Pocket hole in drawer sides -1/2"

[Laura]

I follow the process I typically follow for other thicker material. jig and drill were set at 1/2". However the screw does not seat flash with the wood and it is quite ugly looking. In addition I cannot put a thin layer of plywood or the drawer front because the screw is sticking out. Suggestions?

Is it possible to make hole in the inside of the drawer instead of from the outside to the side(screwing on the side of the drawer).

See attachment for visual aid. Btw, my drawers are 36"w x17"d

Thanks

[KregCS]

Laura, 

I was curious as to the material you were using for your drawer boxes as well as what length of screw you were using.  If you could let me know I would be able to better assist you with your question.  Thanks!

[Don Foley]

Laura,

I cannot see anything in the xml file but let me try and help anyway.  As I understand your post you built drawers out of 1/2'" material (I'm guessing plywood) and secured the drawer front to the sides with pocket screws.  Now the heads of the screws aren't flush with or below the face of the wood. 

If what I've surmised is correct, let me offer a fix.  Use a hand held grinder or a file on the head of the screw that is protruding above the face of the wood.  Once it is flush you can glue a piece of plywood, as you mentioned, or a thin veneer to the face of the drawer covering the screw and the pocket holes.

To reply to the other part of your question, you absolutely can place the pocket holes on the inside of the drawer.  One thing to consider is where the drawer glides will attach to the drawer.  You don't want screws hitting other screws, or a drill bit hitting a screw that's already in place.

Hope this helps, Don

[Laura]

Dan,

Yes, you got the story right! The situation is under control for a) screw size (I am using 1"), b) distance to the drawer slide (Blum Tandem) and c) the material is 1/2 prefinished ply drawer sides. The screws are protruding too much out and filing is not an option (too much work). I decided to go for internal screws (i.e. inside the front panel instead of external) which works ok. However, what is not under control is the result of a mistake I made: while I was trying to find a solution adjusting the jig height, I forgot to reset 5/8 to 1/2 for thickness for some of the holes (I realized my wrong doing mid way). Any suggestion how to fix it? I hate throwing away these sides. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!

[Don Foley]

Laura,

I can think of a couple of fixes.

1. If there is room in the pieces ignore the pocket holes drilled at the wrong setting and drill new ones adjacent to the existing holes.

2. Eliminate pocket hole joinery for the affected joints and use wood glue and brads. 

Hope one of these suggestions allows you to use the erroneously drilled pieces.  Perhaps Kreg Rep or one of the members more familiar with the products can offer a simpler solution.

Don

[Scott]

This could be a no-harm, no-foul situation...

Since the 5/8" setting positions the hole "higher' up the board compared to the 1/2" setting, I would try re-drilling the same spot with the 1/2" setting. The seat of the pockethole will still be in undisturbed wood and strong as ever. It's just the top part of the hole that looks funky.  (Been there, done that a few times lol )

Next thought would be to plug the 5/8th holes and redrill.

Try the 1st idea before the other - nothing to lose :)

SIdebar: for drawers of this size, 36wide(!), I suggest considering 3/4" material if there's going to much weight to what's going to end up in the drawers.

And 1 last thought to the original dilemma - screw heads protruding above the front panel surface...

1) be sure to use 'pan-head' style screws - this minimizes the amount the head sticks up, especially compared to the washerhead style screws.

2) I don't recall this ever posing a problem with attaching a typical 3/4" thick drawer front.  I know you're dealing with a veneer type / thin front covering, and this doesn't apply, but I wanted to mention it anyways :)

Let us know how you make out.

Scott

Laura said:

Dan,

Yes, you got the story right! The situation is under control for a) screw size (I am using 1"), b) distance to the drawer slide (Blum Tandem) and c) the material is 1/2 prefinished ply drawer sides. The screws are protruding too much out and filing is not an option (too much work). I decided to go for internal screws (i.e. inside the front panel instead of external) which works ok. However, what is not under control is the result of a mistake I made: while I was trying to find a solution adjusting the jig height, I forgot to reset 5/8 to 1/2 for thickness for some of the holes (I realized my wrong doing mid way). Any suggestion how to fix it? I hate throwing away these sides. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!

[KregCS]

Laura, 

The issue if working with plywood is a bit tricky.  The reason being is that the Kreg Jig is meant to be used with material down to 1/2".  We all know that 1/2" plywood is going to be less than that.  With that being said you will need to do some trial and error adjustments until you get a joint that has the head of the screw below the surface and the tip not coming through.  Using a pan head screw will make this easier since the head will sit below the surface easier.  

A good solution is to use our Micro Drill Guide Block.  This allows you to use our 3/4" screws which will seat the head below the surface as well as not have the tip come out your other piece.  This can be used in conjunction with the K3, K4 and K5 models.  

As far as putting the pocket hole on the inside our outside, we recommend putting them on the outside.  This allows you to have the strongest joint since your screw will be going towards the larger section of material.  This comes in very handy when working with thinner material like this where every bit of strength helps.  If you go from the inside out you will greatly increase your chance of splitting your material since you are screwing towards the edge of your piece.  If you have any other questions please let us know and we would be more than happy to assist you.    

[Tim Grace]

I picked up the micro specifically for this situation.  It works perfectly! I made a half dozen drawers for my shop all 24 to 28 inches wide and up to 10" deep, all using the micro jig.  I will be using it to join some ½" hickory to a hickory frame as part of a chessboard project.