Over at Home Depot, where there are a whole lot of great Black Friday and holiday deals, we spotted a Kreg pocket hole jig deal that’s worth a closer look.
If you buy the Kreg R3 jig, which we bought ourselves a while back, you get a free clamp.
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If you’re thinking of getting into pocket hole joinery, this is the kit to get. It’s not as fully featured as Kreg’s larger sets, but it’s functional enough to handle most of your needs with relative ease. And even if you upgrade to a larger set later on, the R3 jig will still come in handy.
Read More: Pocket Hole Basics
While not a spectacular deal, Kreg jigs don’t go on sale very often, and a free clamp is a free clamp. It doesn’t look like you get Kreg’s premium face frame clamp ($20 via Amazon), but it probably has the same large clamping pads.
For what it’s worth, I don’t use a Kreg clamp with my R3 kit, I use a regular Irwin Vise Grip locking C-clamp with swivel pads, which can be found for $9-14 at Amazon and elsewhere.
If you’ve been on the fence about buying this particular Kreg pocket hole jig, this deal might be enough to seal the deal.
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The Kreg R3 pocket hole jig set comes with the jig, a special drill bit (replacements are available, but the bits last pretty long), a long Robertson #2 screwdriver bit, a stop collar, a hex wrench for adjusting the stop collar, and a carrying case.
The set also comes with a couple of starter screws and hole plugs.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Compare(via Amazon)
You’ll probably want to buy some pocket hole screws, pronto, whether you buy this for yourself or give it as a gift. You can buy an assortment, or just a box in one or two sizes that correspond to the thickness and type of wood you plan on working with.
Buy Now(Pocket Hole Screws via Amazon)
Buy Now(Pocket Hole Screws via McFeely’s
If you buy this set from Home Depot online, you should probably set it up for in-store pickup. If you order it online for home delivery, there’s a chance you’ll get the set without the free clamp, and you won’t know until you receive it.
Update: The website shows the promo bundle now when you order.
Tom
This is a great deal. If you buy this kit, you really need to buy this clamp. You will get tired of trying to make something else work.
These are just great to have around for little woodworking projects or even furniture repair.
Stuart
I’ve been getting along with my Vise Grip clamps just fine, but I think you’re right – I’ll eventually spring for a Kreg clamp that better connects to the bottom of the jig.
As an aside, pocket hole clamps can be useful too, for assembly (https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/rockler-and-bench-dog-pocket-hole-clamps/%3C/a%3E%29. They’ve been made even better since then, with quick-release screws.
Tom
One of the real advantages of the Kreg-made clamp is that it stays in the jig when moving it. So if you need to make a series of five holes along a board, you just loosen the clamp and slide it down. You can really work fast with this model.
I own the big Kreg jig, but still find myself reaching for this one sometimes because it is fast to setup and put away.
Tom
Ugh, a typo and no edit function! The internet always knows!
I obviously meant “jig” for “jib”. At least I didn’t mess up “loose” and “lose”.
Stuart
Sorry, comment editing is only possible if I change to a 3rd party commenting system that spies on you and requires a user account and login.
porphyre
I have the R3 kit. It’s definitely workable. I can see how some other, more expensive, Kreg solutions would be faster, but the R3 is worth the money.
The only Kreg-specific clamp that I think is useful is their right-angle clamp. One end is a pad, the other is a pin to slide into a pocket hole. Used for installing the screws (rather than drilling the pocket holes) it makes alignment and clamping 90* corners a breeze.
John
I think those who already have the bigger kit would still benefit. Besides thr clamp alone is a benefit, the replacement drill bit is between $12-15 by itself and the driver bit another 3-5. So if your old kit is getting a little worn down this is a great “refresh” kit for your system.
James C
I’ve had the jig by itself for a while now. I used it quite a bit lately on a few projects. Had I realized the clamp locks onto the jig I would have bought it in an instant.