Kreg K5. Clamp broke after two weeks

[Andy Harris]

I've been using the R3 for four years and decided couple of weeks ago to upgrade to K5 system. Today the clamp won't clamp anymore. The handle just won't move to clamp the wood in place. Anybody else had that? Guess I'll be sending it back :-(

[Trace Farthing]

Wow! I've had the K4 almost as long and no problems. Have considered the K5 for the front handle position but maybe I'll forego it for the Foreman when I want to upgrade.

[james wilhelm]

Have had the mini , R-3,  K4 master Jig the micro and the HD JIG,S, for 4 years and they are all working just fine with no problem,s , always clean them good after each use and they are kept in their own drawer , out of any dust , also use the dust port and vac. all the time, JIM !!!

[KregRep]

Sorry to hear that, Andy. Please get in touch with Technical Support at toll-free 800-447-8638 or [e-mail]. They will be happy to help. 
Thanks,
KregRep

[Coderjoy]

Can you help me? My K5 broke a last week. I am new to pocket holes and Kreg. I bought the K5 early spring '18 but hadn't used it much. Only two projects, maybe 100+ holes, probably 30-40 clamping operations. You professionals probably easily do that in a day.

I bought the K5 for projects that I had planned to do soon enough. Project time has come and the great assist for making my own kitchen and shop cabinets has failed me. I am now using clamps to hold the K5 clamped onto the board to finish this project.

When creating stile-and-rail pocket holes on my second ever floor cabinet I tried to clamp the next rail into the K5 and heard an unusual grating sound while ratcheting... and the clamp failed. It won't clamp at all now. Working the lever will advance the sled but it pops out when the clamp jaw takes pressure.

I took the clamp apart and saw the rack and pawl mechanism. The rack had a bit of twist in it lengthwise. I didn't take it off the sled because I was unsure about how to approach verifying my first impression or how to fix it. I tried advancing the position of the pawl so it would better engage the rack. No help yet.

Help me, please. Has anyone else had this issue and what fixed it? I ask for your advice and insight before I delve back into the clamp assembly again.

I think I have a good sense of how it works but can you help me understand it better.

My first guess is that that clanking sound was the pawl popping up and out of the rack grooves, just touching the crowns of the teeth to move the sled.

Could have been a variance when the spring was installed atilt and with a few dozen operations caused the pawl to find its natural position for the forces involved.

So... what do you think?

[KregRep]

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact our Technical Support team at [e-mail] or 800-447-8638 - they will be happy to help with this. Thanks!

Coderjoy said:

Can you help me? My K5 broke a last week. I am new to pocket holes and Kreg. I bought the K5 early spring '18 but hadn't used it much. Only two projects, maybe 100+ holes, probably 30-40 clamping operations. You professionals probably easily do that in a day.

I bought the K5 for projects that I had planned to do soon enough. Project time has come and the great assist for making my own kitchen and shop cabinets has failed me. I am now using clamps to hold the K5 clamped onto the board to finish this project.

When creating stile-and-rail pocket holes on my second ever floor cabinet I tried to clamp the next rail into the K5 and heard an unusual grating sound while ratcheting... and the clamp failed. It won't clamp at all now. Working the lever will advance the sled but it pops out when the clamp jaw takes pressure.

I took the clamp apart and saw the rack and pawl mechanism. The rack had a bit of twist in it lengthwise. I didn't take it off the sled because I was unsure about how to approach verifying my first impression or how to fix it. I tried advancing the position of the pawl so it would better engage the rack. No help yet.

Help me, please. Has anyone else had this issue and what fixed it? I ask for your advice and insight before I delve back into the clamp assembly again.

I think I have a good sense of how it works but can you help me understand it better.

My first guess is that that clanking sound was the pawl popping up and out of the rack grooves, just touching the crowns of the teeth to move the sled.

Could have been a variance when the spring was installed atilt and with a few dozen operations caused the pawl to find its natural position for the forces involved.

So... what do you think?

[Glen S]

I think it may have been set too tight. But not being there I won't say for sure that's it. However when you set the clamp to the woods thickness they recommend 2 clicks. That clamp is plenty tight enough set at 2 clicks.

[Graham]

There’s a weakness in the ratchet and pawl mechanism
I bought one recently and first time I used it the clamp doesn’t work at all. Really a disappointment

[KregRep]

Please contact our team at 800-447-8638 or kregtool.com/help - They will be happy to assist you with this. Thanks!

Graham said:

There’s a weakness in the ratchet and pawl mechanism
I bought one recently and first time I used it the clamp doesn’t work at all. Really a disappointment

[Dennis]

I bought one the other day and it done the same thing. But I contact kreg and they are going to send me a replacement one.

[Graham]

Hi,

I sent a long email to [e-mail]

on 2nd May but have had no response?  I attached a short video as well

How do I know if it has been read?

KregRep said:

Please contact our team at 800-447-8638 or kregtool.com/help - They will be happy to assist you with this. Thanks!

Graham said:

There’s a weakness in the ratchet and pawl mechanism
I bought one recently and first time I used it the clamp doesn’t work at all. Really a disappointment

[Chris]

The clamp on my K5 broke within the first hour of using it.  Customer support was great and they sent me a replacement clamp immediately and that one has worked fine for several months but it just broke again in exactly the same way as the first.  The ratcheting mechanism just slips resulting in inadequate pressure to hold the board steady while drilling.

I love everything else about the K5, especially the vacuum attachment, which not only works flawlessly, it also provides suction that helps hold the board steady when initially positioning it (before you clamp it).

Has anyone tried attaching a regular toggle clamp to the K5?  Kind of defeats the advantage of the nice design, but having two of them break on me now, I've lost confidence that the clever K5 clamp is adequate for sustained use. 

[Jerry S.]

There is a black "BB" in the clamp that provides the pressure for the clamp and fails by coming apart. Major flaw in my opinion. Probably some cheap synthetic out of China. I'm assuming that the petroleum based lubricant that I used is but one of the contributing factors to the degradation of that "BB"
I have a sense stop using any petroleum-based lubricant on any of my Kreg products if there is something that needs a light lubrication I use a 100% silicone lubricant