It’s hard to beat the simplicity of pocket-screw joinery for assembling many of the butt joints required for woodwork and finish carpentry. Using a special stepped drill bit and a pocket-hole jig or machine, you bore steeply angled countersunk pilot holes (or “pockets”) at the end of one of the two adjoining workpieces, clamp the joint into alignment, and then drive a self-tapping pocket screw into each pocket to complete the joinery. Where pockets will be exposed, you can finish them by installing plastic or wood pocket-hole plugs.
The Kreg Tool Co. offers several jigs and kits that make it easy to drill perfect pockets with a hand-held drill. Jig prices range from $22 to $150. Kreg also makes a range of electric and pneumatic machines that significantly speed the work, with prices running all the way up to $10,900. I own a couple of the jigs for jobsite work and have used one of Kreg’s stationary pneumatic machines in a shared shop.
Until recently, Kreg’s most affordable portable electric machine was the 40-pound, 110-volt Foreman DB110, which cost $850. To drill a pocket, you position your stock against a fence and pull the handle. The single pull starts the motor, clamps the stock against the tabletop, and plunges the drill bit into the workpiece from below. Most of these machines are being used in serious cabinet and woodworking shops, while carpenters in the field or those who only occasionally construct cabinets or built-ins have typically been using a jig and a hand-held drill.
But Kreg has now replaced the Foreman DB110 with the Foreman DB210, which costs $400 and weighs just 20 pounds. After using the DB210 twice on jobsites and once in the workshop, I think it’s a game changer.
PERFORMANCE
When the new Foreman arrived, I installed the included vacuum port, shroud, and hose inside the base so I could hook it to a vacuum. The machine accommodates materials from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches thick. You need to follow a simple, three-step procedure to adjust for the thickness of the stock and the length of your screws. One caution: If you don’t adjust it properly, you can drill right through the fence when you pull the handle (don’t ask how I know that).
So far, I’ve used the new Foreman to splice 1x8 baseboards, join window and door casings, and build cabinets. It drilled the pockets cleanly and accurately, and the dust collection worked great when I hooked it to my Fein vacuum. The base has rubberized feet and grips surfaces well, but you can also clamp or bolt it down.
I do have minor complaints. The handle, which contains the trigger and lockout button, is awkward to use left-handed. Although I’m a righty, work flow sometimes requires holding material with my right hand, and it would be helpful to be able to easily operate the handle with my left hand.
Also, although the fence has adjustable and retractable stops for repetitive drilling, they’re small pieces of plastic that slip into a T-slot and are secured with socket-head screws. Small plastic parts are seldom durable enough to stand up to rigors of shop and jobsite work, and the screw heads are so close to the tabletop that turning a hex key to loosen or tighten them is a bother.
The DB210 has a 5-amp motor versus the 8-amp one on its pricier predecessor, so I would use an especially sharp bit with hardwoods.
Criticisms aside, this new Foreman performed well. It’s not designed to replace the industrial machines used in production shops, but I expect it to become a popular tool on jobsites and in small shops.
Brian Campbell owns Basswood Artisan Carpentry, in North St. Paul, Minn.
