¿ªÔÆÌåÓýI¡¯ve got the Kreg foreman. I use it a lot and it works pretty well. It was one of those tools I thought was nice to have but now it is essential to me.
It can be improved in several ways aside from the drilling angle previously discussed. I¡¯ve addressed this issue in my design and workflow with reveals etc that minimize that impact. Great for face frame cabinets, not so great for
fine furniture and flush requirements. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll flush rout to fix that but it¡¯s rare that I need to.
It operates on a system of depth setting and clamping via two knobs with a retaining nut. One is depth of drill and the other is the clamp. I find that those are not great at holding over time and have the tendency to work themselves
out of their locked positions. The clamp also is finicky and gets in its own way and doesn¡¯t have great holding power. The bit can make the wood walk a little to the right. Hasn¡¯t actually been too much of an issue practically, just requires a bit more knowledge
or experience to know if a hole is over or under drilled or work into your process checking it prior to use. It usually holds well enough for a kitchen or large built in size in continuous use without coming too far out of alignment for any appreciable issues.
It can also do a wide range of sizes of stock and screws.
It uses a drill type motor to power the drill bit. I think that motor is a bit underpowered for hardwood and tends to bog down. It is probably as fast as the castle from video I saw of the tsm -12 but uses a single action lever.
Dust collection runs off the Bosch tool actuated vac vs central dust collection because of the really small 1-1/2¡± dc port.
Definitely transportable which I love.
When it dies I will probably upgrade to tsm-12. But not before. Also it is about 450, so a lot lower cost entry point. I would rate it at a semi pro grade tool and it seems out of place compared to the rather industrial grade everything
else is in the shop, aside from my makita miter saw.
Michael Tagge
Built Custom Carpentry
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of tom@... <tom@...>
Sent: Monday, October 12, 2020 12:11:09 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [FOG] pocket hole machine ?
I have several Kreg jigs as well as the Castle TSM-12??,
my preference is to use the Castle as much as possible. The lower angle of the entry is very nice, and I appreciate having the pilot holes drilled all the way through (my Kreg jigs never seem to drill the pilot all the way).?
My machine utilizes the pair of Bosch routers, and while it is loud, it's no louder than a JDS Multirouter or any other router-based machine in my shop.? The TSM-12 is portable. I've only taken it on-site with me a handful of times, but it was handy to have in those situations. MUCH faster than a Kreg machine.? The only real downside to the Castle machine is that it's really dialed-in for 3/4"/19mm stock. To work with thinner stock you need to put shims between the stock and the table, and I think maximum thickness is ~1.5" / 41mm.? So, for my work flow I typically use my Mafell DD-40P and Festool Domino XL for alignment and so on, the Castle gets used for 3/4" stock, with the Kreg jigs in reserve for oddball parts and pieces that don't work with the Castle..... -- Tom Gensmer Heritage Home Renewals, LLC Minneapolis, MN |
