Woodworker's Journal Summer-2008, страница 73

Pocket screws are fast, sturdy and simple to make with a drilling jig. By drilling steeply-pitched counterbores in one joint member, you can drive self-tapping screws into the other without pilot holes. Best of all, you won't believe how strong a pair of countersunk screws can be!

glue alone could fail.

There's a trick to making successful dowel joints: you need a jig that registers parts precisely. If dowel holes are even slightly askew, the joint parts will be thrown out of alignment or worse, the joint won't fit together at all ... big hassles either way. Here's where a simple jig can save time and frustration. A good doweling jig will clamp securely to your workpiece and provide index marks to indicate exactly where the dowel will go. Just draw or knife a thin layout mark across the joint at the index mark, and registering the drill bit will be easy.

Doweling jigs may have more than one drilling configuration. In terms of versatility, the more ways you can

clamp and drill, the better. Some styles, such as the one shown below, allow you to thread the bushings into the side of the jig for drilling holes in edge or end grain as well as into the end or inside pocket for drilling face-grain holes. Interchangeable drill bushings for 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8" drill bits are also handy jig features.

Once the holes are drilled, carry out a dry assembly first, then apply glue, slip in the dowels and clamp. That's it!

If you need to build a "blind" joint, buy a set of steel dowel points to make

registration less of a headache. Just drill holes for one side of the joint using your jig, insert the correct dowel points and press the parts together to prick centerpoints on the mating piece. Drill the matching holes using these depressions as markers.

Pocket hole and dowel joints won't suit every task, and sometimes you'll simply want to build more intricate joints. But, when quick and easy are the goal, these joints can really deliver. p