Screws going through on planter?

[Pamela Hedderson]

My husband and I just got a Kreg system (K4). We are trying out the Kreg planter box but have run into trouble right away with the 1x6s. When joining them to make a panel, the 1 1/4 " Kreg screws poke out the face of the adjoining piece. We have tried reworking this a number of ways. First, realizing that our cedar is actually 5/8" thick, not 3/4" as the instructions use (I thought 1" lumber was actually 3/4"...was I wrong?), we adjusted the Kreg depth. Didn't work. Thinking maybe we should try for a shorter screw, it worked with a normal, non-Kreg 1" screw (on a test). For this project though, we need to stick with exterior screws and we discovered that we cannot get the Kreg blue exterior screws in 1". We have ordered a different pan head 1" screw from GRK in hopes that it will work. Has anyone else encountered this issue? I hope this is just a matter of ironing out the kinks of this. We didn't have any trouble at all putting up banisters with our mini Kreg, so we are scratching our heads and trying to not feel too defeated.

[james wilhelm]

Pamela , first of all I would go back to where you bought the Cedar , if they  sold it to you as a 1 " x 6 "  it should be 3/4 " thick , I  would want to talk to the store manager , if that don,t help I would call customer service and complain !!!  I just built a porch Glider out of Cedar a few week,s ago and I got 3/4 " boards  that were sold as ! " boards  , sound,s like you got a bad deal , and I know how expensive Cedar cost, s !!!  Hope they make it right for you , if you had your jig and the collar set right , it will work on 3/4 " boards , good luck , JIM !!

[Pamela Hedderson]

Too late, but if I hadn't already cut the boards, I would take them back to Lowes. I'll see how it goes with the 1" GRK screws. At least they're rated for exterior. Kreg doesn't get smaller than 1 1/4" for exterior.

[Ken Darga]

Lumber boards, 1" , is the nominal thickness dimension.

Cedar boards that are generally S3S (sanded 3 sides)---

one of the flat surfaces is "rough sawn" and they are planed to 13/16" thick.

Sometimes I've gotten some that were 7/8" thick.

5/8" thick cedar boards are generally labeled  "fence" boards---

labeled 5/8 x 6 (actual 5-1/2") and are 6ft long.

[KregCS]

Pamela,

I would agree with the other members that these boards should have been at least 3/4" thick if they were labeled as 1X6s.  However, as you have stated, it is too late to take them back.  If you have some scrap pieces to do a little testing with, you should still be able to use the 1 1/4" screws.  However, it will involve some trial and error with the adjustment of your depth collar to give you enough hold, but at the same time to not go through the front of your piece.  You will want to have the jig set for 5/8" since this is the actual thickness of the wood.  I usually have people start with the depth collar in between the 5/8" and 3/4" setting and adjust from there.  The head of the screw may be a little closer to the top of the board then you are used to, but it will still work.  Hopefully this will work for you and allow you to continue building your project.  Either way, it may be a good idea to talk with the store manager and let them know of your situation.  You might be surprised in what they could do for you.

[Pamela Hedderson]

Thanks! We are having success. At first we set the depth for 5/8 with the Kreg 1 1/4 blue cote screws but still had issues with the tip coming through. What worked on the thin plank panels was switching to a GRK exterior 1" screw. Worked well. We have been able to use Kreg screws on all other parts but ran into further issues because of (once again!) less width on the 1x6s (they are not 5 1/2" but 5 3/8"). It created a bit of trouble lining up the panels with the structure...a bit short but we played with it until it was reasonable. Got to the planter top piece but then our jigsaw bit the dust so we rented a nice one last night from Home Depoto cut our curves.

I am cursing the lumber industry for ripping us off. It is obvious that like a lot of goods lately, you get less product for the same money. No choice but to swallow this as consumers. It is a very deceitful practice.