am I missing something?

[Sarah Wilson]

I'm working on a frame for a table and decided to use pocket hole joinery. I just bought a kreg jig and set it up, but when I went to make some practice drills, it didn't really work. The first one went into the board and made a pocket hole, but the pilot hole did not come out the other side. And with any subsequent ones I attempted, the bit would barely pierce the board and then just not go anymore. Has this happened to anyone else? Is my drill not powerful enough to drive a bit that big? It feels more like the drill than anything to do with the Kreg kit. My drill isn't the greatest but it's not super tiny or anything either. It just feels like it doesn't have enough power, no matter how I adjust it.

[james wilhelm]

Sarah, the pilot hole should not come out the other side of board, the screws are self tapping !! I use a corded drill to drill the holes and a cord less  one the install the screws, low tork setting !!  Hope this helps , JIM !!

[Mary Murray]

I also use a corded drill to drill the holes, works better. Also, a silly mistake I made once...I was trying to drill holes with the drill in reverse position. Oops, always check.

[ray vile]

Sarah, The drill is not supposed to come out of the board you are drilling, if it does you need to lower the stop on the bit a little bit, also I have had saw dust build up on the jig itself that caused the board I was drilling to be slightly raised and that caused the tip of the bit to poke through the board. Hope this helps

 

[Hugh Clare]

Is your drill in reverse?

[Sarah Wilson]

It is not in reverse, I promise. I always check because I tend to forget to switch it back quite often. Haha. I figured out from watching some demos on YouTube that the pilot hole doesn't show on the side adjacent to where you are drilling. My mistake. But nevertheless, mine wasn't drilling at all. Has anyone ever had an issue with the bit not being sharp enough?

[Sarah Wilson]

Okay I just attempted to make a practice pocket hole and this time it worked much better. My drill has been charging all day so maybe it was starting to run low before. I didn't think about that being the issue since moments before during my previous attempt, it had been drilling regular screws just fine. But maybe it didn't have enough power to drill with such a large bit. It still doesn't drill as quickly and smoothly as it shows in the commercial, but like I said, I don't have the most powerful drill. A couple people who commented mentioned that a corded drill works better so maybe I'll look into investing in one for future projects. Cordless drill works decently in the meantime though. Thanks for the help.

[Mark Barber]

Try letting the drill come up to speed prior to contacting the wood. It also helps to make a cleaner cut.

[Rita B.]

Sarah, what type of drill are you using?   I use a 18 volt cordless.   When batteries start going bad they often do not charge all the way or do not hold a charge.   I have a Ridgid that is pretty much useless at this point since a new battery cost nearly as much as a new drill.

[Sarah Wilson]

Mine is an 18-volt cordless as well. It's not old enough to be needing a new battery, I think it just needed to charge a little more.

[rich b.]

Rita , have you tried to take the batteries in, Ridgid is suppose to have a lifetime guarantee on them,I would check there website.

[Rita B.]

Rick, it was my own mistake.  The Ridgid drill was one of my first upgrades of power drills purchased online as I was told it was a "good deal".   Never saved the receipt nor did I register the purchase.     Lesson learned the hard way.   Now my go to 18 volt is a Bosch with two Lithium ion batteries and properly registered.   The Ridgid now hangs on the wall as a ornament :(