Pocket hole joinery has made huge inroads in cabinet manufacturing especially among face-frame cabinets, which still account for the vast majority of cabinets made in the USA. Those who adopt the technology have mostly had to choose between hand-held drill-driven jigs and free-standing stationary machines with a choice of pneumatic and electrical drive systems. Now Kreg, a longtime leader in pocket hole joinery, has introduced a benchtop machine that offers a midrange option for shops.

The Kreg Foreman DB210 is smaller than a kitchen sink and offers simple adjustments and straightforward pull-arm action to speed up the pocket hole process.

Just the basics

Don’t look for a lot of whistles and bells on the Kreg Foreman DB210. This tool is designed to be simple to use, easy to adjust and reliable to use over time. There is a simple fence that adjusts for the thickness of the wood being joined and is locked in place with two cam levers. On the fence are two adjustable stops to help you quickly position the workpiece for accurate pocket holes.

Securing the workpiece solidly is important, so Kreg has engineered a clever hold-down device that is connected to the activation arm. You first adjust the hold-down and set it for the thickness of the wood you are joining. With the activation arm up, you can easily slide your workpiece in place. Pulling the activation arm down first clamps the workpiece and then drives the pocket hole bit into the wood.

Clean and safe

One of the nice features of the unit is built-in dust collection. Plastic housings and hose connections make it simple to hook up the unit’s 1-1/4-inch port to a shop vacuum or other dust collection vacuum source. All the dust goes through the table and out the port to be collected, thus not clogging the fence or disturbing your setup.

Additionally, since the unit is designed will all the cutting parts under the tabletop or concealed in the workpiece when cutting, it’s safer from any potential accidental injury.

In our tests, all the pocket holes were cut clean, fast and accurately with a minimum of setup. It’s a great benchtop alternative to simple jigs and at about half the cost of Kreg's semi-automatic electric pocket hole machine. For more information, visit www.kregtool.com.