Pull up to the hardware store aisle, where you have a box in front of you for joinery tools. There’s one box labeled “Porter Cable 560,” a custom jig known for its simplicity. There’s another box labeled “Kreg Pocket Hole Jig,” which is a familiar name in this field.
What do you want to build? Something solid. But what do you buy?
Choosing Between Porter Cable and Kreg Jigs
Choosing the Right Joinery Tool
More than a product, you’re buying a way of working that will either help or hinder your building process, requiring adjustments. A lot of times it’s just about whether or not something is flexible versus focused. One does a bunch of stuff (but not necessarily all that well) and the other do one thing but really well.
Understanding Flexibility vs Focus
Knowing that makes you evaluate a project different. You no longer seek out additional features. Instead, you look at what will fit your requirements.
Consistency and Ease of Use
Sometimes the right tool make a simple frame go together easily. Sometimes the wrong tool makes a simple frame hard to put together and makes joints messy. Consistency were the theme of the Kreg jig.
A clamping system keep wood firmly in place as it drills out angled holes. The guide plate has various settings based off wood thickness. To use it, you simply need to find the right slot and hope your wood fit that measurement.
Rush through this process and you can easily miss a check and have loose joints. In contrast, the Porter Cable 560 are a different story. It’s a simpler tool.
Speed and Simplicity Advantages
The no frills approach appeal to many users. A lot of users like that you don’t have to buy a second clamp just for your jig. Often, you can get positioned and drill without additional hardware steps.
For fast drilling applications such as quick repairs on a wobbly chair or building a basic frame, this speed increase matter. It eliminates unnecessary set up steps. More setting are good, right?
Drilling Angles and Configuration
Well, fewer settings is often good for speed too. The screws and glue hold well at a 15 degree angle (standard jig angle) so both jigs shoot for this spot. Kreg is pretty specific on where they want the collar and bit length to get proper depth.
Users of Porter Cable often find that they can get away with minor differences in their bit configuration without issue and I think that’s because the jig has some wiggle room. When you’re making things from scrap pieces of wood or material that isn’t even, being able to play around like that is important. Not everything in your shop are perfectly lumber-y.
Glue Application and Ergonomics
In practice, there is a real difference in how glue application work for each system. In many cases, applying glue to a kreg system involve reaching your hand into the pocket hole. This can be awkward.
Some of the new ones are better about that now…but still, you end up using some sort of squeeze bottle pointed downward, or a glue brush. The porter cable design often allow for easier access to the hole prior to driving the screw. That means you can simply dab right inside without twisting your wrist around.
It is a small ergonomic victory, but it adds up when you’re doing dozens and dozens of holes. The Kreg screws are great and branded by them. So you get both fine and coarse threaded screws that bite into hardwood and soft wood.
Screw Options and Accessibility
For the Porter Cable user, you can stick with the branded screws or go with a standard pocket hole screw. That’s an added benefit of being able to work with what you’ve got in your tool box. With Porter Cable, you don’t have to purchase a special kit.
It was easier to get started. If you’re a weekend warrior and don’t feel like making a trip to the store to grab some supplies before building something, it help. You should also consider durability.
Durability and Maintenance
Both jigs are constructed from tough metal and plastic but they fare different over time. If you make a few hundred hole with one without maintaining your tool, those Kreg guides will eventually wear out (typically not a problem for hobbyist). The Porter Cable 560 is very durable and easy to clean.
There are fewer moving parts to catch sawdust, which makes the mechanism less likely to clog up. Being simple makes it easy to clean, and a clean jig is an accurate jig. That’s where it comes down to volume, but more importantly, to patience.
For someone who builds cabinets for a living, Kreg may save you time in the long run. For someone who repairs furnitures on Saturday afternoons, Porter Cable’s speed is probably what you’re looking for. You should of considered that.
You don’t just buy a tool, you buy a method. Choose one whose pace matches yours and your joints will be just fine.