by noseoil » Thu Oct 14, 2021 8:47 am
I don't own a pocket jig & don't have much use for one myself. When I started building cabinets early in the dark ages, they didn't exist & weren't available anyway. I see too many people rely on them for structural fastenings without understanding the strength of materials they're using. A proper rabbet joint with fasteners from two directions & glue will always be a stronger joint than a "butt joint" with fasteners from two directions at an angle. Granted, in some applications it is strong enough for a pocket type of joint, once it's reinforced with another material supporting the joint from a different plane, but I just don't see a need for them in my work.
As a case in point, face frames are made with pocket screws now by a lot of people, but a simple dowel joint with glue & pins will work quite well. Once the face frame is fastened to the cabinet with nails & glue, the joint is reinforced by the body of the cabinet. With a simple doweling machine & pencil marks from the layout stick to mark pieces, it's much faster to build than using a pocket jig. Will post a picture of my setup for face frames & attach it later today.
Through-fastening from outside the walls with screws is a better joint than trying to put pocket screws in at an angle from the inside & into a relatively thin piece of plywood. YMMV!