Over the past ten years, pocket hole joinery has empowered millions of individuals to make great-looking, sturdy furniture, and other wood items without the need for experience or training. Anyone can buy a moderately inexpensive pocket hole jig and start their building projects immediately. Not only is it an excellent introduction into woodworking, but a useful technique for builders also. Some people may dispute that pocket screws are chicanery since the only proper method of building is by spending many hours refining, and practicing techniques like tenons and mortise, or hand-cut dovetail joints. There is a broad spectrum of woodworking and building, and many people find the process involved in woodworking their greatest reward. Spending time on perfecting complicated procedures and skills can be personally gratifying as well as an enjoyable hobby or a career that you love. Quiet time in the shop can be a healing and centering experience. At the other extremity of the spectrum are your project-based makers. They are more interested in finalizing a usable project, rather than savoring in the shop experience. Of course, most woodwork enthusiasts are somewhere in between, and that is precisely what makes woodworking so interesting. We can admire the work of others and get enthused by their goals and approaches.
More Information On What Pocket Hole Joinery Entails
It is useful to understand a good direction and grain to learn precisely how pocket screws work. All boards typically have three types of surfaces. The essential aspect to always bear in mind, whether you are utilizing pocket screws or not, is that the weakest connection is when you screw into the end grain of a board. For an assignment that won’t be exposed to a lot of stress, screwing into the end grain can be successful; however, a better option would be to avoid this practice, particularly when softwoods such as pine is used.
The resolution is driving a screw at an angle for it to go into the edge grain or face grain of every board. Besides, this may be stronger than having to screw straight into the face grain, since the angle will secure a more extended portion of the screw getting embedded into the wood. A pocket hole machine can be a convenient tool to have in your workshop, particularly when you’re building wooden furniture like cabinets.
The Screws And Drill Bit
The stepped drill bit of a pocket hole has a narrow tip that guides the screw and a broader part to bore a pocket hole. A standard screw would most likely go all the way through a pocket hole. The wide head of a pocket screw rests on the tiny “shelf” which is made by the bit.
Obscuring Pocket Holes
Generally, it is not a problem to make pocket holes in the undersides or backs of pieces where they are not visible. But, in some cases, there no other way than to have them positioned where they are visible. If this is the situation, you can plug the hole with either a pre-made wood plug or a dowel. Simply glue them into the holes and then sand them flush. Once you’ve painted over them, they will not be visible anymore.
