[North40]

I have a Kreg K3 Pocket Hole Jig (you know, the one with the handle in the right place), and it gets a lot of use, enough that I'm thinking a pocket hole machine would be nice. However, the $900 price tag on Kreg's basic machine is kind-of holding me back!

I've been thinking about building a machine, and I think I've worked out some of the problems with multiple actions (drill on/off, clamp motion, drill motion), thickness adjustments, etc. If you want to throw in your thoughts on those subjects, that's great. But …

I'm really curious about your thoughts about:
1) Pneumatic vs. electric vs. manual: I'm leaning strongly towards manual drill advance, but I'm going back and forth between air and electric for the drill and considering all three options for the clamp.
2) Hand operated vs. foot operated: A hand operated machine would have an action like a miter saw or mortise machine, and could be entirely bench-top (space consideration is always an issue). A foot operated machine would have a kick motion like a car clutch, and would probably have to be a stand-alone machine. The only way I see to make a foot operated bench top machine would be if the drill advance was pneumatic or electric with a foot switch instead of a lever, but like I said I'm almost certain I want to use manual advance.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[North40]

Thanks, Loren. I was looking at his stuff earlier. He's really into pocket holes! He has some good ideas, some of which I am going to borrow. His machines are vertical, and I'm thinking of a horizontal machine … so the bit comes up through the table instead of down through the fence.

 

[North40]

Thanks, dannelson. It looks like the PC 550 and 552 are no longer in production. Don't see any used ones for sale near me, either. Any chance you want to sell yours? Ideally, I would like to be able to drill different thickness, but if I could get a great price on a machine that only did 3/4, I could just use a jig for odd thicknesses.

 

[North40]

Yeah, I'm not too fixated on the angle. Would probably go with the Kreg-style 15 degrees if building my own. There's a type I've seen that doesn't do the piloted hole, just a sort of tapered/stopped dado. That would be really easy, but I'm not sure I want to go that route.

 

[North40]

Thanks for the input. I use a variety of joinery methods (including dowels, M&T, etc), depending on what I am building. Like I said in my orignial post, I use pocket screws enough that I'm considering something more than the jig and drill routine, but not enough to justify a huge investment of cash or a lot of floor space in my shop. The cost is why I'm thinking of making my own, and the space is the reason I'm thinking something similar to the basic Kreg machine - the Foreman - which uses 14×23 of bench space and can be put on a shelf when not in use.

One thing I didn't mention was that my biggest issue is panels for cases. Standing a panel up in a K3 type jig or a woodentoolcompany style machine is far from ideal, in my opinion. Using the jig with the faceclamp on panels is a hassle, too. Being able to control a panel laying down on a stationary machine seems to me to be the best method. Of course, if I'm going to build/buy a machine, the capability to use it on other parts would be nice!

 

[North40]

Thanks, dannelson. I found this machine from Castle. It looks kind of like the pictures I've found of the PC machine, but in yellow and green. The price tag is even more than the Kreg machine.

 

[North40]

Thanks, Jerry! It's nice to know I'm not the only one in this position! I've seen drill press jigs that hold the part at 12 or 15 degrees and have a guide hole for the drill bit. I considered doing that, but it looks like a case panel in that jig would be so much in the way that I wouldn't be able to operate the drill press. What do you think?

I appreciate the feedback on the pneumatic drill. I am leaning in that direction. A high-speed pneumatic drill should punch those holes in a big hurry.

I'm still in the planning phase now, but I'll be sure to let you know when I get going building it.

 

[North40]

Jerry - somewhere I have plans or drawings for a pocket-hole setup on the drill press. I'll have to look around for it and see if I can get a copy to you. I'll be sure and post pictures of whatever machine I eventually build!