Cutting holes for shelf pins

[sancho57]

To the OP. What are you making? The method I'd use  ILO the LR32 system would depend on what they were for.

 

[RoadKing1957]

John Heisz (I Build It) has an excellent jig he developed. I have been using it for a year or so.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=...HqyOQbqI0E50kWMvw&feature=share&v=Q2EclCBqtDc

 

[ChuckM]

John's jig is far better than those other commercial jigs including the LR32 with which you need to lift up the (sometimes heavy) router for every hole milled. If my pegboard jig didn't already satisfy my drilling needs, I'd make one of his. (For the record, I prefer using a cordless or corded drill instead of a router for drilling shelf pin holes.)

 

[jeh]

The problem people will run into with drill based jigs is tear out. A router is an all around better solution and there are numerous solutions available for sale. John's looks like a great design that could be improved if it were machined out of metal or possibly plexiglass. It could be easily manufactured at a price point that would be tough to beat for the ease of use and high quality results. Add a 5mm and template guide and you are done. An advantage to his is that it can be used after assembly with a small router should one want to add holes.

Pursuing a licensing agreement with on the small manufactures of tools might be lucrative enough to give him incentive for more ideas.

Here are the jigs I have tried:
A product sold by McFeeleys that I do not recall the name of: too much slop
Rockler Jig-It: tear out
Kreg: too small to be useful and too much tear out
LR32: too easy to screw up if not used regularly
Mafell DD40: Easy to use with the ability to join. Requires templates that are crazy expensive, but they work for joining.
Line Drilling Machine: The be all, end all and not that much money for a way better solution.

The WoodPeckers jig looks good for the price point and probably will work for most people.

As for "Once you use the LR32, you will never use any other jig again.  The speed and accuracy it delivers is well worth the cost if you need to drill shelf pins on a regular basis." I don't buy this. Look at other solutions.

 

[ChuckM]

John's looks like a great design that could be improved if it were machined out of metal or possibly plexiglass. It could be easily manufactured at a price point that would be tough to beat for the ease of use and high quality results. Add a 5mm and template guide and you are done. An advantage to his is that it can be used after assembly with a small router should one want to add holes.

Pursuing a licensing agreement with on the small manufactures of tools might be lucrative enough to give him incentive for more ideas.

I wonder if he has pitched his idea to Fastcap which is well known for working with woodworkers and coming up with some unique solutions at reasonable prices, unlike the WP OTTs which serve a different market (aka those who have deeper pockets like the Festool consumers). Any woodworkers with basic skills can make his jig in an afternoon, but I'd rather buy a durable and accurate commercial jig of his design and spend my shop time on making projects. (This is also why I'll never attempt to make an MFT table top myself (even though a friend of mine owns one of those commercial jigs and welcomes me to use it.))

 

[afish]

  If you are doing a lot of holes the LR32 is well worth it.  I have used most of the others.  Sure line boring machines are great but they also take up a lot of space.  Most on here seem to be working out of small home based shops so dedicated line boring setup would take up to much space.  9.5 times out of ten the only reason someone wouldn't want to buy one is the price.  You can put together a LR32 system pretty cheap.  You can adapt almost any plunge router with a little ingenuity and get metric collets from elerie corp. Adding a festool router doubles the LR32 cost.  You can always upgrade the router later if you want.  The only other way I would want to do it is with the DDf40 but the Lr32 gives you the ability to do both the shelf pins and door hinge cups and you have a track for double duty if you have a track saw.  Just dont dismiss the LR32 so quickly. Its a great system and one of my favs. from the festool line.  There are a couple shortcomings but there are a few threads on here with work arounds for that.   

 

[acer66]

I've got and used the Kreg jig.  A bit slow, but worked well enough until I can afford the LR32.

Andrew

Same here and I would not drill every hole unless I was paid to do so.
I always skip two holes because it looks neater and really do not see the need to have that kind of adjustability in kitchen shelves.
But that might be just me of course. [tongue]

 

[Mike35x95x1]

If you have a router you can try my jig:
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=64483

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[acer66]

If you have a router you can try my jig:
https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=64483

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cool]

 

[afish]

I've got and used the Kreg jig.  A bit slow, but worked well enough until I can afford the LR32.

Andrew

Same here and I would not drill every hole unless I was paid to do so.
I always skip two holes because it looks neater and really do not see the need to have that kind of adjustability in kitchen shelves.
But that might be just me of course. [tongue]

Depends on the cabinet and use.  For garage cabinets I drill every hole for the maximum amount of flexibility. Typically these are floor to ceiling so its a lot of holes too. I HATE stacking things so more shelves the better, that way I can just pull something off the shelf without effecting anything else.  Kitchen cabinets for my self I would probably still do it that way because I like the flexibility and the extra holes don't bother me since I keep me doors closed 99.9% of the time and Im usually to busy looking for an item to notice the extra holes when they are open.  Now if it was a glass door or open shelving then that would be a different story.

