Why is Kreg pocket hole joinery so popular? Mainly because of its speed, strength and simplicity. Speed comes from the fact that the self-tapping screw eliminates the need to pre-drill the mating workpiece, which avoids many alignment problems caused by having to layout and drill for aligning fasteners as with dowel, biscuit, and mortise and tenon joints. Secondly, the self-tapping screw also serves as an internal clamp, which eliminates clamping the joint as the glue dries. This saves the investment in various clamping devices, the time and frustration of clamping, as well as the problems associated with pulling the assembly out of square with clamping pressure.
The strength of a Kreg pocket hole joint can be explained with two simple statements. First, a mechanical screw has physical properties that make it stronger than a biscuit, dowel, or tenon. Secondly, the amount of constant clamping force placed on the joint line by driving the screw combined with today's glue technology makes for an incredibly strong wood-to-wood bond.
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