****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I just began building the Kreg workbench. I figured I'd start with a basic project like this to familiarize myself with the Kreg jig and how it operates. If I make a mistake on this, the wood is just inexpensive 2x4s that I can easily replace.I really like the fact that it comes with the DVD, which gives all the basic details and is broken down into sections so you can easily go and just rewatch one section again.One bit of advice I'd give from what I've experienced with the jig so far is that instead of drilling the pocket hole in one motion, I found it works better to drill down maybe a 1/4 to 1/3 of the way, then back the drill bit out to clean out the hole, then continue on in this fashion until you reach the drill stop. The holes are cleaner-cut this way and it's easier on your tools. This technique has worked well for deep holes for the 2x material. I also had one piece of wood that I neglected to sort out when I selected my wood that was heavier than all the others, so it's wetter than the others. I did have to make sure and clean the holes in the jig out after this, as they did gum up a bit from the moist sawdust produced from this one piece of wood.I do wish the jig came with a few more screws right out of the box. You get an assortment of different sizes, but only 10 or so of each. This allowed me to basically get one little section of the workbench put together. I then had to go searching for screws. The problem was, neither Home Depot, nor Lowes carries the 2.5-inch screws. Luckily, there is a Rockler store in Denver. But when I got there, they only had one box of the 2.5-inch screws in a 50-pack, and they were the blue "weather resistant" ones. I didn't care because the screws are all hidden. I think the box was $1 more than the normal screws would've been.Now this jig and these screws are all brand new to me. But, at this point, I did have a problem yesterday when using the blue screws. I don't know if it's the coating on them or what, but they drove down into the hole and then proceeded to strip out the threads they'd just drilled! I hadn't changed the torque setting on my drill at all from using it the day before with the regular Kreg pocket hole screws that came with the jig. So, I backed off the torque a bit and tried another screw in another hole. Same thing! I then turned the torque almost all the way down on the drill. That worked. Then I tightened that one by hand. After that, I tried driving another one by hand. I can certainly work around this, but I'm definitely apprehensive about using the blue screws again on anything else that might call for them, such as a potting bench, or outdoor chairs, etc. Kreg does make stainless steel pocket hole screws, but a box of 50 was about $25, compared to $6 for the blue screws. They do package larger quantities together as well. There was a box of 250 of the regular 2.5-inch screws that I needed, but I don't need anywhere near that many of that size screw at this point in time. However, if you were going to make, say several outdoor chairs, or multiples of anything for that matter, it is more cost effective to buy the larger boxes of screws.I know this is supposed to be a review just for the jig, but these items all go together, so I figured I'd mention my issue with the blue screws. Before that, I did not have one problem with the regular screws. They worked flawlessly.I am definitely looking forward to many more projects using the Kreg jig system. I don't have a lot of shop tools and no woodworking tools, other than a few basic chisels, etc. So, this gives me the opportunity to try my hand at woodworking a bit before investing a lot of money and space for things like a nice table saw, drill press, planer/jointer, tons of clamps, etc.Is a matter of fact, I actually bought this jig to build two built-in bookcases and an adjoining mantel. I will be using the Kreg jig to build the boxes for the bookcases, as well as the faceframe and doors. No need to worry about mortise and tenons for the doors, or gluing and clamping biscuits into place and then waiting for the glue to dry. Once I get the workbench done, I'll then have a nice work surface to begin the bookcases on. If I get a chance, I'll come back and add more info once I've used the jig a bit more on plywood and hardwood for the bookcases.So far, I'm quite impressed with the Kreg jig (other than the above-mentioned blue screws). I'm sure I'll find a ton of uses for it in the future. I've already started thinking about building a couple of nightstands and a blanket chest, something I probably wouldn't have thought of doing before buying this jig.
