# What's your favorite shelf pin drilling method?



## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I've used a few different jigs over the years. I've never been blown
away at the speed of any of them.

I guess without having a CNC or a line boring machine, most of us would
be using a drill or a plunge router to make the holes.

What are people using here?


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Loren, we use to build 32mm cabinets for a good number of years and we had automatic and semiautomatic line drilling machines. However, one of my jobs was to make the samples for new cases. To a certain extent I could use the machines for fitting holes but sometimes I just used a drill press or hand drill. I always used hand drills to drill the shelf support holes unless a machine was already set up. My jig was just a simple aluminum drill guide that keyed off of the edge (I made it on a milling machine) and I used a drill stop on the drill for a depth gage. I could make a sample pretty fast with simple tools. It was always a pain in the ass to make samples because we were always needing them and I was always needed elsewhere so I was always rushed.

We would have been better off having a small sample dept with one or two small line drills dedicated to that department and not for production. However, Our business was always growing and it always seemed we had to throw the money at making the production more efficient.


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## Viktor (Jan 15, 2009)

Template: a block of wood with several carefully measured and drilled holes in a row at desired spacing. Usually offset from the edge the same distance as in the shelf for easier lineup. It's slow, but I'm not doing it for living.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

Drill Press - with a piece of peg board double stick taped to it.

The drill press keeps me from messing up the depth and always gets the pins perpindicular to the surface.


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## Flocktothewall (Jan 16, 2011)

hardboard template with a 3/8" spaced holes, and a plunge router with 1/4" downward spiral bit and 3/8" guide bushing.

My last shelf pin jig I dadoed a 3/8" grove aligned on top of the holes just shallow enough to keep the guide busing in the track so all I need to do is slide the router an it will drop in the holes, then plunge with the 1/4" downward spiral bit and perfect 90degree holes that are exactly the same depth, and zero chip out even on Melamine.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I always just used 1/2" ply with an edge register and bit stop. As a hobbiest, I could never justify the commercial jigs. I imagined making one out of clear acrylic but it never materialized. Good luck!


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## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

I drill the holes in the sides before assembly of the case. First, I use a tape measure to mark the spacing 1" apart down the length of the side, then taking a combo square I mark the hole centers 2" in from front and rear.

Using the Shopsmith in drill press mode, I set the fence for the 2" spacing and "eyeball" each drilled hole, setting the stop so that I don't drill all the way through. For long boards I use roller bearing stands to support the board on each end.

I find this method to be surprisingly accurate and quick.


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

There are a lot of commercial jigs available for people that do a lot of shelf units, but for the few times I have needed to do them a peice of pegboard nailed to a 1" x 3/4" scrap whatever length I need and use a hand drill with a depth stop on the bit seems to work.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

I use a template made from 1/4" puck board and a hand drill with a depth stop on the bit. This works for the few holes I make each year.


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## stnich (May 24, 2010)

Peg board with a Vix Bit. Easy to use just make sure that you keep left and right in mind as well as top and bottom.


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## TrBlu (Mar 19, 2011)

I use a piece of peg board for a guide and a handheld power drill.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Festool lr32 (?) works great.


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## S4S (Jan 22, 2011)

16 dremels ganged together on a long narrow plunge type base .

Produces 64 holes in under 7 seconds . Simple and faster than a CNC when

you need to drill a few hundred shelf pin holes.

Not practical for one-offs .

Did I win ? Where is vonhagen ?


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

Browning Challenger .22 pistol with CCI Stinger .22 LR (not hollow point) at 10 feet with laser sight.

Make sure that SWSOGM (don't EVEN ask) does not sneak up on you.


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Rockler jig. Works good.


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

I stick with Norm's simply plywood jig…plunge router with guide bushing. with time and usage the guide bushing holes loosen up a tad and a row of holes goes quickly

http://s1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd385/Teejk/wood%20stuff/?action=view&current=0719011246.jpg


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## teejk (Jan 19, 2011)

howie…your signature line was funny until somebody told me you had to be dead to win

LOL


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## rsharp (May 6, 2008)

I'm in line with teejk. Works great for me!


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## frostdude (Aug 2, 2011)

I have used a shop made jig made of 1/8+" plastic laminate and 1/4" pin hole drill bit from Rockler. I have the templates (3) set up for spacing on 1", 1 1/2" and 2". Works great for any type of adjustable shelving. Just use spring clamps to hold it in place.


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## hans2wiz (Jan 11, 2011)

Here is one version from WolfCraft, what I'm try todo myself.




I had similar like on teejk picture, but problem is that holes are going oval over some time. Solution is to put stronger pipe (aluminium) inside hole, but drilling holes to the edges is still too difficult.


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## higtron (Jan 26, 2011)

Home made plywood jig with half inch holes to accept the bushing of my router and a 1/4" bit. But I may try the 16 drummels ganged together trick I just need to get the financeing


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## rogerw (Jan 14, 2011)

template made out of mdf and a plunge router with collet


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## DamnYankee (May 21, 2011)

Peg board has always worked well for me.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

I've been using the rockler jig for a while now. No complaints. Get it on sale and it's a great deal.


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## bravozulu (Aug 10, 2011)

Wish I still had the photos and plans for a jig I made. It employs a small plunge router mounted a wood base that has cogs on one edge. Resembling a jigsaw puzzle piece. Done with a bandsaw. Then make a mating guide rail of a scrap 1×2 with female cogs matching the cogs on the baseplate. The base plate is screwed into the bottom of the router plate so they become one unit. Use a straight bit (preferrably pointed) to match the size of pins.

