Transcription
Why can't you get fine thread screws any longer than an inch and a half?
Pocket screws have to be self tapping in order for them to work since you only drill a hole in one workpiece, not the joining piece. Since there's no pilot hole in the receiving piece to prevent it from splitting the screws have to be thin. Coarse thread pocket screws are number eight in diameter. In soft woods like pine, these can be fairly long, up to two and a half inches. The fibers of the wood separate pretty easily as you drive a screw.
But for hardwoods the screws need to have finer threads to help them cut through the dense fibers of the wood. The coarse thread screws are just too aggressive and might split the wood. In order to make the fine thread self tapping screws even less likely to split they are made even thinner than the coarse thread screws. And at that diameter they're likely to just break off if they're any longer than an inch and a half. It's just too much torque needed for hardwoods without a pilot hole.
The good news is that if you have two thick hardwood boards you need to join together the one and a half inch screws provide more than enough holding power.
If you are a user of the K5 jig, you already have these two side supports with storage for accessories. But did you know that the K4 jig has storage built in underneath? One place for the drill bit and one for the driver. Oh yeah, and there's a spot in the front of the jig for storing this hex wrench for the drill bit stop collar.
These two side supports are handy when I need to drill holes in a long board. But I don't always have them attached, and there are times when I need to drill holes in an even longer board, and just trying to support it on the jig alone is a little too wobbly. Oh, if you do need extra side supports, guess what? The platform of the K5 jig is exactly the same height as a two by four. Instant side supports.
If you have the K5 jig you might know that this is a little stop block, but do you know how to use it? The two sides of this block are different. You want to drop a nut onto one of these holes on this side. Then take this long bolt, and screw it into this piece. Turn your block around, and screw it into that nut. Drop these two little posts into those holes, and slide it forward. Then adjust that bolt to extend out however far you need it to. You probably won't need to use that very often, but there are times when it's important to position pocket holes precisely, and usually that's when you have to make sure that you're leaving room for joining other pieces so the screws don't run into each other.
I'm kind of amazed at how many people are missing out on the benefits of using this vacuum attachment. You may think, "Oh, I just have a few holes to drill. How much of a mess could it make?" The drill bit for pocket holes is big, and the shavings go everywhere. Hooking up your shopvac to the jig eliminates almost all of the drill shavings. It's actually kind of amazing how well this works. Hey, there's even a little side benefit. The suction actually helps hold your workpiece into place as you position it.
Hey, I want to thank Kreg for supporting Woodworking For Mere Mortals and beginner woodworkers and for sponsoring this video. Check out all their tools at Kreg Tool dot com. If you are a complete newbie to using pocket screws be sure to watch my pocket screws basics video to get started. And lastly, if you are completely new to woodworking and looking for a structured program to get you started from the ground up, I designed an online course just for you called the Weekend Woodworker. Take your first step by downloading my free guide to setting up a shop for under $1000 at my tool list dot com. Thanks for watching everybody.