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If you happen to have built something and noticed it not quite holding up and want to use the kreg jig to add some pocket holes..... well the first thing you might notice is that you don't have access to the joint the way you would on a new project. In this drawing you want to add pockets to part A:
You might have to use your imagination a bit here but think of the table top as part B and the wood will play the part of part A.
As you have been following along it is obvious that the material thickness needs to play a part in where the drill guide goes. For this application it is no different. To deal with this we can first look at the "base" of the jig where there are some dovetail areas.
So it is reasonable to think that something must fit in those dovetails.
They give you one of these spacers so you have no spacers being good for 1/2" materials and add the spacer for 3/4" material. If for some reason you need to have work with thicker material they of course sell more spacers. I ended up getting the extras but have never actually used them.
Now you will also have to clamp the jig in place. Any clamp that will fit will work but if you can't get a clamp on then there is another option. They provide a hole where a screw can be inserted, do be aware of that screws length unless it OK to add a through hole...
Up next will be a small project. Once that is finished I have just a few other odds and ends to go over and we will be done except for questions and comments.

Ed

Very interesting, Ed.

Ed in Tampa wrote:I am in the class so keep going!

So am I!

Been having trouble logging in over the last few days....

I am enjoying this too. But before you conclude your tutorial I would like your opinion of how pocket screw joints compare to dowel joints when using a good jig for both ease of implementation as well as strength.

I am enjoying this very thorough presentation. Thanks for putting it together, Ed. Really good information.

sehast wrote:I am enjoying this too. But before you conclude your tutorial I would like your opinion of how pocket screw joints compare to dowel joints when using a good jig for both ease of implementation as well as strength.

I'm not Ed so, it's JMO that pocket screws are plenty strong and a heckuva lot easier than dowels. I'll sometimes use dowels, but only to add decor to a project.

I’d like to add my thanks for this tutorial thread as well, Ed. I’ve already learned a lot about pocket-hole jig variants that I never knew existed. I’m also eager to hear your thoughts on joinery options, and testing.

Sorry a little behind today. We can cover a few other things but the project will have to wait.

One thing I wanted to show is the interesting method kreg has to hold the clamp in place on the portable jig. The arrow points to the built in twist cam, there is another on the other side. Having the clamp attached makes it easier to use most of the time.
The project:
It's not much but at least I can show some real pocket hole joints.

Ed

Since I wanted to use some cut offs and scraps for this project I had to make a few changes and you will see them as they happen.

I had enough 1 x 4's to do the sides and back but not enough for the top. This is how I planned to make it:
Now it's time to set up the jig, some of this will look familiar by now. The wood is 3/4" thick so the jig is set for 3/4".
The collar is then adjusted for the material:
We haven't discussed this before but this jig also provides for chip collection. In this shot you can see it hooked up. You do end up getting some chips coming out the drill area but it does a pretty good job.
The clamp needs to adjusted so it holds the stock nice and tight. Then it time to make some pocket holes. You can measure to get the hole locations but it pretty easy to just align the stock to the jig. Since the stock is 3-1/2" wide I use the A and C holes on the jig.
The results:
Next I will be drilling the pocket holes to hold the top on.

Ed

I had a piece of 1/2" plywood that was wide enough but not as long as I would have liked, but hey sometimes you just go with what you have,

The same side parts that got the pocket holes will get the pocket holes to attach the top. Just because I can I switched to the micro jig. This way you can see the reduction on pocket size on a real cut. I did a set of marks that would result in having 3 pockets per side.

So you can see just how what happens if you don't use the chip collector this is the results of drill 6 holes with the micro jig.
Here is a shot of the the standard jig and the micro jig pocket holes.
These are the two pieces with all the pocket holes drilled.
For this application we know that the joints holding the 1 x 4's will need screws but we have not yet talked about which ones. We also know that the top being only 1/2" thick and have micro jig holes will need a different screw.

So we know it is soft wood, pine perhaps so the course thread is called for. Length wise 1-1/4" will do. As far as finish, it is just going to live in the shop so the standard zinc finish will do fine.

The micro jig requires that pan head screws are needed. The plywood could take a course screw but I don't have any so fine thread will be use. As far as length go we need 1". They only come in zinc so no choice there.

At this point it is time to drive the screws in. When drilling with a portable drill with a speed range you want it set to high, drilling the screws you need to set it back to low range. As a possible reference I have my dill set to #13 but it is a good idea to test each time you set up. This the joint with the screws driven in. You will no doubt notice that the pockets are on the outside. They can go either way depending on what might be exposed or need to be smooth or is more visually appealing.
After installing the 4 screws it time to attach the top. Here you can see how I clamped it up to put the screws in.
Here is one of the pan head screws driven in:
Flip it over and make sure no screws have come through........ yep good to go.
Had I not been working on the post I would have just got out my nailer and put this together as it would have been faster but hey what I don't do for education.

Ed