Shopsmith Forums

I've been putting the jig together and well I'm not to happy. There are a couple of things having to do with those fold out tool holders. There is a part called the dock adapter that has two logo looking pins that are undercut so when you mount them they should slide into a locking position. One side works OK the other side was a real pain to get to the locking position. After a few on and off operations it better but still requires something to pry it over into the locking position and then to the unlock position. Not a good engineering solution in my opinion.

Then after you get them mounted you engage the hinges, they are a thin plastic and I don't see them lasting long. Plus now you might have to slide those locking parts with the tool containers attached..... and once you add things to the tool compartments this is asking for failure. And yes you do need to remove the containers in order to flip the jig to horizontal drilling. And yes you may have to take those hinges apart on a regular bases, so good luck with all of this.

The second issue is there is no grips/feet on the jig so you will have to clamp it. They provide a screw clamp that fits in one of the tool holders. It has to be screwed in to fit, then you have to expand the clamp to fit the bench you are clamping to. Once done you have to again screw it in to fit in the compartment. You do have the option of mounting it to board which is what I did with my K4 jig. Of course you will have to be unmounted to flip over to the other position........ which has no mounting holes.......

I have also heard that the K4 and K5 will be dropped from the product line. If you want one of those then you might find some deal before they are gone.

The good news is that this has some good features over the K4, mainly that you don't have to try and reach around to clamp larger panels, and the clamping system is a couple of steps better being self-adjusting for the most part.

Had I know about the hinges and lego parts I might have opted for the none pro kit. But now that I have it I'll live with it. And I am looking forward to actually using the jig this spring.

Ed

After having another day to play with the jig I can say that things are loosening up and working better with the those "lego" parts. I can now get both sides locked and unlocked without tools.

I think it might be useful to show some pictures so you can see the parts involved. I removed one of the "wings" so you can see inside and this makes everything much clearer.

This first picture is the main jig and the slotted holes that the "lego" part fits in.
This next picture is the "lego" sort of part with the posts that "fit the slots", well more or less.
In this shot the two parts are mated and locked in position.
Next is the thin plastic hing on the storage box wings.
And finally the other portion of the hinge that resides on the "lego" part.
I'll be moving it to the shop tomorrow and hope to get a chance to try some drilling next week. Shop is a toasty 35 degrees right now.

Ed

When you drill a pocket hole will the bit extend thru the work piece and into the plastic base?

rsefczek wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:33 pm When you drill a pocket hole will the bit extend thru the work piece and into the plastic base?

It can but it should not. If this happens, either the depth stop (on the bit) is set wrong or is missing.

Yes if you have the drill bit collar set to deep you will put a hole in the fixture. With the new jig you only have to set the collar the rest is taken care of for you.

BTW I'm really loving the new clamping handle, I still have to drill holes but did play with some different thickness stock and adjusting the clamping pressure. As delivered it was too tight for my liking so a quick turn of the dial and it is now the way I want it.

Ed

The video below has some ideas for making a custom base to hold the KREG 720PRO. Thought this might be of interest for anyone that has purchased this new pocket hole jig from KREG.

I had an opportunity to see and use one of these at a demo put on by Woodcraft. If I was still working in the shop as I used to, I would buy one of these in a heart beat. Neat tool to have in the shop especially of you build a lot of furniture.

He did a nice job on the addition. I bookmarked his web site to check out later.

I like the fact that mine folds up because it has a pigeon hole to fit into. Not using for long periods of time means that I don't want it sitting around out somewhere. If I had more room it might be different.

Thanks for posting the link.

Ed