Kreg Jig HD Makes Bigger Pocket Holes

Kreg recently announced that they’re coming out with a new heavy-duty version of their venerable pocket hole jig. The new Kreg Jig HD (KJHD) is packaged with a bigger bit, for bigger holes, and is designed for bigger screws and bigger projects. Okay, so it’s bigger, we get it.

Kreg marketing materials say that the Kreg Jig HD can be used to make joints 25% larger and amazingly 50% stronger than those made with Kreg’s non-heavy-duty jigs. The new pocket hole jig is optimized for working with 2x4s and requires #14 pocket hole wood screws.

The HD can only handle materials 1-1/2″ and up, so you probably shouldn’t try using it with plywood or other 3/4″-thick materials. The regular Kreg jig works well with materials up to 1-1/2″ thick, and I’m not sure I’ve ever even seen pocket holes used with thicker-stock creations.

Kreg Jig HD vs. Non-HD Kreg Jig

If you need more strength when fastening 2x4s or similar 2x stock with pocket holes, you can usually drill more holes and use more screws. But if you really like the idea of larger screws holding your work together, then the HD wouldn’t be a terrible idea. It just seems a bit frivolous to us when regular jigs work just fine with 1-1/2″-thick wood.

Personally, we are fond of the idea of bigger more robust joints in 2x materials, or at least we were fond of the idea. Our optimism came crushing down when we realized we would be locked into using Kreg’s size #14 pocket hole screws. Right now we use a mix of Kreg and McFeely’s pocket hole screws, and prefer McFeely’s based on price and available options.

It also looks like HD screws will only be available in one size, head style, and length (2-1/2″). What if you want to fasten double-thick plywood together? MDF? You’re stuck using that one screw style designed for framing lumber.

An important question that we just cannot shake – is there a need for the HD jig? That is, have there been reports of pocket hole joints made with Kreg jigs in 1-1/2″ materials failing?

The Kreg Jig HD will be priced at $60, and works with all of Kreg’s clamps and benchtop bases.

Our favorite pocket hole jig is the Porter Cable QuickJig for most applications and a Kreg R3 Jr when working with materials too long or wide for the QuickJig.

Buy Now(via Amazon)