Porter Cable Quick Jig 560

[Cooler]

Is anyone using Porter-Cable's pocket hole jig?  It is $160.00 on Amazon and looks like a substantial piece of equipment.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ADJQTO/?ta...w6fs2fdx_b

[Arlin Eastman]

I have never seen it before but to me and it is just my openion that I could do with the cheaper Kregs then this. 

[Cooler]

The equivalent Kreg is only $10.00 cheaper.  Not much of a difference.

[WaterlooMarc]

No first has experience but I went down the YouTube rabbit hole the other when I first saw this. (Even though I understand it’s a few years old) I have to say that even though I think Porter Cable was destroyed by black and decker this looks like a pretty slick set up. I like that you don’t have to tinker with different thicknesses of wood. I very rarely pocket hold so no reason for me to switch over from my Kreg but if I were buying new I’d switch.

[Cooler]

I ordered one.  I will report back after I've had a chance to use it.  It comes with a clamp, a drill bit and a square drive bit.  It is made from cast aluminum.  My old Kreg setup is cast aluminum but it only handles thinner material.  I had to remove the clamp and use a c-clamp to fasten 2 x 4s.  A tedious process.

This also seems heavy enough to support the stock.  My Kreg setup keeps falling over when I clamp larger pieces.

[wrb]

Look forward to your review. I may go down this path too but don’t use pocket joiner much.

[Cooler]

Unboxing.  

The jig arrived yesterday.  I've taken out of the box.  It is a very substantial piece about 10" x 10" by about 12" tall.  It has provision to mount it to a bench or a wide piece of flat stock or mount it to the wall.  I might try the wall option.  It sounds good to me.  

It came with a vise-grip type clamp, two square drive bits (one about 3" long and the other about 6" long.  There are storage receptacles on board to hold the square drive bits.  

It came with a very long drill bit, probably because it can handle thick materials.

The drill bit has a built in  storage area which incorporates a guide for attaching the depth stop.

It included samples of screws in three sizes.

And it included an instruction manual.

For years I've been telling people that pocket hole joinery is so intuitive that two holes and 5 minutes is the total learning curve.

Not so with this unit.  I will have to read the manual to see how to use it.  

It has two bushings.  One is fixed and the other one can move laterally, so you can adjust the distance between holes from 3/4" to 1½".  

The rest is is a mystery until I read the manual.  On the left there is a thickness gage.  I assume that I have to dial in the thickness of the material.  But I don't know if it is the thickness of the vertical or the horizontal material if they are not the same.

There is an adjustable stop on the right that will allow you to place the screw holes uniformly on narrow stock (like face frames).  It also moves out the the way for sheet goods.

My old Kreg jig (pre-blue plastic, cast aluminum) has a clamp that does not hold its setting (I suppose I could find a replacement somewhere).  It does not have enough substance to balance a large sheet of plywood (say 12" x 36" x 3/4") so that operation is always clumsy.  

I see the the Master Jig from Kreg (on Rockler) for the same price as I paid for the Porter Cable.  It is roughly equivalent.  They both include the clamp, bit and some sample screws.  The PC seems much, much more substantial and I like the mounting options.  If it works as advertised it seems like a better deal and a better engineered unit.  Certainly cast aluminum is more durable than blue plastic.

I have a new medicine cabinet to make in the next couple of weeks, and I plan on using this for the carcass.  The screws will be hidden between the studs.  I will add to this report at that time.  

Forgot to mention, it has a hook up for a shop vac.  I will have to get an adapter for my dust collector.

[Maple Leaf]

I've had one for a couple of years. Although I don't use pocket screws much, I'd buy it again. It does exactly what it's supposed to. Accurate, safe, repeatable. I think you'll like it.

[Cooler]

I've had one for a couple of years. Although I don't use pocket screws much, I'd buy it again. It does exactly what it's supposed to. Accurate, safe, repeatable. I think you'll like it.

A couple of years ago?  I didn't even know it existed until a couple of weeks ago.

[loosetoe]

It came out at the same time as porter cables current omnijig dovetail jigs, so 2007-2008 timeframe.