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My uncle in Spokane said to always pre-drill for pocket screws in maple, even with a jig.
I argued that my Kreg jig should handle it, but I tried it on a maple face frame last month and got a nasty split. He was totally right, the wood is just too hard and dense. Anyone have a go-to bit size for pre-drilling in hardwoods like that?
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iris_rivera441mo ago
Nah, you're all overcomplicating it. My Kreg jig works fine on maple every single time, no pre-drill. You just need a sharp, brand new bit and you can't rush the screw. If you're getting splits, you're probably forcing it or using a worn out drill bit. People blame the wood when it's usually user error, lmao. I've done dozens of face frames this way with zero issues.
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bettyk532mo ago
Ugh, my buddy learned this the hard way too. He was building a maple cabinet door with his Kreg jig and it just blew out the side, a clean split right along the grain. He was so mad. He started using a 1/16" bit to pre-drill the pilot hole first, just a quick little hole. It's a pain but it works. No more splits.
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