Fengsen XK-1 Pocket Hole Jig

Out of the Box:

The jig came in a hard cardboard box, not the advertised plastic case. Foam fitted, it held the jig and other bits and pieces safe and sound. All advertised components accounted for with nil defects.

List of Components:

• The jig with depth slide. The drill sleeves were already installed with grub screws.
• Two slide retention thumb screws.
• Drill with stepped pilot.
• Drill collar with grub screw.
• Long Phillips driver bit.

Drill, Collar, Allen Key & Phillips Bit

The blue anodized surfacing looks nice and sturdy. The white depth scale is etched, not painted. This scale is in metric.

The Manual and Assembly:

No manual or instruction sheet supplied.

Operation:

As no instructions provided, and not an official Kreg unit, I had to resort to old fashion trial and error on a piece of scrap.
Using adjustable depth scale, I set this to the thickness of the material. In my case,12mm. The major obstacle was what length to set the collar on the step drill. I couldn't trust the measurements used

with the Kreg system, because the jig itself could be a different length or the drill sleeves set differently. I tried to research on the internet, but couldn't find anything definite.
With the drill position through the guide, I eye-balled it so the pilot drill end was about 2mm shy of poking out of the hole. Due to the angle it passes through the jig, it was just an estimate. Anyway, once the collar was tightened at that position, I drilled a trial pocket hole in my scrap of wood. It seems my eyes are still pretty good. It was perfect. So, silly me forgot to measure the distance. Lost forever. Oh well.
I used Kreg 1 inch screws for my test. These are the genuine article. I finally managed to find a supplier. Hardware House in Rayong District GPS 12.833066 101.126942 had them. The prices not bad either. Depending on length, about 120 baht per box of 100 screws. This meant buying the genuine Kreg driver as well. Bought this the same place for about 115 baht.

Genuine Kreg Screw Drivers.

I will re-do my experiment and post my findings with a cheat sheet. Once I work out how, I will make it available as a download to those who would like a copy.

*** Update: ***

I found this article that had been sent to my email inbox from WOOD Magazine. Some good information on Pocket Hole Joinery.

Pocket-hole Pointers

Summary:

All in all, a good unit.
Operation and use made a clean hole and the joints strong as any pocket holes.
Price was a factor in the purchase of this particular unit. Reasonable and favorable when compared to Kreg units with similar features.
I believe with a little thinking and elbow grease, it could easily be upgraded with wood holding capabilities. I'll be researching more on this. Keep checking my blog for updates.

Issues:

Instructions would have been nice. Would have prevent a bit of head scratching and trial and error.
When dropped on hard surface, the depth slide guides bent. The reason I bought this unit rather than plastic, was the perception it would be stronger.

Specifications:

Brand : FENGSEN
Type : XK-1
Material: Aluminum Alloy 606
Surface Treatment: anodize oxidation (non-painting)
Body : Blue
Handle : Red
Drill sleeve/drill bushing: the inner Diam. 9.5MM (die steel nitriding treatment)
Made in China

Price: 

1125 baht

Where:

Lazada

When:

May 2017