5 Tips for Creating Great Kreg Joints

Whether it’s on social media or through our customer service department, we get lots of inquiries on Kreg Joinery™ best practices. Read on for five handy tips that will help you create the best Kreg Joints™ possible.

The first step is to cut all of the wood pieces that you will need for your project. Then, we recommend laying out your project parts as they’ll be oriented in their final assembly. Next, mark which parts will get pocket holes. You don’t need to mark their exact location, though.

When you are ready to drill, the handy Drill Guide chart above shows you where to place pocket holes based on material width. For the strongest Kreg Joints™ possible, we recommend spacing pocket holes evenly across your workpiece. For panels, place the first pocket hole roughly 2″ from the edge or end of the panel, and then every 6″ after that. When drilling panels, you can use any of the Drill Guide’s holes.

Once you have the position of your pocket holes planned out, it’s time to drill them! To get the right pocket-hole depth, adjust the included depth collar based on material thickness. You will also need to adjust your Kreg Jig® to the proper depth setting based on material thickness. Then, place the wood in your Kreg Jig®, secure it with the clamping mechanism, and drill away! Refer to the chart to the right to find your proper settings. This chart also shows which screw length to choose, which is something we’ll discuss later.

When it’s time to assemble, it’s a good idea to clamp your joints so your workpieces won’t shift as you drive your screws in. Whenever possible, clamp across the joint line. This is demonstrated in the picture to the right.

Also, check out our Automaxx™ Clamps to simplify all of your clamping tasks. They provide an easy way to clamp your joint and hold the two workpieces perfectly flush. We also offer a right-angle clamp for 90-degree angles.

The next step is to make sure that you select the correct length of Kreg Screw. Fine-thread screws are recommended for hardwoods (like cherry, maple, oak, etc.), while coarse-thread screws are the preferred choice for softwoods (like cedar, pine, etc.)

In case you didn’t already know, Kreg offers specialized screws in different lengths to work with a variety of material thicknesses. Selecting the correct length is easy; it’s based on the thickness of your material. The chart below will help you select the correct screw length for your next project.

Here at Kreg, customer satisfaction comes first. We want to make sure that you get the most out of your Kreg products. If you haven’t already, we recommend joining the Kreg Owners’ Community – a great place to share what you create, find helpful tips and tricks, and more. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, you can also contact the Kreg Customer Service Team.

And, we are proud to announce that we have launched a new and improved website! The web address is the same—www.kregtool.com—but the site is brand new! It’s now easier than ever to learn about Kreg products, find a Kreg dealer near you, get in touch with customer service, and become inspired!