Two of the more traditional joinery methods — mortise and tenon, and dowels — require a good deal of ability, expertise, time and tools. With pocket hole joinery, you just cut boards to size, drill a couple holes and put them together.
Pocket hole joinery resembles toe nailing, which explains how wall studs are joined in decorating a home. Using a stepped drill bit, you drill a pilot hole to your board in a specified angle and depth, forming a oval-shaped “pocket.” Then you just drive a pocket through the pilot hole and into the board that is connecting. It is ideal for beginning woodworkers.
That having been said, it’s also used a long time by specialist cabinet stores in cabinet-box and face-frame construction. Why so popular for this group? The labor time stored, of course, but due to the strength of the joints. Pocket hole joinery is plenty strong for many applications, especially when coupled with gluing. If you don’t want to produce a job which can be taken apart and reassembled, I advise applying glue to the mating surfaces during fabrication.
Chris Hill
With the exception of the glued-on top panel, this hall table was constructed solely using pocket hole joinery.
Because you’ll see within the upcoming few examples, pocket holes leave a huge opening, which can be a challenge to conceal. Typically you can just put them where they will be concealed, like the inside of a cupboard.
In different situations they will be exposed. Then you can either fill the holes with wood filler or insert pocket arrows. These plugs are available in many different wood species, so it is possible to fit them to the project.
Chris Hill
This Kreg Jig is a type of pocket hole jig. It clamps the board in place while the pocket hole is being drilled. It has several settings, from 1/2-planks to 11/2-planks. The jig settings, as well as the stop collar on the drill bit, has to be set to match the board thickness.
Pocket hole screws also are sized to match the depth of the board. For instance, 11/4-inch screws have been used for linking to 3/4-inch thick (or 1-by) boards, and two1/2-inch screws have been used for 11/2-inch boards.
You might be scratching your head, wondering how a screw longer than the depth of the board can be used, but the answer will be clear after the upcoming few examples.
Chris Hill
The pocket hole screws are pushed through the pilot holes and into the mating board. Here the conclusion of one board was joined to the border of another one.
While you’re pushing the screws, it’s important to clamp the boards in place to maintain the boards from changing; otherwise you can change the trajectory of the screws since they are driven. Preventing shifting helps keep the planks flush during fabrication.
Chris Hill
The head of the screw stops in the base of the pocket, limiting how much the screw is pushed into the mating board. But when the torque of the drill is set too large, the screw can be pushed deeper, which results in the mating board’s splitting.
Chris Hill
Here the conclusion of a single board is connected into the surface of another at a right angle. The right setting of the pocket hole jig is especially vital in this program.
Chris Hill
Which brings us back to the question of screw length and board thickness. Notice how much into the board the pocket goes? The gap depth, together with the angle, allows the screw to penetrate deep enough to make a solid joint, but maybe not so much as to compromise the integrity of the board.
Chris Hill
During fabrication of this specific pocket hole joint, a right-angle locking clamp helps fasten the two boards. This clamp is designed so that one side of the jaw fits perfectly in the pocket. The opposing side of the jaw has a flat metal disc.
Chris Hill
This photograph highlights four areas of pocket hole joinery on the hall table project.
The stretcher (stained and in the foreground) is attached to the bottom rail (red), together with all the pocket holes facing downward.
The base rail is attached to the legs (blue), together with all the pocket holes facing. All these have been filled with pocket hole plugs, sanded smooth , and painted.
The end stile (stained and at the backdrop) is attached to the bottom rail. The pocket holes are facing inward. If you look closely, you can make out the pocket hole plugs. These should be either trimmed or cut flush after being inserted into the pocket holes.
Chris Hill
Assembling a huge variety of jobs is very attainable with this method, even for beginners. For instance, the framing of the storage cabinet is assembled solely via pocket hole joinery. The holes have been placed on the inside of the job so they remain undetected, and this bit will last for several years to come.
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