George Vondriska

Pocket Hole Joinery: Beyond Face Frames

George Vondriska
Sign in
Duration:   9  mins

Leg to rail construction is a very common part of building furniture. There are lots of ways the joints can be created, but few are as quick and easy as pocket holes. And, there’s plenty of strength in a pocket hole joint. It’s common for a leg to rail joint to have a reveal, an offset, between the face of the rail and the face of the leg. In this video we’ll show you a dirt simple way to build an offset into your furniture projects.

Edge-to-Edge Glue-Ups

If you’re making furniture, you’re probably also making things like table tops. For these, you need edge to edge glue ups. Not enough clamps to do the glue ups you need to create? No problem. Pocket holes to the rescue again. Put pocket holes along the edges that you’re putting together, and you can use pocket hole screws to draw your edge to edge joints closed.

Blind Case Sides

When you’re building cabinets and have a blind end, one that goes against a wall or another cabinet, pocket holes will help you save on clamp use again. You can cut pocket holes in the case side at the front edge, and use pocket hole screws to pull the face frame against the front of the case. This approach frees up clamps, and also means you can keep working with the case without having clamps in the way.

There are lots of ways to join wood in addition to pocket hole joinery, so check out more videos on joints and joinery. And, if you want to mask your pocket hole joinery, there are also techniques for hiding screw pockets.

More Info

For further details on the Castle 100 Pocket Hole Machine visit www.castleusa.com.

Reply to ROBERT
  • (will not be published)

19 Responses to “Pocket Hole Joinery: Beyond Face Frames”

  1. Daniel Jacob

    I don’t have a lot of clamps as I do not do large work often but when I do I use pocket holes AND biscuits joints at the same time. This helps to line up and strengthen joints without clamps.

    Reply
  2. Mark

    When using pocket holes in cabinet plywood side panels, do you have recommendations as to how to prevent screws from over-penetrating through the soft inner layer of the plywood? Unlike solid hardwood face frames, I find the screws penetrate deeper than hardwood, and therefore the tips project out past the inside of the panel.

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Mark. This is an interesting question. I haven’t run into this problem, but perhaps you could try adjusting the clutch on your drill to prevent it from driving it so deep.
      Thanks
      Paul-Woodworkers Guild of America

      Reply
  3. arthur smith

    Why was George using a hand drill on each pocket hole after it was drilled, please.

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Arthur. The Castle pocket hole system uses a two step process. First is to create the pocket using the Castle machine, then you drill the screw hole using your drill.
      Thanks
      Paul-Woodworkers Guild of America

      Reply
  5. Jack

    ticket 19320 In this video, George is using a Castle 100 pocket hole machine. I am considering the purchase of a more automated pocket hole jig. How would you compare this machine to the Kreg Foreman machine? If you are using the Castle 100 machine can you use Kreg pocket hole screws?

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Dear Jack,

      Thank you for your patience. In regards to your question-

      You can use any pocket hole screws you like, regardless of what device you use to make the pocket holes.

      The Foreman is faster than the Castle machine, since it’s a one pass operation. With the Castle machine you do one motion to cut the pocket, and a second motion to create the hole for the shank of the screw. The Foreman does it all in one motion.

      The Castle machine can be carried to your work, if needed. So, if you had really big carcase pieces, you might want to take the tool to the work instead of the work to the tool. The Foreman is too big to allow that. Tool choice there will depend on the scope of work you plan on doing.

      Sincerely,

      George
      Woodworkers Guild of America Video Membership

      Reply
      • GEERT

        I agree on the Foreman being to big to carry around, but I use a Kreg K4 for all my pocket holes. To be honest, I’m finding it very usefull, since I can create the pockethole with 1 drill action.
        But learned some new things from the video! Keep on the great work.

        Reply
  6. Paul

    This video has something that I have seen several times.
    George is demonstrating something on the work bench and a banner appears right on top of what we are looking. I know that the banner identifying George is important, but not right on top of the demonstration.
    Thanks for all the work that goes into the videos, managing this very fine site, and for reading my complaint.
    Paul

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Paul,
      Thank you for your feedback. I will forward your comment on to the proper department. We appreciate your feedback.
      Thanks
      Jean-WWGOA Video Membership

      Reply
  7. Jim Broome

    I don’t have a pocket hole machine, but I use pocket holes lots. I use a pocket hole jig set purchased at lowes for about $30.00. It works great.

    Reply
  8. Matt Thie

    You screwed the top of the stool to the rails on all four sides? Does that eliminate the ability for the wood to sufficiently expand and contract?

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Matt. Only the two ends with end grain were screwed using one screw in the center of each end which is possible because the stool is not very wide. This allows the top to expand and contract freely.
      Thanks
      Paul-WWGOA

      Reply
  9. Chris

    Thank you for the video. I do have a question: You said at the end you used pocket screws to attach the stool top. So you don’t need table top fasteners instead? (Just a note, you saved my life with perfect timing as I was building a 7 foot wide, all Walnut dog kennel for my in-laws when I received an email with your Table Top Fastener video. The top was made of $270 worth of Curly Walnut which was beautiful. My plan was to use pocket screws. Thank you for the table top fastener video. My friend made a beautiful farm table for his wife and pocket screwed the top on. It cracked in many places when the weather changed. I can’t thank you enough!!)

    Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Chris. You could use table top fasteners if you want. In this case, the table top was narrow which meant that only a single fastener point was necessary at each end. When doing this in the middle of the table top, you do not need to account for expansion and contraction, as this can happen naturally without any restriction. But it is always a safe choice to use table top fasteners.
      Thanks
      Paul-WWGOA

      Reply
    • Customer Service

      Hi Robert. Titebond’s Quick and Thick glue is a much better choice for end grain applications, like we’re seeing here between the rails and legs. Another great spot for it would be miter joints. Standard yellow glue is fine for the edge to edge glue up, where we don’t need the extra viscosity that Thick and Quick offers.
      Thanks
      Paul-WWGOA

      Reply

Explore videos by George Vondriska

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Get exclusive premium content! Sign up for a membership now!