Value of the LR 32 vs more affordable Jigs

[Packard]

I have the CMT Boring template, a versatile template for 32mm on center holes. It is setup for use either for 8mm dowels or for drilling shelf holes on 32mm centers. It will also drill holes for Blum hinges. I got mine with a dedicated oversized self centering drill guide and bit, but it will work equally well with a 14mm guide bushing and a plunge router.

I could not find a video on the CMT template, but IGM re-brands the CMT unit by changing the color from orange to silver, and has a good video. Watch below.

I would note that CMT has decided not to export this item to the USA. I ordered mine from Amazon.DE (Amazon Germany) which has an English language version and accepts all my Amazon shipping and billing information. You have to toggle to get the translation and after the transaction you have to change your country back to your own. I ordered from Amazon.DE (Germany) but it shipped from Amazon.ESP (Spain). It arrived quickly and I have never regretted the purchase.

From observing Domino videos, I would say that the CMT is slightly faster for shelf holes, About the same speed as a Domino machine for 12” - 16” width joinery, but faster for base cabinet joinery. I have no way to judge the comparable strength of those joints.

Here is the video. IGM will accept foreign orders, but you have to setup an account (and my AMEX would not work for that), and their shipping is more expensive than Amazon.

ADDENDUM: The reason the base cabinets are slower with Dominoes, is that it is likely that the edge positioning device will not permit a sufficient number of dominoes. It would require positioning from both edges or using a positioning device. I’ve seen videos and it looks to be slower than the CMT for doweling wide carcasses.

Here is the video:

 

[Crazyraceguy]

There are dozens of different jigs, for either routing or drilling. Most of them do the job, with varying degrees of satisfaction. Several factors are at play, ease of use, quality of the holes, cost, etc. Frequency of use might play into it too. The length of your parts can also be a factor, since a lot of the jigs are fairly short. All of the ones, that I have ever seen, have an indexing pin to allow for longer parts. This is somewhat of the thing though. You do need to keep track of that pin.....or figure out a substitute
The Festool LR32 is far longer than any other I have seen, that's just the 1400mm rail. Besides being much more adjustable than many of the others, you can probably skip the indexing too. There is another rail with the LR32 holes, nearly twice the length, but you would have to be pretty specialized to feel the need for that.
Overall, if you get the LR32 rail, when purchasing your track saw, you are already ahead. I would recommend that to everyone, even if you don't see the need, at the time. Someday you might. To make it function, all you really need is the plate. The other parts can be worked around, not as efficiently, of course, but it will work.

There is one serious shortcoming to the LR32 though. It is not going to work in a retrofit situation. It shoud be a rare case, but it could happen. That 1400 rail isn't likely to fit inside of an assembled cabinet.
This is the reason that I have a small plastic, drill bit style jig too.

 

[Cheese]

There is one serious shortcoming to the LR32 though. It is not going to work in a retrofit situation. It shoud be a rare case, but it could happen. That 1400 rail isn't likely to fit inside of an assembled cabinet.

And that's when you break out the new MB 40...this is exactly the situation it was designed for.

 

[Packard]

There is one serious shortcoming to the LR32 though. It is not going to work in a retrofit situation. It shoud be a rare case, but it could happen. That 1400 rail isn't likely to fit inside of an assembled cabinet.
This is the reason that I have a small plastic, drill bit style jig too.

The same for the CMT template which is 36” overall. It was designed for new carcass construction. I have a Kreg drilling template for smaller cabinets. (I actually have two of them as I could not locate mine for a while. Kreg jigs can be linked to double or triple the length. Their supplied drill bits have a very aggressive chip removal angle and tend to tear the top laminations away from the body of the plywood. Replacing the bit solved that issue.)

 

[Crazyraceguy]

And that's when you break out the new MB 40...this is exactly the situation it was designed for.

Yes, but that was only in the last 5 minutes. There is also a clearance issue there. The MB 40 is much taller than a CXS and stubby bit.
The first time I had to do such a retrofit, was in a set of lockers, after they had been installed. They were very narrow, about 10" IIRC?

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The same for the CMT template which is 36” overall. It was designed for new carcass construction. I have a Kreg drilling template for smaller cabinets. (I actually have two of them as I could not locate mine for a while. Kreg jigs can be linked to double or triple the length. Their supplied drill bits have a very aggressive chip removal angle and tend to tear the top laminations away from the body of the plywood. Replacing the bit solved that issue.)

The one I have is longer than the Kreg and works with a spring-loaded bit, similar to a Vix bit. It has a brad point type bit, that requires fairly frequent attention or replacement. Melamine or HPL (laminate) are pretty rough on the cutting edges. Fortunately, it was essentially an emergency tool for me.

 

[Packard]

https://d1mv2b9v99cq0i.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZWItbmluamEtaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiY2FyYmF0ZWNcL2ltYWdlc1wvcHJvZGltZ1wvMzQ2MTJfMS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjQ4MCwiaGVpZ2h0Ijo0ODAsImZpdCI6Imluc2lkZSIsIndpdGhvdXRFbmxhcmdlbWVudCI6dHJ1ZX19LCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjoiZThlYzMyNTBiYzQ4YmNhMjE5YmI0MGQyODlhMTY4MThlMzE0NTMzYyJ9

 

[Ebuwan]

LR32 is great if doing a bunch of cabinets. Takes a minute to get setup, but once it is, off to the races, including the holes for Euro hinges. Router cuts the holes nice and super clean.

Where it shines though, is if making cabinets and you want to have drawer slides inside a cabinet that can be re-arranged (like a pantry with doors covering it all). I can get the spacing from the front mounting hole of the slide to the back mounting hole of the slide to line up perfectly and repeatable. I just wish the hex like bars where longer to get a further depth of reach with it is all; I end up "flipping" it around from the regular way to set them up to be able to reach further into a cabinet.