How to Drive Pocket Hole Screws in Tight Places

Stumped about how to drive pocket hole screws in tight places? Is your drill is too big and your pocket hole bit too long? Try a right angle drill attachment as a solution to reach pocket holes in hard-to-reach areas.

How to drive pocket hole screws in tight places

Time for another quick tip post! I vowed to do these more often, and I only make good on that promise to do these more often, and I only make good on that promise sometimes…so let’s focus on the times I come through like a champ. Like today.

I’m going to share a quick tip about how to drive pocket hole screws in tight places using a right angle attachment for your drill. I’ve also got a quick video at the end of this post illustrating the pocket hole dilemma and how you can get around it. 🙂

Wait, what are pocket holes?

Let’s back up a sec. If you’re a for-fun woodworker like I am and you like building things for around your house, chances are you have a KregJig. (Get one if you don’t have one. I have a KregJig K4 and I use it to death. See my post with a slew of free projects that use pocket hole joinery.)

A KregJig is a super easy solution for drilling pocket holes in pieces of wood to create a super strong joint. You can check out some pocket holes in action halfway through my DIY plywood planter with hairpin legs project:

Since you drill pocket holes into the wood, you need a longer bit to get your screw in. The pocket hole bit that came with my KregJig K4 looks like this. It attaches to the drill just like any other bit and is long with a square tip.

If you place pocket holes strategically, you can hide them and create a seamless, screw-free, nail-free surface on your projects. What’s not to love?

Well, I don’t love it when I’m 90% of the way done with my project and realize that there are a few pocket holes I can’t reach. 

Well, I don’t love it when I’m 90% of the way done with my project and realize that there are a few pocket holes I can’t reach. 

For example, the plywood planter above had this problem. Once I’d assembled three sides and was ready to assemble the last side, I realized my drill and the long pocket hole bit wouldn’t fit down into the planter. UGH. 

I, like an idiot, thought that some pocket holes were just a lost cause. They were not to be reached and my project was ruined. So I threw it in the garbage.

Using a right angle drill attachment to reach pocket holes

Just kidding, I did a little research and found that I can use a right angle drill attachment to drive pocket hole screws in tight spaces. And it was like $15 bucks at Home Depot! Hashtag winning, or whatever people are saying now.

Here’s an example of the tight pocket hole dilemma on a build I’m working now. There are two pocket holes in the back that my drill can’t reach. 

One is visible here—circled in red with the big ol’ arrow pointing to it.

Pop on the right-angle attachment, and suddenly my reach knows no bounds. Well, probably some bounds, but those bounds are beyond the scope of this project. So that’s it. If you find yourself in a pickle with some pocket holes that are hard to reach, get thee a right-angle drill attachment and show that project who’s boss.