Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

I'm making some base cabinets later on in the month as we're replacing the kitchen. Ordered a pocket hole jig (kreg R3) to try and speed things up a bit, does anyone have experience and tips for using it? Or is it as simple as the videos make out to be.
 
Yeah I have that. It is just as quick as they suggest.

I found the Kreg clamp works well with it compared to regular clamps as it slots into the jig.
 
I've got a Kreg jig and it's been great. Make sure it's all clamped down really well and you've got the depth stop on the drill bit set to the right height - made that mistake once
 
I have a UKJ pockethole min jig which is a bit slower to use. I’ll probably get a full jig at some point. Pocket holes are good but they are prone pulling out of alignment as you tighten. I’ve tried various clamping arrangements whilst making my own kitchen cabinets but never quite satisfactory.

In the end because I was using 3/4 ply I just used pilot holed screwed joints with glue. In practice the glue is the joint and the screw is just holding whilst drying. Although I didn’t rely on screw to pull tight because the strength isn’t there. I added glue, clamped, screwed, then released clamp to next position. Worked well.

I like pocket holes, but in my experience you’ll get annoyed with it pulling out of alignment. Also you’ll need yo fill pockets with dowel or filler to stop moisture ingress.
 
You could use pocket holes in conjunction with dowels to get over the alignment problems and increase the strength dramatically as well. I have never used pocket holes, but most of the youtubers I watch seem to love them.
 
Any recommendations for a mulcher or something similar to shred the hedge trimmings? I have a garden shredder but it's only useful for twigs and just jams up with any leaf type stuff. Wondering if you can get something more aimed at leafs? We have a lot of hedges that need cutting and get about 5 bin bags doing just doing rhe front ones
 
@Mark A dowels for alignment take time, also they introduce there own alignment issues without a jig. The main point to consider is that by and large these tools aren’t needed for this application. Glue and simple screws is fine because there is no lateral or twisting forces. Building my own kitchen cabinets the only bit of carpentry I did was dados for the shelves to provide support with added benefit of strengthening whole cabinet. I did use pocket for a stretcher at the front because it was the right solution. Don’t overcomplicate the build.

I made mine from ply, in retrospect I could have gotten away with MDF and I would have been even more reliant on glue over screws. Upside of MDF would have been better surface finish for painting.

The build was relatively easy the pain I’ve had getting to tolerable (not even good) level of finish has been significant. Dry sanding, wet sanding. Two layers of undercoat, three layers of main coat and probably two layers of varnish to come. Plush with ply filling all the rip out on the exposed edges. Next time I paint before I assemble.
 
Yeah true, I guess it's not really needed for static cabinets, I tend to go overkill coming from a cabinet making background. For anything free standing I wouldn't rely on edge gluing and pocket screws though, I think dowels are a must then.

One little trick for aligning is something I learned from Paul Sellers. knock a couple of panel pins into the edge of one of the pieces you're joining together. Then cut them off slightly above the surface with some pincers. Then align the two pieces and tap them together with a mallet when you're happy with the placement. The pins should then hold the position of both pieces while you join them by whatever method.



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I got my dovetail saw today. The spine looks cheap in the pics, but it's not just cheap plastic, it has stainless steel dust mixed in with it to give it weight and glass fibre for rigidity and has a nice weighty feel to it. It's a marmite look, but i love the look of these saws. Feels really nice to hold as well, but I might just re-shape the handle a little at the back of the palm swell to make it a perfect fit.

This hobby is so expensive, but hopefully all these tools I am buying will last a lifetime.
 
Lovely saw Mark. I do like Veritas tools.

If you have deep pockets Skelton saws are highly recommended. Not had the pleasure of using one myself but seen a couple and the quality is truly stunning.

https://www.skeltonsaws.co.uk/

I might have a go at making a saw at some point in the future.
 
I have added that to my woodworking tools folder for when i win the lottery! The damascus steel backed saw is a work of art, but at £1200, I think it'll have to wait for now. That would be a great project to make a saw and I wouldn't be surprised if yours ended up as good as those.

NoobCannon said:
Stainless steel dust mixed in with plastic?? Never heard of that before
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Me neither, but thats what it says in the item description. You can tell it has metal particles in it as it actually feels cold to the touch and weighty.

The back of this saw is injection moulded under high pressure onto the blade and stainless-steel handle-mounting bolt. This forms a solid one-piece blade/spine/mount assembly. The material used for the back incorporates stainless-steel powder for weight, glass fibre for stiffness, and a polymer resin binder.
Click to expand...
 
Thats good to hear! I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but after feeling it in my hands I decided to grab the small crosscut saw as well as both were on offer on Tyzack tools for £46 and £47. I'd also love the tennon saw in both rip and crosscut, but that will have to wait.

I have also bought a cheap Japanese style pull saw from Amazon as I was curious to see what they're like. I'll probably just use this for my joinery work if it's any good. I like that the blade can be removed from the handle so it fits in my tool box. Looks like the stanley jet cut saw teeth, but in pull rather than push. The handle looks cheap, but is actually nice and solid with a thick rubber layer, unlike the rubber coating they often use on cheap tools.
 
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I know some cordless batteries in the cheaper brands are the same. Does anyone know if WORX ones are similar to anything else? I have some Parkside tools and wondering if they might fit. They don't look like they would but maybe some other batteries would.

Also anyone have an experience of the Worx Cordless pressure washer? I already have a Karcher but the Worx looks great for quickly cleaning bins and other things like that. Doesn't seem like a huge amount of choice
 
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