Kreg Jigs: Where are the deals?

[TiminIndy]

I've been keeping my eye open for a deal on a Kreg Jig set, but there never seems to be any decent deals. Usually, if I want something and I'm patient, I can get a good price on ebay or Craig's list, but it seems like everyone selling these on ebay wants full retail, and even when I see a used one, they want close to full price. I guess once most people get these, they never git rid of them!

I think I want the K4, but I suppose the R3 would serve most of my purposes.

[fgarvin]

There was a posting I just read for the K4 master system. It was on sale at woodcraft. The person put it in their cart for the online store and brought the print out to Lowes for a price match and 10% difference. It worked out to be slightly north of $100. But I believe the woodcraft sale was this past weekend, since I don't see it listed on the site as on sale.

[10sCoachRick]

10% off at Lowe's on the K4 is about the best 'standard' deal out there. Our WoodCraft still has a few K3 Master kits(my preference) @ 139 but they just finished their sale. I would go for the Master kits to get the 'extra' goodies that come in handy, rather than the more basic kit.

Rather than lowering the sale price, it looks like Rockler and WoodCraft have an extra clamp or other 'Gift With Purchase' to sweeten the deal from time to time. Good luck...it's a great system.

If you haven't already, drop by this site for a comprehensive discussion on all things Kreg. Have fun!!!

http://kregjig.ning.com/forum

[TiminIndy]

I'm a bargain hunter and I like to buy things gently used when possible (I'm cheap). It looks like a great system and a must have for some projects I have planned, but $100 just seems like a lot to pay for a hand tool to me. I guess someone has to pay for the infomercials!

Harbor Freight has a copy cat from Drill Master, but it's not that much less ($65).



I like that this one is made of aluminum, but I don't think it comes with as many goodies. Description didn't say much, but I found this in the reviews:

Harbor Freight doesn't tell you it comes with a step drill bit and collar, four small packets of pocket screws and is has a portable L clamp that allows you to make pocket holes at another location if the jig is permanently mounted.

[LCHIEN]

kreg doesn't discount and i think they have agreements with their authorized resellers not to discount. Rather they offer free additional bits, screws, clamps etc as incentives to sweeten the deal, when there is an offer.

The kreg quality is very good, reviews I've seen rate the Kreg stuff better than the other pocket-hole kits so I decided to go with them rather than some copy-cat.

[Cochese]

kreg doesn't discount and i think they have agreements with their authorized resellers not to discount. Rather they offer free additional bits, screws, clamps etc as incentives to sweeten the deal, when there is an offer.

The kreg quality is very good, reviews I've seen rate the Kreg stuff better than the other pocket-hole kits so I decided to go with them rather than some copy-cat.

Right on all aspects. I'm usually the first to tell people they don't need to spend something, and I'll seem like a bit of a hypocrite for saying it, but you truly do get what you pay for with the Kreg jigs.

Haven't tried competitor's screws yet though. The Amazon deals for the 1000ct buckets look to be the best deal for the Kregs.

[10sCoachRick]

I'm a bargain hunter and I like to buy things gently used when possible (I'm cheap). It looks like a great system and a must have for some projects I have planned, but $100 just seems like a lot to pay for a hand tool to me. I guess someone has to pay for the infomercials!

Harbor Freight has a copy cat from Drill Master, but it's not that much less ($65).



I like that this one is made of aluminum, but I don't think it comes with as many goodies. Description didn't say much, but I found this in the reviews:

If you can work the HF 20% coupon on their model, that looks like a 'bargain' approach to the system. Another economical approach would be to buy just the jig, bit and driver from Kreg and adapt your own clamps. Not as much fun if you're into any sort of 'production' work.

I have to say, once you set up the Kreg kit and hook up the shop vac, you can make a BUNCH of holes in short order!

Again, 10% off at Lowe's looks to be the best 'everyday' deal on Kreg products(Cochese is correct about the 1000pk screws from the 'zon. I've got a couple of boxes that will last quite a while...pretty fair discount, free shipping and no tax ) .

[10sCoachRick]

Here's the latest offer from Rockler:

http://www.rockler.com/logon/V1949la...da75431c39f62&

Not outstanding, but better than a poke in the eye!

[Poobah]

I bought the Kreg K4 master kit too after considering the Harbor Freight unit.

However, to me the only real alternative to the Kreg kit is the Sommerfeld/CMT pocket hole kit or the new Sommerfeld unit. Here you get the same level of quality at the Harbor Freight price.

http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/Pocke...oductinfo/EZP/

http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/Easy-...tinfo/EZPLATE/

http://www.sommerfeldtools.com/New-A...ductinfo/31PC/

Might check out their clearance page too. The old pocket kit could be there too.

Also +1 on the 1000ct screw kits on Amazon (with prime no less).

[DaveS]

I think the "20% off one item" Rockler coupon is good on Kreg items.

That should help a little...

[pelligrini]

Our WoodCraft still has a few K3 Master kits(my preference) @ 139 but they just finished their sale. I would go for the Master kits to get the 'extra' goodies that come in handy, rather than the more basic kit.

I just noticed that the K3 Master is still $139 on the woodcraft website, also stating "While Supplies Last!".

I like my K3 Master. The accessories are nice, but I think the clamp on the front is the best feature. I made a little bracket to quickly clamp the whole assembly in my face vice on my bench. I sure wouldn't want to have to reach around to the rear of the jig to clamp anything.

[JimD]

I've purchased two pocket hold jigs, neither Kreig. The first one was a simple two hold, clamp it place jig without a drill bit or anything. It was a waste of money. The second one is reviewed in this article:

http://woodworking.about.com/od/reco...PSI_PHJIG3.htm

The HF looks similar but doesn't appear to adjust for material of different thicknesses - a key requirement. If you can find one with all the features of what Penn State used to sell for significantly less than the Kreig, it is a good jig. I frankly don't know if it is as good as a Kreig or maybe even has advantages over the Kreig. But I know it is a "good enough" jig for me. The locking pliers clamp it came with is a bit difficult to adjust, it doesn't hold settings well, but otherwise I have no complaints. It came in a nice storage box.

It probably makes sense to just buy Kreig. If the HF doesn't adjust for different thicknesses, as appears to be the case, I would skip it. You could shim the wood into position or something but for the price difference, I wouldn't mess with it.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

Metal Vs. plastic Pocket hole Jig

A Kreg plastic Jig might have some thinking that a all-metal jig is better.

I think my kreg jig is built to last, however - the drill guides are all steel and should wear at least as well as the HF which looks like aluminum body parts with steel guides.

In the comparison the plastic body is made of a high quality plastic and features are molded in that cost a lot to machine - such as the steps for the different height positions.

Designing and building the molds for plastic bodies are expensive requiring expensive tooling - for low volumes the amortized cost of several hundred thousand dollars of tooling can make the units prohibitively expensive and that's why all the Kreg imitators have simpler metal jigs. Only Kreg has put the investment into tooling to get better overall features and accuracy without sacrificing durability.

Ultimately they will have paid off the tooling costs and will make more money per unit than the other guys, but that's OK with me for them having taken te risks.

Anyway, that's my take.

[ironhat]

Here's a factory authorized site. I haven't cruised it so someone please peruse and get back to us.

[LinuxRandal]

At this point, I am thinking the single hole jig, a drill angle guide, some springs, and a push/pull clamp to create something like on YouTube, by Woodentoolcompany. I think I figured out the drill, just looking for a cheap angle guide to use. If you haven't seen them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MZrWBE5DJo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuU33kqU50Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjqqzvVXFc