Got a Kreg K3 Pocket Hole Jig and was surprised to see their strong recommendation to use a 2000 RPM corded drill. Their claim is that this is required to prolong the life of the drill bit and that even a 1500 RPM drill is less than optimum. I have several 3/8″ drills – corded and cordless – that range from 1100 to 1500 RPM but nothing in the 2000 RPM range. What do you use or recommend? (I did see a Gary Katz video on the Kreg site and he was using a variety of cordless drills and what looked like a Sioux corded drill motor.) Thanks for any suggestions.
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Cordless seems to work fine.
I've never tried it with a highspeed to compare tho.
I have seen Kreg's recommendation. I have a 1/2" chuck hammer drill by Milwaukee and when it's on its high (drill only) setting I'm sure it's more that 2000 RPM. When I think to use it, I do but it's in the shop and I often have a cordless handier and those are no where near 2000 rpm. Gary Katz uses a cordless and Gary Streigler uses a cordless on the Kreg video. My own feeling is that although 2000+ rpm might be optimal, the Kreg bit is high quality steel and will most likely last a good long time at a lower RPM.
While I agree that cordless drills should be fine it is nice to have small high speed drill motor in the shop.
I have a sweet small corded Milwaukee that is perfect for on top of the shop table.
Yup, I use a cheap air drill when I need speed and not a lot of torque.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I have a sweet small corded Milwaukee that is perfect for on top of the shop table.
Me too. Gotta be 30 years old.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
I picked up a cheapo corded Dewalt on clearance at HD (just under $50) for use with the Kreg kit. I noticed a difference on quickness of finishing the hole and the higher speed kept the chips and sawdust out of the jig better than the lower speed battery drill I had been using.
For occasional use, the lower speed drill is fine but if you'll use the kit often or have even a single project with alot of pocket holes get the higher rpm drill.
My 2 cents. -Norm
I have a cheapie corded drill dedicated to a kreg bit that runs I think at 1200 RPM. It snapped 2 kreg bits last year in a couple thousand holes ( or at least that's how many screws I bought]. If a higher speed drill would get better bit mileage it may be a good investment at $15 per drill bit
The only difference I notice between using corded and cordless drills is that the corded will drill the hole a little faster. Its probably the extra torque a corded drill has.
For me, there doesn't seem to be any real difference in the quality of the hole, or how long the bit lasts, between the 2 types of drills.
I've been using the same bit with nothing but cordless drills for years. But I'm not that heavy of a user.Steve
Hitachi make a corded drill runs at 2500 rpm and works great with the kreg kit. You can use the craftsman auto switch to control the vacuum if your using the dust collector which does help with drilling. The faster speed is better for the drill bit.
Make sure the drill bit is spinning before it touches the wood. Kreg will resharpen your old kreg bits for about $3ish.
I have a Milwaukee 3/8 corded hammerdrill I re-dedicated to the Kreg since I got rotary hammers and several cordless hammer drills. I can't remember the speed but it is up there in the Kreg suggested range. I either use my Fein vac or one of the Craftsman switches with one of my other vacs. That is one big plus for the corded.
Obviously using it in non-hammer mode.
I've never read the directions for my kreg jig.
I figured out how to use it by watching someone else use theirs.
Hmmmmmmm........get man points for not reading, but lose for doing wrong!October 17th, 2009
Jeremy and Lisa
Was there ever any doubt?
My extensive tool "collection" gets me more man points than I'll ever need.The fact that I actually use them all (most of em...) put's me squarely in the extra credit category.Julian
I've had my kreg set for three or four years. When I'm doing something that takes a lot of pocket screws, I use my corded drill for the drill bit, and my cordless for the screws. That makes for quick work since there are no bit changes. And my corded drill does not run at or above 2000RPM.
When I have only a few pockets to do, or when I find myself at a jobsite and reaching for the jig, I just use the cordless for both tasks.
And after four years, there are times when I start to think that the bit might be getting a little dull. So. sometime this spring, I probably buy a new bit. What's that gonna be... $15? Not a bad price for four years work.
I've used makita cordless, and Milwaulkee 3/8" and 1/2" corded drills. I like the ease of teh cordless but maybe thats why I'm on my 3rd bit.
How fast will a pnuematic drill spin?
ML
I drilled literally thousands of pocket holes with a Craftsman 19.2 cordless hammer drill and it worked relatively well, snapped 1 bit in that time though it was on the dull side. I recently picked up a 20 dollar corded drill at Sears that runs at 2500 rpm to use for pocket holes, though I've recently started using dowels and splines more for some reason.
I also use a corded drill to run the Kreg drill bit. It is a lot faster than the 15.6 Panasonic on high range. I've got an older 0-2100 rpm 3/8" Bosch that works really well. My favorite drill motor to use with the Kreg Jig is the 0-1300 rpm 3/8" Sioux. I prefer the ergonomics because it is so much easier to find the hole in the jig when I'm holding the drill motor just behind the chuck. Close = control.Screws are driven with a cordless drill or impact driver on "soft" setting.Bill