Triton pocket hole screws, what am I doing wrong?

[MM]

The above link shows a butt joint made with 1" Triton pocket hole screws and the Triton double pocket hole jig.

The wood is 15mm thick on the short side.

I did several test joints using thicker wood, e.g. 18mm and they worked a treat.

But as the picture shows, on the thinner wood the screws stand proud by about 1.5mm.

Is it just because the wood is too thin for pocket holes?

I can of course file the proud bits flat, then insert the provided filler plugs and finally sand down. The little bit of bright metal showing after sanding down the plugs wouldn't matter.

But it's annoying.

I checked and the screws protrude from the rail exactly in the centre of the butt piece as it should be.

Alternative: Kreg pocket hole screws appear to have more "compact" heads instead of the rather large integral washers on the Triton variety.

So could I use Kreg screws instead?

Thanks.

MM

[nothanks]

Errr, drill a deeper hole. I use the Kreg system and it includes guidance on jig settings and screw lengths for different thicknesses of wood, I assume the Triton jig will come with something similar,

[Andy Burns]

According to the instructions you raise/lower the jig's guide block to match the thickness of wood being used

[Jimk]

RTFM :-D

[MM]

To do that I'd have top use shorter screws and Triton don't do 'em.

That's why I wondered whether Kreg screws could be used instead, because they come in either pan head or washer head. I'm assuming the pan head is smaller in diameter.

MM.

[MM]

I'm not using that model, I'm using this:

But sure, the principle you describe would be applicable to any jig. Trouble is, I've experimented with positioning the jig a little bit forward or a little bit back, and the screw washer still stands proud. The problem is really the washer.

It should work. 1/2" thick wood is supported after all. And my timber is actually, at 15mm, a tad thicker. It might work if I could find shorter screws, but Triton's only go down to 1".

MM

[Andy Burns]

The manual for that model also shows board thickness down to 13mm with

1" screws.

There is a support phone num in the PDF, maybe they've changed the screws?

[alan_m]

Not the same jig but the link belows shows something slightly different to what you are doing

[nothanks]

Why can't you drill a deeper hole and use shorter screws? The hole is angled so that will take the screw head away from the face of the wood

[alan_m]

The possible clue to your (incorrect?) method of fixing is that the supplied blanking plugs with kit/tool would not fit. you probably need shorter screws and screwed deeper into the hole (as shown in the linked video)

[MM]

Useful additional info, thanks!

MM

[MM]

I can't find shorter pocket hole screws. Triton don't have any shorter than 1".

MM

[MM]

I've filed down the proud bits! Didn't take long at all. Then I glued in the plugs and am waiting for the glue to dry. After I've sawn them flat with the Japanese pull saw tomorrow, I'll whack the orbital sander across the plugs. One may see a small bit of steel showing where the screw heads are, but one could say (to any nitpickers) that they are a "feature".

These frames, by the way, form a low "wall" around each of my pull-out shelves, to stop things from sliding off. I started using 25mm thick wood in the beginning, but switched to 15mm, because the thicker wood looked out of proportion*. 'Course, with 25mm thickness the screws would have fitted nice and snugly without poking out!

• Yuk!

MM

[John Rumm]

You can compensate by moving the collar on the drill bit, so that the drill can penetrate further into the wood. Since its also drilling at an angle that will place the shoulder of the set deeper from the surface fo the wood as well. You may need to move the drill guide on the jig up a bit to compensate for the extra drill depth so that you don't end up the the shoulder too close to the end of the timber.

You could. But its a fairly easy adjustment.

[MM]

I've now received the Kreg pan head screws (eBay). The heads are indeed much smaller than the Triton washer head screws, I also found Kreg 3/4" (19mm) pan head screws, but they appear to be only available with a fine thread for hard woods. Nevertheless, I bought 50 of those, too. (They are only No 6 screws, though; the others are No. 7.)

On the second frame I had a brainwave, such as it was. The 15 x 41mm frame, as mentioned before, sits on the drawer (formerly the shelf) to prevent objects from sliding off when I pull the drawer out. The frame is fixed from the underside of the drawer with 9 screws, three on the front cross piece and three each on the side rails. The purpose of the pocket hole screws was simply to pull the butt joint together while the glue dried. So the "brainwave" was, since the frame is screwed down eventually, I could keep the pocket hole screws in temporarily while I finish off the frame, but then discard the screws after the frame has been fixed to the shelf.

So that's what I did on the second frame. I removed the screws and glued in the plugs. Very nice! This is what I shall do on all subsequent shelves, about 12 in total.

After that, I need to deal with the blind corner cupboards as a special case!

MM