Help with picking a Shelf Pin Jig

I use the Kreg jig, and have been very happy with it. Some worry about having a long jig so they can easily drill holes the inside height of the cabinet but, IMO, this is normally a waste of time and effort. Most cabinets are built for a fairly specific purpose - displaying collectibles, used as a bookcase or for storing supplies - and these items have a relatively narrow range of heights. I look at what the cabinet is going to be used for, determine the number of shelves based on the inside dimension of the cabinet, and put a pattern of holes more or less centered on the approximate location of the shelf. In order to assure correct location of the hole patterns, I use spacers to locate the jig off the bottom floor of the cabinet - the Kreg jig has 6 holes on 32 mm centers so you have a "range" of locations about the average position of about 6", more than enough to make minor adjustments to a specific shelf.

However, I agree with Stick and others that the standards are better for this application, surface mounted and with the ends of the shelves notched as recommended so that the shelves can't slip out of the cabinet - this is easy to do on the table saw by adding a tall auxiliary fence to the miter gauge and using a dado set to make the notches, using the fence for consistent location. Also, the center divider is a good idea to prevent sagging - the full length bottom shelf should have side strips (making an inverted "U"), both to stiffen the shelf and give a surface for mounting the slides. The unit will have to be securely fastened to the wall as there will be a high tipping moment when the upper section is fully open.

Thanks Bryan. Another option is using drill bushings like these from Lee Valley: Bushings and Inserts - Lee Valley Tools
I use the all the time. As pointed out you usually only need a few holes through a given distance on the carcase. Distances from the front or rear to the row of holes is not critical. If you are close to even no one will ever notice. What is critical is the heights. All 4 corners must be even or the shelf will rock.

You can use the drill bushings to make a jig like the Kreg jig. You can make the jig on a drill press like I used in the other post using spacer blocks to get your hole spacing on the jig. To use it you just use a spacer block or stick from the bottom of the carcass or the last shelf and drill. If you want to extend the range of the jig you can leap frog it by taking a shank end of a same size drill but and putting in the first hole in the jig and the last hole drilled.

I don't recommend leap frogging too many times without starting over with a new registration point based on the carcass or a shelf. The very slight tolerances in the bit and bushings let a small amount of error start to build up after a few leaps.

tomp913 said:

I use the Kreg jig, and have been very happy with it. Some worry about having a long jig so they can easily drill holes the inside height of the cabinet but, IMO, this is normally a waste of time and effort. Most cabinets are built for a fairly specific purpose - displaying collectibles, used as a bookcase or for storing supplies - and these items have a relatively narrow range of heights. I look at what the cabinet is going to be used for, determine the number of shelves based on the inside dimension of the cabinet, and put a pattern of holes more or less centered on the approximate location of the shelf. In order to assure correct location of the hole patterns, I use spacers to locate the jig off the bottom floor of the cabinet - the Kreg jig has 6 holes on 32 mm centers so you have a "range" of locations about the average position of about 6", more than enough to make minor adjustments to a specific shelf.

However, I agree with Stick and others that the standards are better for this application, surface mounted and with the ends of the shelves notched as recommended so that the shelves can't slip out of the cabinet - this is easy to do on the table saw by adding a tall auxiliary fence to the miter gauge and using a dado set to make the notches, using the fence for consistent location. Also, the center divider is a good idea to prevent sagging - the full length bottom shelf should have side strips (making an inverted "U"), both to stiffen the shelf and give a surface for mounting the slides. The unit will have to be securely fastened to the wall as there will be a high tipping moment when the upper section is fully open.

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The Kreg Jig is a pretty practical option considering the some of the Alternatives.

People with nothing but money buy the Festool LR 32 $700 - OF 1400 $800 - LR 32 Track $250. $1750 in change to drill shelf pegs and Euro hinge cups. You better be pumping out 6 shelf’s a week at a profit to pay for that set-up.

The price of the Kreg Jig is pretty reasonable considering.

Your other options are the Woodpecker Shelf pin Guide 69.99 US

https://www.woodpeck.com/shelfpintemplate.html

Rockler has a reasonable shelf pin guide too.

http://www.rockler.com/jig-itreg-shelving-jig-jig-it174-shelving-jig-set-template-self-centering-bit

The Canadian Made Veritas Jig is 170 dollars but a steal of a deal when compared with the Festool LR-32.

The Veritas allows you to index holes on both sides of the shelf up to 32 inches wide on both sides of the shelf simultaneously. The Veritas Jig is actually faster than the pricy Festool LR 32.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.aspx?p=32251&cat=1,180,42311

bryansong said:

Charley, how are you clamping the peg board?

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@Bryan,

My pegboard jigs are several holes wide, with only one row of holes enlarged. I've sized these jigs so that I can place them against the rear of the cabinet and the enlarged holes are in the location that I want to drill or rout for the rear row of holes. I have a Kreg deep reach clamp that I use to hold it in place, or I sometimes put a couple of brad nails into it to temporarily hold it in position. The front edge of this same peg board jig is cut so it can be placed against the front edge of the cabinet side to drill the front row of holes in the position that I want them. I have drawn a marking pen arrow on the jigs to make certain that I've got them oriented correctly and labeled the front and back surfaces for "Left and Right" so I use the proper side for the side of the cabinet that I am adding the holes to. My pieces of peg board are 18" tall. I have used them in cabinets that were taller, but none shorter than this and almost all of these cabinets had 11 1/2" or slightly deeper sides. In taller cabinets, I just move the jig up or down and locate the end hole that was previously cut with the opposite end hole of the jig, using the router bit/bushing or VIX bit in the hole to position the jig correctly before re-applying the clamp, or I can position it to only add a few more holes using the same method. Keeping the jig against the front or rear edge of the cabinet side keeps the holes in the correct position and a fixed dimension from the front or rear of the cabinet.

The jig that I use with the VIX bit has holes sized to closely fit the spring loaded collar of the VIX bit, so accuracy is maintained. The jig for the router has holes that are closely sized for the router bushing that I use, so location accuracy is also maintained with it. The router is a little faster to use, but the VIX bit and jig can be used in cabinets that are already assembled. The resulting holes are very close to identical when done either way, but the VIX bit sometimes leaves a light rub mark around each hole, since the spring loaded collar rubs on the cabinet side's surface as the hole is being drilled. The hole in the jig closely matches the outside diameter of the VIX bit's spring loaded collar. It does not seat in a countersink, like a VIX bit does when drilling screw holes for hinges. My VIX bit for drilling these is 1/4" diameter. I think that a metric version of the bit is available as well, but I don't have one.

Charley

I've been thinking about this and about using a plunge router with a bushing for very precise drilling. If you take a half inch thick strip of MDF, whatever length you want, by 5 inches wide. Mark the locations where you want the spacing with a line across the edge.

Set up a dado stack the thickness of the width of the bushing. Mark your miter gauge with a line at the center of your dado stack and use it to line up the mark on the edge of the MDF. Raise the stack an inch or so and cut the piece out. Do as many as you want, any spacing you want. The width of the MDF will support the router, and even a trim router will do if it has a plunge base. This would be for a very fussy woodworker.

You could to the same thing on a drill press using high density fiberboard (masonite) then drill the holes with a drill held as vertical as you can. I'm thinking on custom case work or furniture where you don't want so many holes. I have a couple of book cases where I measured exactly where I wanted the shelves. I always use a stop of some sort to limit the depth of the hole. I always do that now because I didn't use a stop one time