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My big mistake with a cheap pocket hole jig
I bought a no-name pocket hole jig online for like 40 bucks thinking I'd save cash. The thing was junk, the guide holes were off by a full millimeter and it stripped its own screws. I wrecked two face frames for a kitchen job before I gave up and bought a proper one. That cost me about 150 in wasted wood and half a day of rework. So, is it ever worth trying the budget tools, or do you just go for the known good brands from the start? What's your rule?
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hannah_perry23d ago
Honestly, I've learned the hard way to buy the good version of any tool I plan to use more than once. A cheap tool that messes up your work just costs you more in wasted materials and time, like you saw. Now I save up for the known brand, because it's cheaper than doing the job twice.
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harper_foster24d ago
My first table saw was a used contractor model I got for 200 bucks. The fence would never lock square, no matter how much I fiddled with it. I spent more time checking for drift than actually making cuts. It taught me that with tools where precision matters, the cheap version just costs you more in frustration and materials. I finally upgraded to a solid fence system and it was like night and day. Now I look at the time I'll spend using a tool before I decide to save money on it.
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