This is why I abandoned pocket hole joinery a few years ago. It was maddening to say the least

 

The only thing I could suggest is to check the end of the board.

If the end of the board that the screw is going into is not cut square, when it is attached with the screw it will not be at right angles to the board that it is being screw to. If that's the case …. you're screwed.

It could be that your table saw blade is not perfectly set to 90 degrees to the table.

Hope this helps.

 

It's not that the resulting angle is not 90 degrees. It's that the two boards shift out of alignment while attaching them at 90 degrees to each other.

 

Definitely easier to just shoot a brad through the side into it, no shifting. I sometimes use pocket holes for face frames etc on cabinets, but for carcasses I gave up trying.

 

Predrill several holes and don't drive the screws tight all at once. Alternate tightening to balance the stresses. Clamp the bejabbers out of it when drilling.

Alternately use biscuits and glue.

If all else fails hit it with a big hammer ..

 

If possible, have you tried clamping them together as if you were going to glue them up then driving the screws in?

 

Clamp it… the screw, even iat an angle, won't shift the wood. I've never had an issue with it and it's my preferred method of joinery when possible.

 

I've had that problem when I apply glue before screws. If that is the case try starting the screws, back out, add glue, then drive the screws all the way. Can also be cheap screws or insufficient clamping. Kreg makes a pocket hole clamp, I don't have one, but it seems to work well for Steve Ramsay.

 

Don't use impact. Slow speed of drill. Use fine thread screws. Put pressure on work piece, less pressure on screw.

Pockets are not a perfect system. Nothing is. I would mix in biscuits with them. Or move to dado/staple/dowel/domino.

Edit-for just an out feed table, staple/glue/screw would be my preferred method. If engineered correctly, it's plenty strong and fast.

 

Take a piece of sheet stock that' maybe 2×2 in size, and glue 3/4" cleats to one corner….they need to be at 90˚ to form a fence. Then clamp your 2 frame pieces against them and fasten with the pocket screws.

 

I've found a 1/4" deep rabbet seems to keep things where they belong. Just a quick pass over a dado stack or router bit. I've even set up a palm router to easily route the sides of cabinets.

Clamping never seems to work for me. It seems the force of the screws is stronger than the force of the clamps and the boards still slide a bit. And clamping is very tough in the middle of two cabinet sides.

 

I'm not a pocket hole fan, but I do use them.

Yes, you have to clamp across the joint at every pocket hole. I usually just clamp straight across with a good sturdy clamp - no quick clamps!

I use a 12V standard cordless drill and set the clutch according to what material I'm using. In MDF I think its a good idea to seat the screw by hand. I've found that using an impact its very easy to over tighten.

 

I had been using a 12v Dewalt impact driver in the past and didn't think I was over tightening. I was so wrong. I went to a drill and set the clutch and my results were much better. I still had misalignments but nowhere near as bad. I clamped at every pocket hole location.

Rule 1 in pocket hole joinery is to never under any circumstance use an impact driver even if you think you are careful. Don't do it.

I'm still getting to the point where I think pocket holes might be more trouble than they are worth. Glue and brads is a lot easier and quicker.

 

I had been using a 12v Dewalt impact driver in the past and didn t think I was over tightening. I was so wrong. I went to a drill and set the clutch and my results were much better. I still had misalignments but nowhere near as bad. I clamped at every pocket hole location.

Rule 1 in pocket hole joinery is to never under any circumstance use an impact driver even if you think you are careful. Don t do it.

I m still getting to the point where I think pocket holes might be more trouble than they are worth. Glue and brads is a lot easier and quicker.

- RobSC

My Milwaukee 18 volt fuel impact driver has 3 or 4 clutch setting. I put it on the lowest setting and it does just fine.

 

Get a castle machine (or equivalent) that cuts a low angle pocket. It doesn't stop creep completely but its night and day better then the kreg

 

Get a castle machine (or equivalent) that cuts a low angle pocket. It doesn t stop creep completely but its night and day better then the kreg

- Jared_S

https://castleusa.com/categories.php

 

Get a castle machine (or equivalent) that cuts a low angle pocket. It doesn t stop creep completely but its night and day better then the kreg

- Jared_S

I know I should get a castle. I have experienced the lower angle, it's real. I am on my 3rd Forman. I just can't handle the router noise. So I just refined my technique and deal with it.

The real problem with impacts is the sloppy chucks. You can wiggle the bit 1/4" in an impact.

