# AHHHHHHH make it stop! Kreg pocket hole jig commercial



## cliffton (Dec 18, 2009)

I work night shift and holy crap that Kreg pocket hole jig commercial is really annoying.

"with the pocket hole jig there is no need for special tools"

What the hell do they think the pocket hole jig is? and it aint even cheap. its like 100 freakin dollars.

/rant over i guess

cliff


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## RealtorJim (Nov 17, 2009)

I understand. But boy do I love my Kreg! I have to pull myself away from using it sometimes. It is just so darn quick and easy and seems like it can accomplish so much. I got mine when they first came out. It is a kit with right and left board wings. I don't believe they even make the model anymore. What a shame, it is so useful. Also, mine was A LOT less then! I guess popularity had pumped the price. If you can get one used I would suggest it. You will use it more than you think. There are also knock-offs, that is if the Kreg is not a knock off itself, at cheaper prices.


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## cabinetmaster (Aug 28, 2008)

You gatta have it…............you gotta get it


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## CedarFreakCarl (Apr 21, 2007)

Have you hugged your Kreg today?


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

I love working with mine.


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## hvroberts (May 31, 2009)

I've had mine for 2 or 3 years now. Paid around 30 for it at HD. Now you can't get one for less than 90. So mine is under lock & key. It's the only tool that I will not loan out, so please don't ask.


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## MarkwithaK (Sep 12, 2009)

I also love my Kreg but I haven't seen this commercial.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

The Kreg fixture is like nothing else for frame making. I love mine too!

( I never saw the commercial but they don't need to sell me on it)


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## cliffton (Dec 18, 2009)

It's basically like a billy mays commercial where they try to shill it like a cheap corner salesman.

granted i know the benefits of pocket hole joinery but its hard to take a company seriously after you see the commercial.


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## Kerux (Oct 7, 2007)

I concur that infomercials are a pain. But the Kreg jig is what they advertise!


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## lumberdustjohn (Sep 24, 2009)

Love mine, don't even use the hand model any more.
Had to get the electric model with a hand pull down clamp.
Much faster and nice holes.

The clamp up table was too much money so I built one like it.


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## bent (May 9, 2008)

i saw this a couple of weeks ago. don't get me wrong, i own and love the single hole clamp on kreg jig. but i can't believe there's enough of a market to justify making an infomercial(it was a 30 minute spot). i'm sure most woodworkers are already familiar with, if not already own, a pockethole jig. it also seems to be too much of a specialty tool for just the average homeowner to need. i've only seen the commercial once, makes me wonder what kind of success they're having with this marketing strategy. i think maybe a few nonwoodworkers will think it looks useful, buy it on a whim, and not use it. perhaps, we can look forward to seeing them slightly/never used for cheap at yardsales in the future?


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## boboswin (May 23, 2007)

*This begs the question:*
Has advertising reached the point where instead of informing the potential buyers they are actually inflaming them?

They played the Wiskas Cat food add so much here that I finally had to write the company.
It was a man pretending he was a cat and jumping up on furniture etc.
It showed about every 5 minutes it seemed during prime time shows on TV.

Bob


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

" i've only seen the commercial once, makes me wonder what kind of success they're having with this marketing strategy. i think maybe a few nonwoodworkers will think it looks useful, buy it on a whim, and not use it."

My skills are such that some might call me a "non-woodworker" but mine will NEVER end up in a yard sale…as long as I'm still kickin'.

As to their marketing strategy, They make many more great products and their infomercials may pay off when folks purchase more of their less intensely advertised tools. I know, I bought their miter gauge simply because their pocket hole jig is so well thought out, well constructed and useful. BTW, that miter gauge is a dream!


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## RedShirt013 (May 17, 2008)

The infomercials probably wouldn't backfire. For people in the trade or woodworkers like us, we already know the benefits and its value, and the quality of Kreg products. The infomercials are intended for our loved ones, mainly those who believe and trust infomercials and guys like Billy Meys, so they can buy it, for us.


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## PetVet (Nov 7, 2008)

I love mine so much I'd marry her, but then you guys would give me a hard time having a wife named Kreg…


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

Hmmmmm….Rich. Gives "Pocket screwing" a whole 'nother perspective.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

I've always said that the quickest way to get me to NOT buy something would be to have Billy May (or that Shamwow idiot) tell me about it - and repeat the phone number three (or more) times.

I'm glad that I never saw that commercial 'cause my K3 is one of the handiest tools I've ever bought.


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## PetVet (Nov 7, 2008)

See what I mean, Gene has already started the lewd jokes about my wife's pocket hole…


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## KregRep (Mar 20, 2009)

Hello, everyone! Just wanted to drop by this thread and let this great community know a little bit more about the Kreg Jig infomercial and why we think it's an important thing for Kreg and for the woodworking industry in general. Over the years, we've all seen the decline in woodworking… less prevalent in our schools and consequently less craftsman, hobbyists, working in the real world, etc. As a company who owes everything it has to the woodworking community, we want to see this trend stop more than just about anyone. This infomercial is a way for us to expand the audience of our tools and consequently the industry as a whole. To get average DIY'ers and homeowners excited about building their own furniture/storage/crafts again.

The Kreg Jig is more than just a great tool for advanced woodworkers to build projects faster, easier, and stronger than they might have been able to do with traditional techniques… It seems to be uniquely intriguing to beginners and DIY'ers as well. In recent years, we kept receiving letters and emails from non-woodworkers, DIY'ers who were proclaiming how the Kreg Jig had changed their lives… how it had taken a hobby that once seemed daunting, confusing, intimidating, and turned it into something that seemed approachable. The Kreg Jig had taken away their fear of 'woodworking' and let them focus instead on 'building wood projects' at their own speed and skill level.

