"Upscale" wrote in message
...
My question is about the strength of the connections made with a pocket
hole
kit like the Kreg.

I'm was thinking of using my rail and stile router bits to build a
lightweight cabinet (approximately 6'h x 3'w x 2'd) using glued up 3/4"
oak
rail and stile construction with inserted 1/4" paneling.

Would the project be sufficiently strong to stand under it's own weight if
I
just used a 1/4" slot cutter for the paneling and joined everything
instead
with pocket joints?

I've seen many suggestions for using pocket joints when creating face
frames, but I don't remember seeing anyone talking about full cabinet
construction using pocket joints.

Thanks

Essentially the joint is not a "Pocket Joint" You make what ever traditional
joint you want and use "pocket hole screws" to reinforce it. Typically
however pocket hole screws are used to strengthen Butt Joints. I would
advise that you use glue in addition to the screws to strengthen the joint.
With that said, the pocket hole screw can add tremendous strength to a
joint. As far as your question about the cabinet, as long as the screw
threads end up in solid wood, and the harder the better, the joint should be
quite strong. Naturally the wider the material the better as this allows
the use of more screws in a given joint.
The screw and glue reinforced joints would most likely be strong enough for
the rail and stile joints of the panels given the width of the rails and
stiles are wide enough to be strong. You may give more consideration as to
what kind of joints to use when attaching the sides to the tops and bottoms
and front of the cabinet.