Pocket hole depth?

[Roger Jensen]

Quick question for you pocket hole experts. I set the depth according to the jig and the drill be just barely reaches the end of the wood. It usually leave a dimple pushing out on the end, but doesn't break through.

Should the drill bit break through the piece you're drilling? I'm wondering if I should set the bit a little deeper than indicated on the jig.

Thanks,

Roger

[Greg Portland]

The dimple or just barely breaking through (pin hole sized hole) is what you want.

[Peter Quinn]

Use the depth guide on the jig to set your bit depth for the material thickness you are using. Jut a dimple is correct. The Kreg screws have an auger head that will drill their own pilot, no need to go deeper, and in fact the chips going deeper leaves in the end grain can interfere with a tight fit.

[glenn bradley]

Kreg's instructions have the bit stop short of the surface by about 1/8". That's not my opinion, its in the instructions.

[Bob Sanders]

No, the dimple makes it hard for your workpieces to come completely together. Kreg's instructions state that you want to be short (if you use their settings correctly you should end up about here) of the bit exiting the workpiece. It'd probably be better to have the tip of the bit go all the way through than to go partially through since that again leaves you with the frustrating dimple.

[Roger Pozzi]

When I tried all possible adjustments after first getting my jig, I found that it worked best with Kreg's instructions. Drilling far enough to go through makes the shoulder too short and the screw will drive too deep into the joining piece. Too shallow a hole won't let the screw in far enough to have good contact with the joining piece. In my opinion, Kreg has it just right, and it works very well for me.

[Steve Jenkins]

per the instructions place a nickel on the jig bottom and let the drill bit rest on it when you set your depth stop.

[Dave Lehnert]

per the instructions place a nickel on the jig bottom and let the drill bit rest on it when you set your depth stop.


+1 what he said.