Mafell Doweler vs LR32 System for Shelfing

[Steven Owen]

There’s several videos online with reviewers of the Mafell Doweller actually purchasing the Mafell doweller as an alternative to using the LR32 system for shelf pins.

Do think the LR32 is actually cumbersome enough to warrant looking at the Mafell Dowler as an Alternative to the LR32 system for Shelf pin alignment?

 

[Laminator]

I don't have the lr32 so I can't  compare but the dd40 works extremely well.  Its expensive!  You will need the extension template  (yep, the $400.00 one) and a short one if you want to do tall cabinets.  Once set up, it is simple to punch long straight rows of holes with no dust and no problems.

 

[lwoirhaye]

For shelving it doesn't matter if the spacing between the rows of holes is on precise 32mm centers.  When drilling for drawer slides, it's critical.  As long as your ends are very close to dead square,  any hole jig will work for making pin holes for shelves that don't rock.

I have a Mafell duo-doweler with the template and have spent some time thinking about it.  It's reasonably fast for shelf holes when you get to the actual drilling, but getting the templates exactly where you want them for an exact back set or, more problematically, to drill rows of holes that are on 32mm centers can take some time. 

Terrific tool.  Some users prefer it to the Domino for joinery.

Check out the Schmidt32 system too.

 

[Llap Goch]

Steven

The LR32 is an excellent system for shelf pins and for locating the 35mm hinges. The manual, like most Festool manuals, is useless however there are excellent video's on YouTube to guide you on your way. It takes a bit of thought to properly set it up but once that is done it is both fast and accurate (and expensive as you have to buy the holey guide rail).

I don't have the Mafell DD40 (yet) but I did buy the Bosch Professional 1600A001T8 FSN kit as I wanted some clamps for my Mafell guide rail (Mafell make the Bosch FS rails) as well as an extra guide rail.

It is an excellent and much cheaper alternative to the LR32. The base takes almost any router and I have fitted an OF1400, a OF101 and the quite superb 18v Makita trimmer on a plunge base.

Not sure if these are available in Canada but for £128 all in, it was an absolute bargain. (Campbell Miller Tools, Glasgow).

 

[Sparktrician]

For shelving it doesn't matter if the spacing between the rows of holes is on precise 32mm centers.

I could not disagree more.  If the shelf holes are not aligned dead on both front-to-back and side-to-side, you're going to have unstable, rattly shelves.  With books and magazines, that's not a huge problem, but if your customer is using the shelves to store delicate valuables, it's a big problem. 

 

[lwoirhaye]

I think I've been misunderstood. 

Without going into too much detail,  the duo-doweler with the template has no "stock" way of aligning a second row of holes on  224mm centers or whatever you might need for a given drawer slide.  There are some aspects of the way it's designed that seem to be oriented towards making perfect 32mm grids and others that are confoundingly off by a hair.  Even assuming you had a table saw and were ripping cabinet sides very accurately getting the template lined up and parallel to the edge could be a hassle if you were setting the template by indexing from the front edge and the back edge both.  Better to do it all from the front edge if possible, imo.  I got some 5mm pins and made  a template to position the template a given multiple of 32mm back from the first row, but rest assured the manual gives no indication that this could even be a concern.  Perhaps Mafell intended to extend the product line, perhaps not, but it doesn't make 32mm grid drilling quick.  Positioning the templates for that kind of precision is fussy .    The Festool at least has a stop system that's comprehensible, even if it can't reference everything from the front edge due to the short arms on the stops.

Schmidt32 references everything off the front edge.  Easy peasy but not so portable and not a joinery system like the Mafell.

 

[Laminator]

  I have never tried to drill holes for any hardware with the Mafell, only shelf pin holes. Once the clamp/stop is set and the distance from front edge is determined, it is easy and practically foolproof to drill  rows of holes in cabinet sides up to 8'.  A stack of cab sides can be drill quickly and accurately for shelf pins.

 

[blaszcsj]

I think the LR32 is an accessory that complements a router very well. It is not a dedicated tool like the doweler. The nice part about it using a router is that it can do door hinge pockets as well. I purchased the LR32 rail with my track saw, so the incremental cost was marginal compared to the capability I gained with the LR32 system. after the initial fiddling it is a no brainer how it works and it just works. 

 

[Steven Owen]

I think the LR32 is an accessory that complements a router very well. It is not a dedicated tool like the doweler. The nice part about it using a router is that it can do door hinge pockets as well. I purchased the LR32 rail with my track saw, so the incremental cost was marginal compared to the capability I gained with the LR32 system. after the initial fiddling it is a no brainer how it works and it just works.

Most people who think the Dowller is a better options seem to complain about about the amount of time it takes to set-up and configure the system.  The web creates a lot of overthinking.

 

[jeh]

The DD40 is trivial to setup and The chance of an alignment mishap is significantly lower than the LR32. It also drills two holes at once cutting the number of drillings in 1/2. The appeal of the LR32 is that it is part of “the system”, but it is a lot of money for what it does. On the flip side if you have a Domino buying a DD40 for shelf holes is extreme. I ditched my Domino and LR32 and replaced them with DD40.