g'day folks Uncle Nick is here now look if you are brand new to the world of Pocket hole joinery then you need to watch this video so sit back relax grab yourself a pen and paper as I'm about to share with you my top seven beginners tips for successfully starting and using the pocket hole system of joinery there are basically two types of thread configurations when it comes to pocket hole screws and it's really important to know when to use each one if we have a close look here you'll see a distinct difference in the spacing of those threads and this will determine which type of screw to use for a particular type of wood when using a soft wood like Pine plywood or even particle board select a coarse thread screw as that will aggressively dig into the sides of that soft wood which will forcibly pull the two boards together creating a very snug and secure join on the other hand when using a hardwood like this iron bark here it's a good idea to use the less aggressive fine thread screw because the grain of the Timber is so much more dense if you used a coarser thread screw there's a chance of snapping that screw as well as splitting the wood and you don't want that [Music] if you want a stronger butt joint which is basically just butting two bores together drill the pocket hole from the outside of the board rather than the inside of the board let me explain as you can see the board with the holes drilled on the outside has those screws running in that direction which means that that screw has all this real estate to hold on to making that a very strong joint whereas where the board has the holes drilled on the inside has the screw running in this direction which means that it has a lot less meat to hold on to making this joint easier to break now having just said that this is not always practical as there are circumstances where you may not want to see a pocket hole which is fair enough so you may just need to drill the hole on the inside of that board it's not the end of the world just be aware of the differences in joint strength now one common issue that I do see with beginners is that if you're not too careful you can tend to overdrive those screws which sends them through the front of the board which is very annoying and also avoidable so to prevent that do this adjust and back off the torque settings on your drill which is this thingy here with all those numbers on it now look all drills are different but mine ranges from 16 which is the highest torque setting all the way down to number one which is the lowest torque setting now number one is too weak so let's go about halfway which will be number eight and that lines up with the arrow and then on a drill itself we want to set this to drive which is that icon there lining up with the arrow and now when I start the drill I should be able to easily stop that Chuck with my hand [Music] and that's what you want this enables the clutch of the drill to kick in when the head of the screw is firmly seated preventing the screw from going in any deeper therefore preventing any potential blowout since we're talking about beginners pirate with two arms two legs and two eyes a beginner cracker one of the best investments you'll make when entering into the world of Pocket hole joinery is to get yourself a couple of good clamps as they'll securely hold the workpiece in place while you're driving in those pesky pocket screws without clamps it's quite difficult to hold those pieces steady whilst you're driving in those pocket screws which can often lead to a fairly dodgy looking joint good now the first one that I highly recommend is the face clamp which not only holds the two pieces firmly together but more importantly it helps create a flush joint during the pocket hole assembly and as you can see that is one beautiful flush looking miter joint only made possible by using one of these face clamps now the second one that I highly recommend is this funny looking thing here called a right angle clamp which has a pad and this intriguing looking pin [Music] interesting the reason behind the steel pin is so that it fits snugly into a pocket hole to clamp the pieces together as you drive your screw into the adjacent hole it's kind of like having a second pair of Hands to Hold materials at a perfect 90 degree angle I love it seriously these clamps are going to be your next best friend and I'll link to the ones that I use down below if you're interested in taking a look now believe it or not there is a technique required to drive in Pocket screws the Temptation when first starting out is to drive in those screws using one burst of power now the issue with that is that you can drive those screws in too far causing the screw to burst through the other side of the board which you saw me demonstrate earlier in the video the correct and safe way to do it is to pulse the drill which is where you hit the trigger in short bursts that way you get a better feel for where the screws at all right with pocket hole joinery along with the actual pocket hole jig itself you have some specialized bits and Bobs that belong to that unit so it's a great idea to have some sort of storage where you can safely and conveniently locate all your stuff for example my pocket hole jig has been screwed down to a sheet of plywood which if need be I can easily clamp in place and I've also made this little pencil case style box to keep all my accessories in which usually are pretty hard to keep track of very simple but also very effective [Applause] [Music] now if you're not too careful the actual pocket hole itself well it can look a little messy so to get a cleaner pocket without that excessive tear out try these tips now the first thing you need to do is to drill that pocket going with the grain and not against it now I know that's not always possible but if you can do it then just simply place the board into the pocket hole jig and lock that in place then set the speed setting on your drill to high and Away you go making sure that the drill itself is doing all the work and that you're not forcing it [Music] now if we take this out fingers crossed we should have a fairly clean pocket hole and check that out that is beautiful with virtually no tear out and just be aware that whenever you're drilling a pocket hole across the grain you are going to be getting some sort of tear out which is quite normal so don't be disheartened as this can be easily cleaned up with a bit of sandpaper now if you want to see more beginner type videos like the one you just watched do yourself a favor and check out my beginner's playlist which should be popping up over there which is full of all sorts of type things like how to use a circular saw miter saw router you name it I've got it actually it's a pretty good excuse for a good old binge watch
