Kevin Brady - Pocket Hole Drilling Jig

Kevin Brady

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HOME Quick & Dirty Pocket Hole Drilling Jig

Tired of going through a contortionist act every time you want to drill pocket holes into face frames? So was I, and I quickly devised this simple jig to hold it all in place. Here are my instructions and some photos to help you build a basic DIY pocket hole setup jig for drilling face frames. Nothing fancy -- just a simple jig that you can quickly assemble in a few minutes of your spare time using mere scraps of wood that you probably have laying around anyway. This homemade jig is conveniently held in a woodworker's vise and only requires a few clamps to hold your workpiece in place.

Pocket hole drilling tool used with the jig. This one is a dual-barrel model by TASK Pro Center, but you can also use other pocket hole tools, such as the venerable Kreg tool.
A front view of the basic framework of the jig. I constructed this jig from 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood, but most any rigid board will do. The small block of plywood at left acts as a fence piece.
Back view of the jig, showing vertical cleat to add rigidity. Note the two small blocks on the left and right sides. These blocks rest on the top edge of the woodworker's vise to make setup easier and keep the jig level.
The fence piece clamped into position, at a right-angle. It helps to draw a number of vertical pencil lines to provide reference for quick alignment of the fence piece.

Face frame mounted in place in the jig, with pocket hole tool clamped in the desired drilling location.
Drilling the pocket holes.
Driving the pocket hole screws.
Voila! A finished pocket hole joint.

Pocket hole drilling tool used with the jig. This one is a dual-barrel model by TASK Pro Center, but you can also use other pocket hole tools, such as the venerable Kreg tool.	A front view of the basic framework of the jig. I constructed this jig from 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood, but most any rigid board will do. The small block of plywood at left acts as a fence piece.	Back view of the jig, showing vertical cleat to add rigidity. Note the two small blocks on the left and right sides. These blocks rest on the top edge of the woodworker's vise to make setup easier and keep the jig level.	The fence piece clamped into position, at a right-angle. It helps to draw a number of vertical pencil lines to provide reference for quick alignment of the fence piece.
Face frame mounted in place in the jig, with pocket hole tool clamped in the desired drilling location.	Drilling the pocket holes.	Driving the pocket hole screws.	Voila! A finished pocket hole joint.