Screws not tightening

[Anthony Halsell]

About half the time I drive a screw into a pocket hole, the screw bites in and goes into the material, but doesn't tighten down.  It'll freely spin, even on a relatively low torque setting (10/24)

Other times, the operation works as expected.

This seems to occur most often with coarse 1 1/4" screws into 3/4" (1x4, 1x8) pine, but I seem to recall having the issue with the 2 1/2" screws (into 2-by) as well.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing this? 

Thanks.

[Alvin Ross Park]

I am no master Kreg pocket hole woodworker, but I've made my share of misatkes, so here are a few things to check. 1) For hardwoods, of course you can use a higher torque setting.  My mistake? I forget to change it when moving to soft woods like pine, cedar and plywood.  You have to start very low on torque and move up to just the right setting for each wood. I am certain that the brand name of the drill may also have something to do with it. 2) course threads for softer wood and fine threads for hardwards is obvious from the literature, but how many times did I reach into the box and use the wrong screw?  I'll never tell...  3)  I haven't tried them yet, I I want to try the high-low threaded screws to see if they make a difference in the torque settings and in the holding power in soft and hard woods.   and finally 4) When I first started using the technology, I did not read the instructions carefully (imagine that ) and I set the drill bit to the line using the very end of the bit instead of the step shoulder, maling the whole too shallow and the screws would not hold....   I saw an earlier posting about screws not holding and that may have been the culprit.

 

[Jim Plumley]

Rather than starting at the top of the torque scale, work your way up from the bottom until the screws seat completely. Most drills and drivers have far more torque than people think. Sometimes a setting of 2-4 is all that's needed to pull everything snug. Remember, you're not trying to fuse the wood, just lock it together until the glue does its job. On one project my new Milwaukee driver made the first couple of screws disappear down the hole - poof, gone. I finally realized it wasn't the wood or the screws or the driver. It was ME setting the clutch too high.

 

"If more is better, then too much is just enough."

Works great for chroming out a street rod, not when working wood.

[Randy Connell]

Shorten your bit collar about 1/16" for soft wood. using a drill/driver, set the torque low and use slow speed. I set the screw by hand even on HW. Use ONLY "self-drilling washer head screws".

[Gene Horn]

I have found that soft wood in combination with a short bite into the non-pocket hole piece is especially troublesome. I ran into this when attaching a 3/4" shelf to a dadoed piece resulting in only a half inch to screw into. I changed drivers to one with a lower torque setting and it worked well.

[Howard Matthews]

I used a box of outside Kreg screws (and deck screws on the vertical rails) on a 40' porch railing - all cedar.  I used a very low torque setting, and did the final setting, usually about a turn or two, with a manual screw driver.  The manual screw driver gives much better "feel" for the tightness of the screw and the incipient failure of the wood.

I over-drove only one screw - the cedar was particularly soft on that bannister, and I might have had the torque slip set too high since it munched right through the bottom of the pocket screw hole.  LAL! (Live and Learn)

[Peter Lopez]

With regard to drywall screws, I use a lot of them rather than wood screws, but I always drill a clearance hole for the piece nearest the head. I generally don't like nails, but will use brads occasionally.

[Ken Russ]

I only have this problem when I forget to adjust the wireless screw driver cluch and speed. When using soft wood make sure the cluck setting is low.and the joint is tight before you use the screw.

[Steve Berto]

If I am trying to join 2 pieces of thin, soft wood (3/4" pine) I will even use a ratchet to screw in the screws so as not to over tighten them.  Today I was building a frame to attach peg board to and because some of the frame parts were 1 x 2 pine I didn't even attempt to use a drill to install the screws, I just used a ratchet so I was sure when the screws were good and tight without having to worry about overtightening them.  You can always use your drill to get the screw started and then use the ratchet to tighten it.  Works every time!

[John Walker]

That works for me too with softwood, in normal driving operations. So far it hasn't happened with the Kreg. You could always insert a small piece of matchstick into the hole though, and use a dab of glue on that particular joint, just in case. I also have two drills for use with the Kreg. I use a 14 Volt model for drilling and a 12 Volt model for driving screws.  Maybe that's why I never stripped a thread... Yet! :)

JW
Robert J Guidry Sr said:

I use a lot of pine. It has been my experience that as soft as some pine is, I eliminate the problem of stripping scerws by

1. Make sure all cuts are square.

2. Make sure joints are pulled tight and flush when clamped for screwing. Excess gap will cause the entrance of the screw to change and the exit of the screw will cause a dimple that affects a tight joint, which you compensate by pulling the joint tighter stripping the hole.

3. use slower speed when tightening screws, I actually use a cordless screw driver, not a drill/driver, I do not use the torque settings, but actually watch, listen and feel the screw going in and stop when tight.

Others will not agree with me, but this is my solution to my problem.

[John Spain]

Sounds like the bit is boring out more than it should be.  Initially i would say call customer service and let them know, theyre pretty easy to deal with.  I can give you a quick fix if youre in a pinch.  You're going to think im crazy but this will probably hep.  Buy yourself a box of toothpicks.  Before you sink the screw put a toothpick in the the hole.  This should give it something to grab to.  That method depends largely on the project but it should work for most things.  That also works for over drilled door hinge holes too.

[John Walker]

Another tip to try is:

When you set the depth of the bit, set it to say 1/8" less, so there is that bit more 'meat' for the screw to bite into.

[Voyne Boggs]

Robert is right on!!!!!!

Robert J Guidry Sr said:

I use a lot of pine. It has been my experience that as soft as some pine is, I eliminate the problem of stripping scerws by

1. Make sure all cuts are square.

2. Make sure joints are pulled tight and flush when clamped for screwing. Excess gap will cause the entrance of the screw to change and the exit of the screw will cause a dimple that affects a tight joint, which you compensate by pulling the joint tighter stripping the hole.

3. use slower speed when tightening screws, I actually use a cordless screw driver, not a drill/driver, I do not use the torque settings, but actually watch, listen and feel the screw going in and stop when tight.

Others will not agree with me, but this is my solution to my problem.