On Friday, January 12, 2018 at 3:24:15 PM UTC-6, Joseph Gwinn wrote:

I have never used this jig, but when I did my usual Amazon assessment by
reading thr one-star reviews, then too-star, and so on.

Joe Gwinn

I am glad you pointed that out. When a product only has 3% one star reviews, and 3% 2 star reviews, I just glance a them.

After reading you post I went to them and read all the reviews. It seems that at least most want a hard use, professionally engineered, metal jig with hardened drill inserts and infinitely adjustable location controls made from metal to meet their standards. When WoodPeckers release their jigs to that standard (such as their doweling jig), they are in the $500 - $700 cost range, when available. For my buddy, I doubt he will do more than 6 doors on this project.

This is a $30 jig that includes the bit. Could there be improvements? Sure. Hit that price point? Doubtful. Will any jig make everyone happy? Nope. BTW, reading the 4 star reviews, on most reviews I wasn't sure why they gave it a 4 instead of a five as the reviewers seemed pleased. And one of the guys that gave it three stars said that the bit didn't hold up when using it in his router...!!

The salient points made by Leon and Mike are certainly the most pertinent. (Thanks, guys!)

I found that the cams have 1mm click stop movement. No reports of them not being adjustable enough to work well, except in one of the one star reviews where one cabinet maker declared that sometimes it all comes down to 1/2 millimeter for accuracy. From a plastic jig with a hand held drill? Yeah, right. If it comes down to 1/2 of one millimeter (0.019") to make your projects correct when using a hand held plastic jig, then you should be doing brain surgery, not making cabinets. So, I will check Leon's box.

So Mike, your observation seems to have some merit as a few folks thought the forstner bits weren't sharp. This could be something, it could be nothing. Forstner bits weren't meant to be used by hand, so it's hard to get a good take on this one. On one hand I would doubt that the home woodworker would know that drilling hard white oak with this contraption by hand would be a bad idea, but on the other Kreg doesn't provide any warning about drilling really hard woods, small knots, or anything else. It also doesn't warn against running your drill at high speed. I think I will meet with him to check out the bit before he uses it if he gets the jig at WoodCraft.

While I can't find anything I like better, my complaint would be different from both of those. It has a scales on it to enable you to measure every time for accuracy. For me, the key to a good jig is its repeatability. I don't like the fact that this jig requires a manual placement each time it is used to determine the offset from the top or bottom of the door. I think Kreg licensed this from someone that was making it as there are multiple producers of this jig. Many Chinese stores on Aliexpress have this jig and have had it for some time. The Chinese version looks almost exactly like the Kreg but it has stop pins on it to speed the indexing and placement and comes with the 1/16" drill bit. With two adjacent sides positively indexed, you should probably be able use just one clamp in operation, which isn't available on the Kreg.

If my buddy was a little more trusting of his skills, I would help him do what I did when these jigs were almost impossibly expensive and still didn't work. First, with a bunch pf doors to do, I used my bench drill press and a lucite marking jig from Woodcraft. Then, a 35mm bit and a stop collar. Done.

These days, if I had just a few to do I would make my jig out of 1x4, with indexes in where I wanted them, and using the 1x4 setup as a guide, drill down with a bit/stop collar setup. Yes, the jig would only be good for one size hinge from one manufacturer but would be quick to make and test. Sadly, he is still at the phase of his woodworking experience where he feels he needs exactly the right store bought tool for the job, so a two sided frame of 1x4 with a template centered in it would be too much for him to trust.

Thanks for the input!

Robert