I use my Kreg all the time as I'm definitely not a carpenter. Cate&Rob likes to tease me 'cause I use too many in a given area, but the result is strong! The frame I made for the Victron SmartSolar and also the dog kennel frame have withstood many, many miles of an "earthquake while going through a hurricane" (i.e. towing).

I've got the Kreg K2 setup. Works great. No idea about the fancier setups. https://www.amazon.com/Kreg-K2-Jig-8.../dp/B0000DD1YD

This is the one I use. Inexpensive and does the job. It has a modified vise grip clamp included to hold the jig to the wood.

I have 3 Kregs for work I do. I have an older version similar to what Howard posted. I also have the mini and an older incarnation of the R3 that has 3 holes like the main jig. https://www.kregtool.com/shop/pocket...jig-r3/R3.html

You use their frame clamp (overgrown vice grip) with the R3 which comes in very handy for pieces too big to fit in the full size jig or when you're putting pocket holes in something stationary.



Not sure about your 3/8" work but I use mine for building drawers out of 1/2" Baltic birch and it works well. Likewise, face frames and any other 3/4" joinery it's great. Most of my cabinets I build are with pocket holes. None have failed yet after many many cabinets built.

​​​​​​​Terry

I have the one Yoda linked, mainly because it was on clearance. It's really handy, and great for drawers. The simpler ones would probably be fine but it's nice for using anywhere when I don't have my vice. I second the "glorified vice grips"and also these, they're great for alignment:


https://www.kregtool.com/shop/clampi...amp/KHCRA.html

Neil's comment reminds me of something I didn't mention. No matter what you're assembling, be it a face frame, cabinet, etc, ALWAYS clamp it when screwing it together. Because the screws are angled, they can pull things slightly out of alignment if you don't hold them nice and flat/tight.

For my face frames, I lay them in position on my assembly table and then use the "glorified vice grips" to clamp my 2 face pieces to the assembly table (a solid core door). Keeps everything flat and tight. For drawers and cabinets, I use my pipe clamps across the drawer sides or cabinet pieces to keep them from moving.

Yeah the clamp I linked is a lifesaver if you're doing pocket screw drawers. The pin side of the clamp fits perfectly in the pocket hole. Great for 90 degree clamping. I think mine might have come in my kit originally and it's awesome.

Ok thanks folks
Unfortunately it looks like Kreg no longer make thier solid aluminum K2 through K5 sets (only available used from what I have found so far) and has switched to plastic or steel reinforced plastic. Reviews have concerns about this.

The R3 as mentioned by Terry trkester appears to be what I need for my upcoming projects, but reports of breakage concern me. Also I need to figure out what size clamp I should get to have it work. KREG is limited to a 3" face clamp, but other might work. I say face clamp as that is what Kreg mentions to use with the R3.

I will be mostly working with 1/2" plywood and I am concerned with the 3/8" std step drill being used, Kreg mentioned a mini set up for thier other models that appears to use a 1/4" drill. for a #6 screws. the stock 3/8 bit is set up for #8 I believe, which is a bit large for 1/2" ply. Thoughts on this? I would like something to use with 3/8" ply, but no luck on that - would need to step butt joint with pin nails I guess - I don't have a dove tail jig (Hmm) and my router is probably too big for this small work. I wold need to check my biscuit cutter too as I believe 1/2 is the thinnest it will work with.

Now what about the other brands out there (copy cat). Some have good reviews. Most made of aluminum similar to the K2-K5. Massca, MulWark, Wen, HOWOD, Workpro, and even Harbor Freight if you can believe that

Thanks for your thoughts and especially the std Jig bits working with 1/2" ply.

Keith

Kreg jigs are nice. They are not the only player in the game any longer: https://www.harborfreight.com/portab...kit-96264.html (only partially read Keith's post).

A little big but.... https://castleusa.com/categories/mac...t-cutters.html

Nice thing about dove tails is that they do not care about thickness as much as other processes. Yes they make router jigs for those and I have seen 3/8" and up.

For the Baltic birch, you might try 5/8" vs 1/2" as the pocket jig does work on the the 5/8". (we did this in the field when working at the cabinet shop).