Pocket holes are a quick and easy way to put together a couple of boards
But pocket hole jigs are difficult to find in Europe
and if you do find them they can be quite expensive
Now, making your own version of these pocket hole jigs is not difficult
But you still need this special drillbit with a step
You really don't That's what they want you to think
Well, trying to use 2 different drillbits like this won't really work
Because the small one is not long enough and you will end up hitting the board
But in most cases you will have access to both sides of the board so,
Why not just drill a hole from each side?
Here is how to make a simple jig to accomplish that
I'm gonna use these two scraps but I'm not gonna glue them so we can take a look afterwards
"I'm using dowels to keep alignment"
"Make sure both sides are parallel"
"And the ends are square"
"That's 120mm long"
Now, what I'm gonna do is cut this area at an angle so it can receive the board
And then I'll drill the guide holes for both drillbits
I'll be using aluminum bushings because that is what I have on hand
I wan't this around here....I think
"Make a paper template of the board"
I want the bit to enter through the centerline
so I will align these two lines And I want an angle of 15 degrees
That's close enough
"Mark the board area"
"Transfer the lines"
Now I have to remove this area
And this is the line of the holes
Let's head over to the drillpress
"Make sure it's square"
"oops, not there yet"
"bang it into squareness"
"there"
"let's check alignment"
"insert and mark bushings"
Alright, at this point you are pretty much done but...
You still need a parallel surface to this one so you can clamp the jig to the workpiece
Specially in this area which is where the drillbit meets the workpiece
So this works as any other jig You just set your stop at wherever you want
the head of the screw to sit Clamp the workpiece
And you drill both holes I usually start with the small one to prevent
blowout but it doesn't matter
Now you might be thinking...
Well this jig only works for 16mm boards
You are right, 16 or smaller
But that's really the most common thickness I use, so I have a dedicated one
Then I have a bigger one that reaches 30mm You can use this one for thicknesses between
30 and 16mm To make a custom set up for any other thickness
you just have to align the bradpoint bit with the center of the board
and there you go
The good thing about this is that you have
a lot of flexibility So you can choose where do you want the head of the screw to sit
That's great when you are working with softer woods
Or just want to use regular countersink screws
You just leave more meat in the weak side of the board so it doesn't split
And for extra safety you can even throw a washer inside
Check the description below to find templates of these jigs on my website
And if you prefer to buy them I will add also some links to get them online in a few countries
That's all, if you like what I do you can consider supporting me on Patreon
or just go watch another video, and subscribe and maybe tell your granmother about this channel
I don't know
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