How a pocket hole joint works
Pocket hole joinery drills only one of the two parts. The jig holds that part against a guide, and a stepped bit run through the guide cuts two things at once: a wide pocket for the screw head and a narrow pilot for its shank, leaving the part through its end or edge. A self-tapping screw driven through the pocket then pulls the drilled part tight against the other one, which needs no drilling. Kreg describes exactly this sequence in its manual, adds that glue is optional, and has the two parts clamped flush while the screw goes in.
The appeal is speed and simplicity: no mating holes to line up, no clamping time for glue unless you choose to use it, and the holes go on a face nobody sees — inside a cabinet, under a table top, behind a face frame. Where a pocket would show, it can be filled with a plug made for the purpose. What the joint is suited to, compared with dowels, biscuits or a mortise and tenon, is decided in choosing a wood joint; this page is about the tool.
Kinds of pocket hole jig
| Type | How it holds the work | Suits | Example in a maker's manual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchtop jig with a built-in clamp | A toggle clamp presses the work against the guide block on the jig's own base | Repeated holes in parts that fit on the base | Kreg K2000: base, upright, riser and step blocks |
| Portable jig with two guides | Clamped to the work, or the work clamped into it with a face clamp | Parts too big to carry to the bench | Kreg Rocket |
| Single-guide mini jig | Clamped or fastened to the work, which is clamped to a bench | Occasional holes and repairs | Mini Kreg Jig |
All three take the maker's own stepped bit and depth collar. The examples are Kreg's; other makers' jigs have their own parts and charts. Not a ranking.
Whatever the form, the guide's angle and the bit's step are built into the system. The Kreg documents reviewed for this guide state no drilling angle, so none is given here, and none should be borrowed from one maker for another maker's jig.
Equipment notePaid link
Pocket-hole jig
Kreg 720PRO
Kreg's current 720PRO jig: by Kreg's page, it clamps and self-adjusts to material from 1/2 to 1-1/2 in thick; set its collar from its own manual, not the K2000 chart below.
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Depth collar and screws: one maker's chart at a time
Depth is set by a collar on the bit's shank, measured from the bit's step — not from its tip. Moving the collar closer to the step drills a shallower pocket and lets the screw travel less far into the second part; moving it away does the opposite. Kreg gives its settings by stock thickness for its K2000 and Rocket jigs, with the screw length to use with each.
| Stock thickness | Collar, from the bit's step | Screw length (Kreg) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 in | 3-5/16 in | 1 in |
| 3/4 in | 3-1/2 in | 1-1/4 in |
| 1-1/2 in | 4-1/4 in | 2-1/2 in |
Kreg's figures for its own K2000 and Rocket jigs, step bit and screws only. Kreg's Mini Kreg Jig sheet lists different collar settings for the same thicknesses, and other makers publish their own. Not a universal chart.
- Thread. Kreg uses fine-thread screws in hardwoods such as oak, maple, hickory, cherry, walnut and birch, and coarse-thread screws in pine, plywood, particleboard and MDF.
- Plywood and sheet goods. Sheet stock sold under a nominal size is often thinner, so measure it and set the collar from the measured thickness; see the plywood thickness chart and the plywood guide.
- Test first. Kreg asks for the drilling depth to be checked in scrap of the same thickness before the real pocket holes are drilled and the screws driven.
- Glue. Optional by Kreg's account. If you use it, it is ordinary wood glue on the mating faces; see wood glue.
- Plugs. A pocket on a visible face can be filled with a plug made for pocket holes, glued in and trimmed flush.
Drilling safely
Safety— Never drill unsecured stock
Kreg's first warning is never to hold a pocket hole jig by hand while drilling: secure the jig and the workpiece to something that cannot move, and clamp the work into the jig. Let the bit reach full speed before plunging, keep fingers away from the guide, and handle the bit by its shank — its flutes are sharp. A drill that catches in a loose part can spin the part. General drill handling is in the drill guide and woodworking safety rules.
Clamping matters at assembly too. The screw's pull can shift the parts as it seats, so clamp them flush before driving; a face clamp or a bar clamp across the joint does it. Drive with the clutch or speed low enough that the screw seats without stripping the pilot.
