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Was dead set against pocket hole jigs until last month

I always thought pocket hole jigs were a crutch for beginners who couldn't do proper joinery. Been building furniture for about 12 years now and stuck to mortise and tenon or dovetails for everything. Then my buddy brought over his Kreg jig to help me build a simple bookshelf for my daughter's room. We needed it done in one weekend and I didn't have time to cut 20 joints by hand. I watched him drill three pocket holes and screw it together in under two minutes. The shelf came out square and solid as anything I've ever made. I bought my own jig the next day and used it for the baseboards in my hallway last week. Still not gonna use it for fine furniture but for shop projects and quick builds it's a lifesaver. Has anyone else changed their mind on a tool they thought was overrated?
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3 Comments
cooper.drew
I read a post on a woodworking forum where a guy said he built an entire backyard playset with just pocket holes and a circular saw. I thought that was crazy talk until I tried pocket holes for a set of garage shelves. Now I use them for anything that's getting painted or hidden behind stuff. I still bust out the chisels for walnut or cherry pieces but for pine projects in my shop? Yeah I'm not cutting dovetails for that stuff.
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gibson.morgan
@cooper.drew Yeah same here, I use pocket holes for garage shelves and painted stuff now and it saves me so much time. Really changed my mind on them once I gave them a shot for quick builds.
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river952
river9521mo ago
Ngl, pocket holes are a game changer for painted stuff. @gibson.morgan I'm with you on that, garage shelves and shop jigs are perfect for them. They just make sense when nobody's gonna see the joinery anyway.
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