The infomercial has given us an exciting opportunity to reach out to more of these DIY'ers and ordinary homeowners to try and convince them that woodworking isn't to be feared and that they can do it too if they just give it a try. As such, the infomercial isn't targeted just at experienced woodworkers, so may seem overly simplistic to some, but to a much less advanced audience, the message speaks clearly. So far, the approach has been very successful and we're proud to say that we've created many new woodworkers during the past year.

If you're at all interested in seeing what these DIY'ers/Homeowners and now… maybe…. woodworkers are building, come check it out at http://kregjig.ning.com and maybe even offer your advice and welcome to these beginners! I'm sure they'd sincerely appreciate your kind words!


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## Knothead62 (Apr 17, 2010)

I got an import pocket hole deal for less than 20 bucks at a surplus store. I found out that HD carries the same thing for $29.99. Replacement bits, screws, etc. are on peghooks in the hardware department.


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## Chelios (Jan 2, 2010)

I love my kreg! man that is a good reliable system. It is quick and strong for those jobs where there is not a lot of time. I don't think any less of work done with kreg joinery. It is solid. If I have time I would rather do M&Ts because I like cutting them but otherwise pocketholes are great!


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## SouthpawCA (Jul 19, 2009)

I've actually looked for the commercial. I must be the only one who hasn't seen it. I love my Kreg jig when used appropriately (read that as not used on reproduction period furniture).


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## woodchic (Mar 17, 2009)

I haven't seen the commercial that you are talking about either…..........(don't feel like the Lone Ranger Don)! But I do have a pocket jig from Kreg….........I love it, that is what I have been using to build my kitchen cabinets, along with other tools of course…..............But my little pocket jig is such a handy dandy little thing, I absolutely LOVE IT!!!

AKA…........Woodchic


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## KregRep (Mar 20, 2009)

Thanks for all of the great support, LumberJocks!

For those of you looking to see the Infomercial for yourselves, you can get a taste of it on YouTube:


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## Stevinmarin (Dec 24, 2009)

In full disclosure, Kreg asked me to make a video using the jig. I gotta say that they are the most laid-back folks you can imagine. Never once did they tell me what they wanted to see in the video. They didn't even ask to screen it before I posted it on YouTube and LJ. Just, "have fun with it and see what you come up with". That's pretty brave! And in the end, I am a total convert. I can totally see how anyone could use it for all sorts of projects, not just woodworkers.

Steve


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## SteveMI (May 19, 2009)

I got the $30 Junior to try the system out and within a couple weeks sprung for the K3. When you have a product that a customer isn't specifying a particular joint, this is the quickest thing under the sun. Even saw a video of Charles Neil with the Kreg and him questioning a lot of the M&T he did in his life that could have been done just as well with a Kreg joint.

My biggest push to try Kreg was in making occasional tables. Finally conquered mortises and tenons, but probably one out of 4 table glue ups would end up with a leg couple degrees slanted. Dry fit was perfect, just variation in the fixturing for glue ups. Then they had to be retrofitted to without a drawer, spend a lot of time trying to get them to stand without wobble or cut the table down from the fire pit. Now I just use a shallow sliding mortise in the leg at apron thickness and attach with pocket screws. More than a dozen tables without an issue. And no time waiting for glue drying (even if you glue with Kreg, no clamps required and just keep working on the product) and no loss of shop area for the clamp monstrosities.

Steve.


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## bobbyt99 (Jan 16, 2010)

We used to get a show here on the "Home and Garden" channel. The show was called "In the Workshop". The guy was pretty good but the show didn't last. Unlike Norm, this guy (I forget his name) spent more time rhyming off measurments and in doing so it got pretty confusing. BUT… he DID use his Kreg a LOT. That's where I first saw it and thought it was the neatest thing I ever saw. I never even heard about pocket holes before seeing this and decided that I just HAD to have one. I went to the Kreg website where they had a lot of videos showing what could be done with this absolute must have jig. I ordered the whole set that they were selling back then… the main jig with the clamp, another smaller version with two holes - I think it was called the Rocket - and then another small, one hole version - I think they called it the "pocket rocket". It all came in a neat carrying case which I've never used - I have mine hanging close by on the wall. I've rarely used the remote 2 hole jig… have used the small one hole version once, but ALWAYS use the main jig. As someone else stated… mine has the wings. This is one of the best tools I've ever invested in. I remember my cost being a little over $200.00. Money well spent.

-Bobby


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## cbMerlin (Jan 13, 2009)

Anyone noticed what you get when you spell "Kreg" backwards? Kinda how I felt making pocket holes before I bought my Kreg! (ya, ya, ya, I know the spelling is not exact, but then I learned to read Phonetically)


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

I find my pocket hole jig occasionally and its a very helpful tool but its not a Kreg nor did it cost anywhere near what the cheapest Kreg costs even if you go back 2 or 3 yrs.


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

I use kreg jigs on a daily basis and also have the pneumatic borer. The only things I want different is the bits to last longer or be a lot cheaper, and the collars to be easily adjusted without stripping the screw. Once the screw is stripped it's garbage because it slips on the bit and drills to deep. You wont find out until your screw goes through the finished face. The collar also gets extreme wear. The collars should also be as easily obtainable as the bit itself. I need three collars right now, and don't have time to track them down. I bought a set of collars from Grizzly and that was a waist of money. So I put tape around the bit under the collar to help stop it from moving. It's working for now, but a ridiculous idea as a professional.


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