How to keep the wood at a true 90

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Good afternoon folks, I'm wondering if anyone has a solution for me. When I'm screwing my corners together the screws seem to always push the 90 just a little off. Is there any tips for keep the corners true? Thanks Pat

[justin waldron]

It sounds like you need to clamp the pieces together.  When  I'm joining faceframes etc. I lay them flat on my work table and use a screw clamp at the seam to keep it tight while I screw it together.

[James P. Cottingham]

I like Rockler's Clamp-It.

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Guys this is the type of joint I'm having trouble with. http://pinktoesandpowertools.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/img_3215_r...

[Richard Sands]

I cannot see the business end of the Kreg clamp in the image you posted.  Are you using the Kreg Right Angle Clamp, ITEM # KHC-RAC, shown at

http://www.kregtool.com/Right-Angle-Clamp-Prodview.html ?

[Jay Boutwell]

Hello Pat, from my experience in order for joints to remain true the most important factor is that they must be cut true.  In the example you are showing it is a must to be sure that the joining wood is cut a true 90 degrees from the face.  If not when you screw it together it will bend to where the full surface is in contact with it mating surface.  It's mating surface must also be flat and true to allow an exact 90 degree to fit full face or it will make correctly cut 90 degree piece fit at an angle other that 90 degrees.  The angle of the screw will also have a bearing in this as well, meaning that the screw angle must direct its pressure to allow equal pressure in the center of the joint.  If not the screw  will cause the joint to want to change the angle, depending on where the screw pressure is directed.

[King Waters]

At wood shows, Kreg demonstrates how to keep target boards from "walking" during the driving of screws.  Generally, the board with the Kreg holes is not going to walk.  [Because the step-drill tip cuts a hole so large the screw just spins in the hole rather than threading itself into the hole?]  But the target board has no pre-drilled hole, so it wants to walk itself back toward the screw, causing the target board to shift.  Solution:  Clamp/secure the target board.  This can be done by the Kreg right-angle clamp [the one that has a flat end on one side and a round 3/8" shaft on the other], but the boards can still shift, so also include another clamp/security to prevent movement of the target board.  For instance, in the picture posted by Pat, place clamped boards on either side of the vertical piece by placing the work on a table/board and clamping scrap pieces on each side of the vertical piece.  Kreg says do this at each hole.

[R. Hall]

Clamp it down hard. Especially the piece you're drilling into. If you're having trouble with long edges coming together, clamp a square on the inside of the joint. There are various types of square reinforcements around, plus Kreg has a right angle clamp you could try.

[gdatomic]

When the board moves, the screws entering the undrilled board tend to lift th board with the holes away from the side with the holes.

I have a hole clamp and know many people who swear by them. I haven't found it to be my thing. Instead, I clamp a straight board against the upper side of my drilled piece to ensure that the piece doesn't move. Adds a bit of time for the clamping, but I like the end result much better.

Good luck....

[Jens Jensen]

If you have a Harbor Freight near by you can buy clamps for around 6.00  they are 11" and work just as good .The money you save you by more screws

[Jens Jensen]

Looks like if you take a straight board 5-6 inch wide and maybe half way up clamp to table that way when you screw the boards together the board will stay flush. It works at Grandpas shop so it will work at your shop

[David Dean]

Well everyone like's to use table to do there frameing but try this on some of your work that is less then 6' it works good for me hope it helps.

[Jens Jensen]

Looks like Dave and I are on same wave length,this is what I was explaining but did not have any photos