You know how a shelf or piece of DIY furniture just looks more “pro” when there are no visible screw heads on the surface?
The classic way to hide screw heads is to drill a counterbore, drive the screw, and plug the hole with a wooden dowel (I cover this method at the end of the article). But it’s surprisingly fiddly.
That’s where the Kreg pocket hole jig comes in.
I’ve been doing woodworking DIY for over 15 years, and I can honestly say this is one of the most user-friendly tools I’ve ever used.
In this article, I walk through how to use the Kreg pocket hole jig with a real example. By the end, you’ll know what it can do and the one critical thing to watch out for.
If you want to hide screw heads cleanly without any complicated joinery, the pocket hole jig is hard to beat.
Heads up: as I’ll mention below, you really do want a clamp to use this safely and accurately.
<What you’ll need>
・Kreg pocket hole jig
・Cordless drill/driver
・Clamp
I’ll cover each below.
What Can a Pocket Hole Jig Do?
In short: it lets you screw boards together so the screw heads stay completely hidden from the visible side — perfect for shelves, cabinets, frames, and most furniture builds.
How it works
You clamp the jig to your board, and use the included specialty drill bit to drill a steep angled pilot hole. That gives you a “pocket” you can drive a screw through from the inside, at an angle into the mating board.
(You’ll need a cordless drill/driver to spin the bit.)
Because the screw enters from the inside, the outside face of your project stays completely clean — and the joint is plenty strong.
The model I bought is the simplest one in the lineup — the Kreg Pocket-Hole Jig 310.
It’s a single-hole jig that costs much less than the multi-hole versions, and it’s been more than enough for my home woodworking projects.
Important: clamp the jig down
One thing you absolutely should not skip — clamp the jig firmly to your workpiece before drilling.
Trying to hold it by hand is unstable and unsafe.
Clamps are useful for tons of other woodworking tasks too, so picking one up is a worthwhile investment beyond just this jig.
Cordless drill/driver
I currently use a HiKOKI cordless drill/driver (HiKOKI is the rebranded name of the former Hitachi Koki). For DIY home use, any reputable brand — Makita, DeWalt, HiKOKI, Bosch, Milwaukee — will do the job perfectly.
For weekend DIYers like us, cordless is the way to go. The freedom to move around your project without dragging a cord around is huge.
Step-by-Step: Using the Pocket Hole Jig
Now let’s go through an actual example, step by step.
For this demo, I’m joining two boards at a 90° angle — a really common situation when building shelves or cabinets.
Step 1: Check the board thickness
Use the included gauge to measure your board’s thickness.
In my case, the board lines up with “19” on the gauge (19mm / about 3/4″), so I slide the jig’s stopper to the “19” setting.
Step 2: Set the depth-stop ring on the drill bit
Next, slide the included stop collar onto the drill bit and tighten it at the “19” mark.
Step 3: Position and clamp the jig
With the depth set, place the jig on the board where you want to drill.
Butt the stopper against the board edge…
…then lock everything down with a clamp.
Step 4: Drill the pocket hole
Chuck the Kreg drill bit in your driver and drill straight down through the jig.
Drive the bit until the depth collar contacts the jig — and you’re done. You’ll have both a pilot hole and a counterbore for the screw head, in one shot:
Place the second board against the first and drive your screw.
And just like that, the boards are locked together. From the inside, you can see the angled pocket:
From the outside? Completely clean — no screw heads in sight.
That’s the whole process.
My takeaway after using it: with the jig clamped down, drilling is rock-solid — no wandering, no skating around. Compared to the dowel-plug method I’ll cover next, it’s significantly faster, and the joint is plenty strong.
This tool is going to be a regular part of my DIY toolkit going forward.
Reference: How to Hide Screws Without a Pocket Hole Jig
For comparison, here’s the traditional method — driving a screw normally and plugging it with a dowel. This is what I used for years before getting the Kreg jig.
Drill a shallow counterbore (typically 10mm / about 3/8″ diameter) where the screw will go.
Drive the screw, then put a dab of wood glue in the hole and tap a matching dowel (10mm diameter wooden plug) into place.
Saw off the protruding dowel, then sand the surface flush.
It’s more work than pocket holes, but the result looks great too — and unlike pocket holes, there’s no opening on the inside face either. So if both faces of the wood are visible (like a tabletop edge), this is still a useful technique to know.
Wrapping Up
That was a hands-on look at the Kreg pocket hole jig.
For the record, I’m not affiliated with Kreg in any way — I’m just sharing it because it’s genuinely good.
(I’ve also seen cheaper knockoffs around. I haven’t tried any, so if you have, please let me know how they hold up in the comments!)
Even the simple Pocket-Hole Jig 310 isn’t exactly cheap (around $40 USD), but if you want clean, screw-head-free joints without a lot of fuss, it’s hard to beat. Hope this helps anyone considering one.
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