Carpentry and Woodworking - pocket hole screws

Hi all. We just bought a kreg pocket hole jig. Their screws seem pretty pricey. Are there any other screws you can use for pocket hole other than the ones you have to order online?

Thank you.

I found pocket hole screws on EBay at a reasonable price.

Kreg Pocket Hole Screws & Plugs (http://www.coastaltool.com/a/ab/kreg/screws.htm?mv_source=froogle)

They don't seem that bad. I guess if you were doing production work maybe.

I buy 1000 count boxes from Amazon. Rockler's are a little cheaper than Kreg's. And those Coastal ones are REALLY cheap! You want to use the washer head screws with the pocket hole, not a bugle head, since bugle heads (drywall screws) can split the shoulder of the wood as you tighten them. Actual pocket screws (either fine or coarse, depending on the type of wood) are the best type to use, not any other type of screw.

I was just looking through the Girzzly catalog and I saw something interesting. It was a stepped drill bit like the Kreg (3/8") except it was not flat at the step, it was sort of cone shaped so you could use regular flat head screws that are convex as opposed to flat like the Kreg screws. The bit was about $10.00 (I think that's half what the Kreg bit is. The point here is that you could use that bit in the Kreg jig and then use ordinary screws. Now for the down side. Ordinary screws are generally not self-tapping like the Kreg screws. You may wind up splitting your wood. Also, I think those nice little washer head screws really add a lot of strength to the joint. Finally, just how much are you going to save? I just built a shop bench. It is very simple and very cheap, but it consumed most of a sheet of pretty nice 3/4" plywood, several 2x4s, an 8' length of red oak for the edge banding, and 4 3" wheels since I have to be able to move it easily. The wheels were over $11.00 each! I probably used 50 of the 2 1/2" Kreg screws on the project. I think they were the cheapest part of the deal. So for a few extra dollars I have an incredibly strong bench that I put together in a few hours (the hardest part was attaching the wheels). I guess my point is that you may be sorry if you attempt to economize on the fasteners unless the strength of the joint is not that important. If you do try the Grizzly bit let us know how it works.