I have had the original set for years. For some things it works great, but I don't use it much any more. For shop cabinets or kitchen/vanity cabinets that don't have exposed ends this is what I do sometimes. Much stronger and easier then pocket screws. You could plug the the screw holes for finished ends, but I don't like the look. The festool Domino is also great for face frames, not cheap though. But once you use it -- it's one of those tools you don't know how you got by without. Danny Proulx has some good books for anyone looking to build their own cabinets. Written so that it's easy to follow and you don't need a 100k in equipment to build by his methods.
Neighbor has it. Used it once but used it for a rough project of framing stair supports in a tight sot so I wanted it to easy start screws. Long story on project don't ask. point is I used one
I used mine last night and am very happy with it. Super simple. I joined a few peices of scrap the same way I will my face frames for my cabinets with a little dab of glue. The joints were very tight and flush. Might not be the strongest joinery method out there, but there are pretty damm strong...certainly strong enough for a cabinet face/carcass.
I've generally thought of mechanical fasteners as clamps while glue is drying, except, they're permanent. With a little glue, I highly doubt they'll come apart w/o brute force.
I had to be pretty mean to them just to get them to flex ever so slightly. I'm not sure if I could get them apart even with brute force (and no tools).
I used to make these stools by drilling, screwing & then make wooden plugs to cover over the screws. 8 plugs per stool, 4 in the top & 2 on each end. Making a couple G-kids Christmas presents tonight & trying the kreg jig. Drill batteries died before I finished the first one but working well. Fitting it up, then sand ,then glue Anyway, some kreg jig pocket hole screw joint pictures : Jig, bit, pocket hole screws, some WV read oak from Dad's saw mill. Close up of the screw in the pocket holes : Fine tread ones for good hardwood. Will finish tomorrow glueing & screwing them then work on the coating. Red oak take a lot extra finish work Porous wood, keep soaking in varnish for several coats. (same when rained on, water goes in deep, long tome to dry ) Have had glue come out of the pores several inches from glue joints. I have some wood finish sealer that works pretty good, but red oak takes 2 or 3 coast of that. White oak much better, & tougher IMO.
