Help

[Joanne Caron]

I am fairly new to Kreg Jigs.  I was making something using 2x material.  I set my jig for 1-1/2" to use 2-1/2" screws.  I didn't set my jig right and my holes are too big.  When I put the first 3 2-1/2" screws in, they came through the outside of the board.  I have a ton of holes drilled on lots of boards.  My question is, can I just use 2" screws so they won't go through?  Or am I going to have start all over?

[Don Foley]

Are you saying when you attempted to use the screws to join the two boards, the screw came out of the board receiving the screw? If so, a shorter screw should solve the problem. I would drive a screw into one of the holes you bored without a receiving board attached and measure how far it protrudes. Based on the measurement, you can determine a screw length that will penetrate the receiving board without going clear through it.

However, if the screw hole was drilled so deep that there is no shoulder for the underside of the screw head to set against, you will need new holes. You may be able to use Kreg plugs or wooden dowels to repair the incorrectly-drilled holes, but without more details or pictures/drawings, I can't say for sure.

Hope this helps.
Don

[Joanne Caron]

It helped Don, thank you. Just a little bit of the screw head came out of the receiving board.

[KregRep]

Joanne,

If you were using 2x material, it should be 1-1/2" thick. In that case, you'd set your jig for 1-1/2" and your stop collar for 1-/2", and you should be in good shape for using the 2-1/2" screws. Did you not set the jig or the stop collar at those settings? Just trying to figure out what happened so I can try to advise.  

As Don said, if the holes are too deep, a shorter screw could be enough to remedy the problem. If you'll let me know more detail, I may be able to help further.

KregRep

[R. E. Woods]

I have been known to cut the tip off rather than drive to the store to get more screws.

http://kregjig.ning.com/photo/s7302101?context=user

[Joanne Caron]

I thought I had the depth set correctly.  IDK maybe the collar wasn't tight enough and it slipped. 

[Scott G]

I've no idea if you did this or not, but when I first got my jig I'd incorrectly set the collar because I was using the tip of the driver as the measuring point instead of the step/shoulder on the bit. Now I just use the easy method of putting a nickel on the platform and letting the collar slide to where it belongs and tightening it right there.

I find this easier to tighten and avoid the bit's flutes because if you do it with the measuring groove, you might move things if you twist the bit to avoid the flutes. This way, I can tighten down pretty good, (without overdoing it), and not have the depth get as easily messed up.

I've also found these charts useful for screw selection:

http://www.kregtool.com/files/newsletters/kregplus/Images/february1...

There's a better chart that looks like this image below, but I can't find the original / better pdf:

http://kregjig.ning.com/photo/002-23