You guys definitely have me thinking; thinking about how I can do
things more efficiently, before I do them.

I made myself a holder for the Kreg Jr. jig last week to avoid having
to line up and reclamp the jig with their "face clamp" forty times. I
did it in an unusual way, affixing the kreg device to one jaw of a
bench vise. This was mostly for lack of a toggle clamp at the moment I
decided to do it.

I finally got around to drilling the pocket holes this evening and I
have to say the makeshift jig worked like a charm, surely cutting the
job down by at least half, more likely 2/3. Except...

[there's always an "except..."]

It turns out that I blocked a small portion of the chip-escape holes
when I made the jig. It didn't seem like a lot visually, but the chips
built up and caused some slight burning in the first two holes I
drilled. I should add that I was also using a more powerful drill than
in had in the past..

So, to my makeshift "jig", I added an even more makeshift chip removal
"system", shown below. [those with frail constitutions or firmly-held
notions about doing things the proper way strongly cautioned ]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdguari...ream/lightbox/

Believe it or not, this worked pretty well. The vents stayed clear,
the drilling was easier, and the holes didn't look burned.

The "system", even as hastily conceived as it was, allowed me to speed
through the task with confidence. And it has given me ideas for a more
permanent jig that I'll eventually build. I wonder now if that's not
the usual way such things are done: Rather that try to perfect a
device in theory, build a quick first attempt and use the lessons
learned to improve the permanent model.

Of course, "temporary" stuff can have a surprisingly long lifespan in
my house.