Castle adds portable low-angle pocket cutter

Castle presents a portable pocket hole machine, the Castle 100, to produce the company’s 6-degree screw pockets.

Company president and founder Max Durney, inventor of the machine, says he struggled for years on how to bring the Castle low-angle pocket cutting technology to smaller shops in a compact and inexpensive way, while eliminating the need to use plastic jigs.

“For years we have wanted to share the advantages of the Castle pocket with more than the professional woodworkers who use our industrial equipment every day, and now finally we can,” says Durney. “We created a great following in the industrial end, but sometimes that equipment costs too much and takes up too much floor space for a consumer.”

The machine cuts the pocket with a Bosch palm router and has a guide to insert the screw with a drill/driver.

The 6-degree angle makes for a stronger joint, according to Durney.

“All of the steep angle pocket cutters and drills that come in at approximately a 15-degree angle can lead to shifts in the joint. Our 6-degree angle makes it easier to drive the screw and doesn’t produce a significant shift. That’s what’s so dramatic about a low-angle pocket,” says Durney.

The Castle 100 sells for $475 with the Bosch palm router.

For more, visit www.castleusa.com. 

This article originally appeared in the January 2018 issue.