I use zrip screws from Hafele in a few applications. The heads are not great. I can't hardly use the impact, with a drill they go right in.

 

Sure, buy a $1200 machine to compensate for your lack of ability to clamp a simple joint square and even. Great advice.

My first attempt years ago slipped out of place. From that, I figured out where it went wrong and I've never had a problem since.

If you are uncertain of your ability to keep the joint in line, use biscuits. With them, all you need is a clamping square and you're golden.

 

If you clamp it and it moves when you drive in a screw, your clamp isn't tight enough. But, it can be a delicate balance, you don't want to crush the little 'ledge' either.

You can also glue it up, clamp it together and wait a minute. The glue will grab it and help hold it in place a little better.

When popping cabinets together, pocket hole screws are my favorite method. It's quick, reduces the need for big, long clamps and keeps things nice and square. I've put a go-zillion pocket holes screws in and not struggled with alignment or movement much in years.

As for spacing? Every six inches seems a bit excessive. On typical base cabinets, I will put a set near the edges of the boards, and one in the middle, so six holes. I'll use the Kreg clamps to hold the two near the edge, and if I really need it, a pipe or bar clamp to hold the middle in place. If I have a curve in the plywood, I may throw an extra hole or two in, but I rarely need that.

 

Sure, buy a $1200 machine to compensate for your lack of ability to clamp a simple joint square and even. Great advice.

My first attempt years ago slipped out of place. From that, I figured out where it went wrong and I ve never had a problem since.

If you are uncertain of your ability to keep the joint in line, use biscuits. With them, all you need is a clamping square and you re golden.

- Rich

Well I only paid $400 for mine (used) but yes.. spend $1200 because its a far better machie and works faster as well.. though I'd suggest the semi automatic tsm 21 or 22 at $3500 if someone is looking.

As for clamping..
Its easy to pull a clamped to death joint out of flush with a castle or a kreg hole if someone uses glue and a impact driver..

 

Kreg makes/made? A clamping table that does the 2 things you need to happen.

1) Hold the edges of the assembly square, and blocked in, so it cannot move away.

2) Deliver clamping pressure right on top of the join, so it cannot move up.

Problems with them is they are kinda big, so unless you do a lot of pocket hole joinery, you have to figure out where, and how to use them the rest of the time.

The answer to that is build it into a a bench, or work table so it hides in plain sight.

Using their multi track, which occasionally is sold at not so bad prices, and roll your own. The Kreg version is 21 3/4" x 33 3/4" so it's big enough to do larger projects. If you need that, you need it, but most could do well with a smaller size, and arrange the pieces so you are using just the meat and taters in a smaller field.

Plus the Kreg version is outrageously high priced.

For the same clamps they also offer a clamping plate, that you inset into a bench top, and screw/glue it down. That way all you need to provide is a stopping jig. Something to stop the rail from moving, as you connect the stile, so to speak.

At the lowest price possible, and just as effective is using the overhang of your bench top, use one of these to apply the down pressure. It helps to have a straight piece of wood clamped down, or a jig with a stop bar into dog holes to stop the entire join from moving, and just use a Kreg clamp over the join to keep it from moving.

Now I never agree with Rich, but here he is correct there are entirely too many ways to hold a Kreg join from moving, that you shouldn't get sassed by 2 sticks of wood.

 

I'm not having an issue when the boards are in the same plane as in a face frame like the above pictures. When one board is up on edge and you are screwing it down onto the face of another board is where I have issue. Even with clamps those tend to creep, especially when joining large panels and where the middle pocket holes cant be clamped across.

 

Joining boards at right angles is a bit vague. Just boards? flat, upright? Maybe plywood like in a cabinet box?

 

Putting together large panels like in this picture

 

Putting together large panels like in this picture

- RobSC

If you're having a hard time clamping it, use dowels or biscuits. You only need maybe three or four over even a large span. They will ensure the boards stay in alignment when you put in the screws, while the screws will pull the joint together and minimize the amount of clamping you need to do.

I like biscuits since their placement can be done to a pencil mark, and they allow a bit of back and forth adjustment if needed to align the boards. All you're trying to do is lock in the vertical placement since that's the direction the screws tend to move it.

Regarding drivers, I don't like to use impact drivers for pocket screws. Like others have said, it's easy to overdrive the screws using them. I have a Bosch 12V kit and the drill/driver portion is locked. I can feel it snug up and then I finish it with a hand held driver. It also has clutch settings for finer screws if you need it.