The joinery tools around the pocket hole jig
A pocket hole jig is one of several tools that cut joints accurately and repeatedly. Each has its own page, and the joints themselves — how they hold and when to use them — are explained in the joinery section.
| Joint | Tool or jig | The joint itself |
|---|---|---|
| Butt joints in frames and cases | Pocket hole jig (this page) | Choosing a wood joint |
| Edge and panel alignment | Biscuit joiner; dowel jig | Choosing a wood joint |
| Dovetails | Router dovetail jig | Dovetail joints |
| Box joints | Box joint jig at a table saw or router table | Box joints |
| Mortise and tenon | Mortiser for the mortise; tenoning jig for the tenon | Mortise and tenon joints |
Which joint to use is a design decision covered on the joint pages; the tools here cut them. Not a strength ranking.
- Biscuit joiners. How a plate joiner cuts its slot and what biscuit sizes mean, in the biscuit joiner guide; using one step by step in how to use a biscuit joiner; choosing one in how to choose a biscuit joiner and, for battery tools, choosing a cordless biscuit joiner.
- Dowel jigs. Self-centring and fixed-bushing jigs and how depth is set, in the dowel jig guide.
- Dovetail jigs. Fixed-template and adjustable jigs and the matched bush, bit and template, in the dovetail jig guide, with how to choose a dovetail jig. The joint is in dovetail joints.
- Box joint jigs. How a key indexes the cut, in the box joint jig guide; two measured jigs to build in box joint jig projects; the joint in box joints.
- Mortisers. Hollow-chisel, chain and slot machines, in the mortiser guide, with how to choose a mortiser and how to choose a benchtop mortiser.
- Tenon jigs. Table saw tenoning jigs and router jigs, kept apart from industrial tenoners, in the tenon jig guide; the joint in mortise and tenon joints.
- T-track. What a track holds, and why it is not a miter slot, in the T-track guide.
- Jigs in general. What any jig does — register, hold, guide, repeat — in the jig guide, with router jigs in router jigs and templates.
Before drilling pocket holes
- Stock thickness measured, not assumed
- Collar set from the bit's step using the chart for your jig
- Screw length and thread chosen from the same maker's chart
- Jig and workpiece clamped to something that cannot move
- Test joint drilled and driven in scrap of the same thickness
- Parts clamped flush before driving the screws
Sources
Collar positions, screw lengths and thread choices are Kreg's for its own jigs, bits and screws, and apply to those only; Kreg's Mini Kreg Jig sheet itself gives different collar settings from its K2000 manual. The Kreg documents reviewed state no drilling angle, and BenchRoot gives none as a rule. No strength comparison between pocket holes and other joints is made, because no source reviewed tests one.
- 1.
Kreg Jig® Owner's Manual — Rocket™ Jig, K2000 Kreg Jig® and Mini Kreg Jig®. Kreg Tool Company (retailer-hosted copy).
Used for: Never hold a pocket hole jig by hand while drilling; secure jig and workpiece to an immovable object; check depth in scrap; let the bit reach full speed before plunging; one workpiece drilled, no pre-drilling of the second with self-tapping screws, glue optional, the parts clamped flush to drive the screw; depth collar positions measured from the step of the 3/8 in step bit — 3-5/16 in for 1/2 in stock, 3-1/2 in for 3/4 in, 4-1/4 in for 1-1/2 in — and screws of 1 in, 1-1/4 in and 2-1/2 in for those thicknesses; fine thread for hardwoods, coarse for softer woods and sheet goods.
- 2.
Mini Kreg Jig® Kit instructions (MKJKIT). Kreg Tool Company.
Used for: The Mini Kreg Jig's own depth-collar settings, which differ from the K2000's; the jig clamped or fastened to the work and the work clamped to a bench before drilling; fine-thread screws in oak, maple, hickory, cherry, walnut and birch and coarse-thread in pine, plywood, particleboard and MDF; plugs to conceal the holes.
- 3.
Chapter 11: Wood-Based Composite Materials: Panel Products, Glued Laminated Timber, Structural Composite Lumber, and Wood–Nonwood Composites. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Plywood and other wood-based panels as engineered products made in many constructions and grades.
About this guide
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