well. I just put together a Kreg Clamp table and can tell that's going to work even better.

[Van Huskey]

Are you using a Kreg style clamp to hold the two boards flush when you drive the screw?


That would be my first question too. The wide flat surface keeps the joint crepp down.

[Greg Hines, MD]

We used a lot of pocket screws on a project with my Scout Troop, and clamping everything flush is the trick. We had one long half lap seam that we had to clamp from either end with a quick grip clamp, and then used the Kreg clamp in the middle of it to keep it flush.

Doc

[Mitchell Andrus]

Put a few dowels in the joint and....

Oh, wait.... Never mind.
.

[Neil Brooks]

Put a few dowels in the joint and....

Oh, wait.... Never mind.
.

I was gonna' say biscuits, but ....

+1 on the clamping. It's alllll about the clamping.

[glenn bradley]

Clamping is important. Also important are the right screws and the right depth of the couterbore. The threads should not stop in the joint. They should stop past the joint to avoid causing creep (you will notice the shaft behind the threads is of a smaller diameter that the threads). I think if you search here you will find several members have suffered this same issue and all have solved it. You will too.

[Lex Boegen]

I used pocket holes when I rebuilt my screen porch recently. I used them to join the handrails to the verical posts. To keep them from shifting, I clamped a stop block to the post and it kept the horizontal rails dead-on. Kreg mentions in their instructions that because the screws come in at an angle, the piece your're screwing has a tendency to "creep" a little in that direction, so clamping is recommended. In my case, it wasn't practical to clamp the piece itself, so a stop block clamped above it kept it in alignment.

[Joe Scharle]

Immobilizing the joint (any joint) is the key to success when driving the screws.

[Joe Vincent]

I've suffered pocket hole creep sometimes too, even if I used the in the table face clamp and the joint was initially flush. Within a short period, some joints still creep a little. Not sure how I'd know if the threads were all the way past the joint. Maybe I should drill a bit deeper than the Kreg depth alignment thingy suggests?

[Bruce Wrenn]

One other thing, not mentioned, is to let the screw drill it way in. Slow down your speed. Too often, we try to put a lot of pressure on the driver. The screw is advancing in the screw side, but has to first start a hole in the other piece. Give it a chance to do it's thing.

[Rick Alexander]

I've made it a practice if I've got two screws to go in, I make sure it's flush on the front face good with the clamp and start the first screw a few turns so it is past the joint, then start the second screw and bring it up tight and then go back and tighten the first one. That way I know it won't pull it squewed on the second screw and it only takes a couple of seconds to do. Try it - it does work. Got that hint from one of the KJ domonstrator guys at a show one time.

I'll definitely second the comment about getting the counterbore deep enough. That was what I was doing wrong. You can check that by screwing once without the other board to see that the threads are past the outside of the board. With mine, I can just see the couterbore drill bit trying to pierce the side of the board.

[Randall Clark]

Thank you for your help. At times I have clamped the joint and other times I have not. It just seems that the joint should stay where it's held and go in without any movement--but none of my other woodworking procedures do that, so why should this one be any different???
Thanks again for your time and advice.

[Joe Vincent]

I've made it a practice if I've got two screws to go in, I make sure it's flush on the front face good with the clamp and start the first screw a few turns so it is past the joint, then start the second screw and bring it up tight and then go back and tighten the first one. That way I know it won't pull it squewed on the second screw and it only takes a couple of seconds to do. Try it - it does work. Got that hint from one of the KJ domonstrator guys at a show one time.

I'll definitely second the comment about getting the counterbore deep enough. That was what I was doing wrong. You can check that by screwing once without the other board to see that the threads are past the outside of the board. With mine, I can just see the couterbore drill bit trying to pierce the side of the board.

Great tips!

[Bobby Thistle]

As I said in another thread... The best thing I've found to solve the "creeping" is a miter clamp. Very quick setup and is virtually impossible for the joint to move. Also... it doesn't mark the wood.

--Bobby