Kreg Owners' Community

First, I am a new member, so hi all!  I look forward to being an active member and hope you'll be seeing a lot of me.  I am just very very anal (in a good way, hopefully), so I like to fully understand stuff before moving on or getting something done.  You could say maybe I'm a little slow, to,o but I don't listen to my wife.  :-)

Now for my question.  Am I correct in thinking that, since I have the K4, which of course has a drill guide block with it, if I purchased the Portable Base that Kreg sells, I would basically be able to do everything with those that the R3 jig does or can do.

Hey, it said there's no such thing as a stupid question.  :-)

Appreciate any comments.  Thank you.  

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Hi Lee and welcome to the group.  I started with the R3 and then later purchased the K4.  I have found when project building I use the K4.   K3 is in itself a great stand-alone tool to have to install pocket holes to existing cabinets and in tighter places.  I suppose that does not accurately answer your question but for the cost involved, I do not think you can go wrong having both in your arsenal.

Hi Lee.  Thanks for posting, and welcome to the Kreg Owners' Community!  The Kreg Jig R3 and the Portable Base are both great products, and I will explain the differentiations below. 

The Portable Base will work with your K4 Drill Guide Block.  It also accepts Kreg Face Clamps, which help to secure your workpiece.  This setup is perfect for drilling pocket holes in large panels, and the Portable Base includes a Brass Positioning Pin so that your Drill Guide Block can be easily adjusted based upon your material thickness.

Like Rita mentioned, the Kreg Jig R3 would also work great for your project-building needs.  The R3 is perfect for building custom furniture, countless home-improvement projects, and it can also be used portably to make lasting repairs around the home.  It is about double the cost of the Portable Base, but it's a newer product with more capabilities.  It includes a clamp-pad adapter, which allows the R3 to be easily secured to your workpiece using any standard bar clamp, C-clamp, or Kreg Face Clamp.  Along with the clamp-pad adapter, the R3 comes complete with a stepped drill bit, 6" driver bit, depth collar, Allen wrench, starter Kreg screw set, starter Kreg pocket-hole plug set, and Owner’s Manual, all inside of a durable, compact carrying case.

I hope this information helps you to make the best purchasing decision possible for your project-building needs!  Let us know what you decide on.  Have a great weekend, and Happy Building!

KregRep

Hi and thanks for the welcome Rita.  Yeah, the R3 looks like it would be handy for those projects that and where you can't use your K4 but was just wondering if the portable base would suffice instead of having to buy the R3 since it's more expensive and since I've already got the drill block guide that came with my K4.

Thanks for the reply and hopefully somebody will know for sure.  I wouldn't mind having the R3 but it's just another expense and I'm all about saving where I can.  The darn wood and screws does get expensive when you're on a fixed income - darn retirement.  :-)

Hi again, Lee.  To answer your question a little more specifically, yes—the Kreg Portable Base, paired with your K4 Drill Guide Block, would allow you the same building capabilities.  Both setups are portable and are designed to work with material that is 1/2"- to 1-1/2"-thick.

The Portable Base is especially useful when working on larger workpieces or on the jobsite (which may not apply since you're retired now ;-), but congrats!).  The Portable Base can also be transformed into a temporary benchtop base.  To use this feature, simply place your Portable Base at the edge of your work surface, and drive three screws through the bottom to secure it in place.  Then, connect a Kreg Face Clamp and use it to clamp your workpieces in place.

Hi again to you too.  Thanks for the info.  I was thinking it would but wanted to make sure it would do the same thing.  Appreciate it!


Boy I need to get more familiar with this forum.  For some reason I just saw Rita's reply and not yours so I only responded to hers.  I only now saw your first reply and was wondering why you said " Hi again".  in your second reply which I responded to.  Sorry about that.  I just wanted to clear that up.  :-)

Thanks again !

The MKJKIT mini jig kit is very useful for small tasks, such as small builds, drilling only one or two  holes, getting into close places with limited access and making repairs. 

The face/lower extremity will facilitate a clamp.

Simply clamp it in place before drilling the pocket hole.

Kreg MKJKIT Mini Kreg Jig Kit

MKJKIT

 

Clamping the jig in place.

Other uses for the mini jig 

  

drilling a single hole

use it to install a plug

Lee, 

Use the search field, located in the upper right hand corner of this page---

view and search the topics, and navigate thru them---

like perusing a book, electronically.

You'll get the hang of it.

When first starting out, just look at the contents and titles, when something interest you, then peruse it

---some even have pictures.


Lee C McLaughlin said:


>>> Boy I need to get more familiar with this forum.  .../p>

Thanks Ken for the info.  Yeah, I actually have one of these but never used it yet.  It would probably do instead of the R3 and I assume is why you are mentioning it and you're right.  Maybe I'll save some money and try using this for awhile.  Good idea!

Lee,

Yes, the mini works for me.

I started with the mini, for making repairs and reinforcing railings, legs, aprons, made some simple frames, etc.

Came in very handy.

Worked just fine.

Also, you can use it to add pocket holes, to install or reinforce 2x lumber, or the like.

Need to reinforce a deck railing or spindles?---this tool will do the job.  

Install plugs to fill the voids, to keep the spiders from building nests in the holes.

  

Great for use in tight places, where other jigs don't fit.

(When drilling into close quarters, I use an angle drill).

Great little starter pocket hole drilling jig.

You can use a simple "C" clamp, or the like, to hold the jig in place while drilling.

I think everyone should have one in their tool box or shop.

Sounds like a plan to start with mini jig, before venturing into one of the master kits.

You can obtain some wood cut-offs, and practice making pocket hole joinery.

When done, you can easily take the pieces apart and reuse the screws.

Peruse the various pocket hole screws available, and stock up on a  few of the most useful type and sizes.

BTW---once you get hooked on using pocket-hole joinery methods, you'll find many useful projects to build.

It's simple, easy and fast.  

Have fun building with pocket-hole joinery.

Lee C McLaughlin said:

Thanks Ken for the info.  Yeah, I actually have one of these but never used it yet.  It would probably do instead of the R3 and I assume is why you are mentioning it and you're right.  Maybe I'll save some money and try using this for awhile.  Good idea!

See Lee,  I told you this was a good group!   Happy building!

Rita I don't recall you saying anything above the group.  :-) but if you did then - my bad.  :-)

but yes it seems to be helpful with a lot of good guys and gals to help me another the Kreg path.

I am really excited to have gotten into this Kreg thing.  Seems exciting, interesting and fun not to mention I am very impressed so far by the method.  

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