 

[xedos]

Once you use the LR32, you will never use any other jig again.  The speed and accuracy it delivers is well worth the cost if you need to drill shelf pins on a regular basis.

Guess you've never used this then ?
https://www.timberwolftools.com/blog/post/mafell-dd40p-the-dynamic-duo-doweler/

And if you're doing this regularly, a line borer is far superior to either.    Or even a line boring attachment for a hinge boring machine.

Puts LR32 to shame and in the runner up category on time.

 

[acer66]

I've got and used the Kreg jig.  A bit slow, but worked well enough until I can afford the LR32.

Andrew

Same here and I would not drill every hole unless I was paid to do so.
I always skip two holes because it looks neater and really do not see the need to have that kind of adjustability in kitchen shelves.
But that might be just me of course. [tongue]

Depends on the cabinet and use.  For garage cabinets I drill every hole for the maximum amount of flexibility. Typically these are floor to ceiling so its a lot of holes too. I HATE stacking things so more shelves the better, that way I can just pull something off the shelf without effecting anything else.  Kitchen cabinets for my self I would probably still do it that way because I like the flexibility and the extra holes don't bother me since I keep me doors closed 99.9% of the time and Im usually to busy looking for an item to notice the extra holes when they are open.  Now if it was a glass door or open shelving then that would be a different story.

Very good points, guess the only reason to do them more spaced out would be in an open doorless cabinet if so desired.

 

[jeh]

Once you use the LR32, you will never use any other jig again.  The speed and accuracy it delivers is well worth the cost if you need to drill shelf pins on a regular basis.

Guess you've never used this then ?
https://www.timberwolftools.com/blog/post/mafell-dd40p-the-dynamic-duo-doweler/

And if you're doing this regularly, a line borer is far superior to either.    Or even a line boring attachment for a hinge boring machine.

Puts LR32 to shame and in the runner up category on time.

I have one and can attest that the joining is exceptional with it and the shelf pin drilling is just a bonus. Quite pricey though and if your only use was for shelf pin drilling a line borer might be a better use. I sold my Domino once I tried out the DD40.

 

[usernumber1]

Once you use the LR32, you will never use any other jig again.  The speed and accuracy it delivers is well worth the cost if you need to drill shelf pins on a regular basis.

Guess you've never used this then ?
https://www.timberwolftools.com/blog/post/mafell-dd40p-the-dynamic-duo-doweler/

And if you're doing this regularly, a line borer is far superior to either.    Or even a line boring attachment for a hinge boring machine.

Puts LR32 to shame and in the runner up category on time.

I have one and can attest that the joining is exceptional with it and the shelf pin drilling is just a bonus. Quite pricey though and if your only use was for shelf pin drilling a line borer might be a better use. I sold my Domino once I tried out the DD40.

I'm curious if you used the domino for board or panel glue ups for lining up. Do you use the DD40 now?

 

[jeh]

Once you use the LR32, you will never use any other jig again.  The speed and accuracy it delivers is well worth the cost if you need to drill shelf pins on a regular basis.

Guess you've never used this then ?
https://www.timberwolftools.com/blog/post/mafell-dd40p-the-dynamic-duo-doweler/

And if you're doing this regularly, a line borer is far superior to either.    Or even a line boring attachment for a hinge boring machine.

Puts LR32 to shame and in the runner up category on time.

I have one and can attest that the joining is exceptional with it and the shelf pin drilling is just a bonus. Quite pricey though and if your only use was for shelf pin drilling a line borer might be a better use. I sold my Domino once I tried out the DD40.

I'm curious if you used the domino for board or panel glue ups for lining up. Do you use the DD40 now?

I did use the dominos for board and panel glue ups. I replaced the Domino with a DD40 and use it for board and panel glue ups. You need the templates for shelf pin holes and can also use them for spacing if you don't want to do pencil marks.

 

[Bernmc]

This shelf pin jig is still my preferred DIY option - Shelf pin jig

It's on the list to build in the next week or so. I've tried the DIY router guide bush flavour that seems so popular, and while it works, I still find I bore the odd hole out of place because I haven't pulled the guide-bush into the jig recess properly. I like the shelf pin jig with the pin being visible all the time - hopefully avoid those 'Doh!' moments

 

[afish]

One thing about the DD40 is it cant do the hinge cup holes which the LR32 can.  Most people here dont have the space for a line boring machine so I wouldn't really consider that an option for most. The LR32 is still my prefered system for shelf pins and hinge boring and I dont even have one anymore.  I sold it in anticipation of the cnc arriving so I have no need for it but if I ever did away with the cnc then I would buy it again in a heartbeat but I wouldn't use a festool router and would adapt another Dewalt router again.  I do prefer the Mafell for joinery over the Domino and I have both.  I only keep the domino for doing drawers.