With just a couple of rails having varied spacing, you can create an assortment of shelf pins. Clamp the guide rail on the bench to the side of the cabinet sides (laying flat) Start progressing with the router, engage a cog, plunge the pin hole, move to the next cog and so on. When i did my new house with tons of built-ins, I plunged shelf pin holes for half a day. You are only sliding a router along, and then plunging it.

No need to even watch what you're doing closely. Good dust collection helps.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

Cnc is my favorite method.

But since we cannot afford it I use the "wife drilling with rockler jig method".


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## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

Plunge router with a 1/4" spiral. It really goes pretty quickly.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

Peter, i have given some thought on the plunge router. Bet that is much better


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

I have had a Blum drill press head in a dedicated DP(7 bits, amazingly accurate even for a FTOC cabinet), a humongo pneumatic Ritter single gang (BweeEE-kah-WHUMP-chhhhhhhhh), and now the manual Delta (a pretty nice solution for a small shop).

Occasional use:
I've never understood how the plunge router could be efficient when a drill is made to be used one handed and a piece of tape can flag the depth. I have come to the conclusion that that is one of the things Norm's producers chuckle about when they get together for martinis at a Boston bar.

I also have the Rockler jig which, wisely, stores the preset VixBit which does not oval-out the holes. I use it when Mr. Stupid built the cabinet and forgot to line bore.

Kindly,

Lee


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Yeah, that's what I though watching norm do it.
With the router I'd need hearing protection.

The rockler jig is quick and efficient. I bought it a few years back for $20 (sale) and it hasn't let me down yet.


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## North40 (Oct 17, 2007)

@ *Lee Barker* - I guess "occasional" is subjective. I'm not sure I understand your reasoning that the drill is more efficient because it is designed to be used one-handed. What can you do with that other hand to increase efficiency? Me, I have both hands on the drill to try to keep it perpendicular to the material.

Here are the efficiencies I find using a plunge router:
1) All my drills are cordless, so they turn fairly slow. Even a corded drill is only turning about 4k rpm. That's got nothing on the drilling ability of my router doing 22k rpm. The router is easily drilling each hole in half the time or less.
2) Even if you are really good with a drill, getting holes that are perfectly square to the face of the material is tough. Slight variations in the angle of the hole mean a shelf that is not steady. The base on the router takes care of that problem.
3) If you are drilling very many holes the one-shoulder-up posture of drilling becomes very uncomfortable. The plunge router is used with both hands, creating symetrical posture and motions … much more ergonomic.
4) The tape on the drill bit thing is hard to setup and adjust accurately. Drill a hair too deep and your tape gets pushed back and wadded up on the drill bit. The depth stop on the router is a breeze.

There's more than one way to skin a cat. If the drill works for you, that's great! For my purposes, the router is the ticket, and I wouldn't go back to drilling.

Here's a short video I put together showing how my setup works.





Cheers!


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Shop fabricated story poles. Two inch wide rip by 3/4 with bore holes down the ctr. Use a bit stop on drill. Very fast and accurate. I have been doing this for thirty plus years. I have numerous lengths and can quickly whip out more when neccesary. I typically bore before assembly but after is no problem. Short of a cnc or line boring setup I have not seen anything faster (including a router) but as always it depends on the operator.


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## maljr1980 (Sep 4, 2011)

i used to like the horizontal line borer ideaa till i worked at a shop with a cnc, much better


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

Peg board with drill depth stop. We highlight the target holes with a sharpie and use the same piece for all of the cabinets that get them (unless some are 36's and some are 42's, etc.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

I use pegboard like most suggested but I glued two back to back giving me a deeper guide hole. If it is possible I use my drillpress and set the proper depth and it is worry free. If not I use a drill with tape as my guide.

Works okay just mark it well. Was in a rush one day and said hey that will work and used the board. Thus a new one was born and painted bright red with LARGE letters saying DO NOT USE EXCEPT TO MAKE HOLES FOR SHELVES. (Laughing)

Gunny


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## Bearpaw (Mar 19, 2008)

Made Norm's jig many years ago and still using it.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Shop built jig and Vix bits here.
Bill


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## alkillian (Mar 19, 2011)

I had a machine shop make me a few out of alum. One for tall cabinets(6' long) and one for cabinets(40" long). Then we use a router with guide collar and 5mm bit.


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## Steveayerse (Apr 23, 2016)

Nice old thread, I will revive this! I am using drilling machines, it took me a lot of time to find out which one is the best. I wrote about top in my opinion best drilling machines , you can read it in my blog

p.s sorry for putting my site link, but I am too excited to share my new post with you guys, I can bet that it will be useful!


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Homemade template and small plunge router. Dewalt 611 is perfect.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

I prefer the easy method.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

keep it simple


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## mandatory66 (Jul 26, 2012)

Kreg sells a cheap simple jig that works well.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

A stick with holes in it and a plunge router is pretty simple.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

> A stick with holes in it and a plunge router is pretty simple.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


Little hard to keep the router flat though :>/


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

You attach blocks on each side of the router base plate so you're straddling the stick. No tipping (stays flat) this way and works perfectly.

How much time did you waste on that.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

> How much time did you waste on that.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


About 5 min. including posting.
(Not much of a Sense of Humor on this site.)


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> How much time did you waste on that.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy
> 
> ...


Don't judge everybody by me.


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## Sloopmk (Mar 23, 2016)

Jbay, I got a good laugh out of it


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

2 kreg jigs ganged together.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

Me too 


> Jbay, I got a good laugh out of it
> 
> - Sloopmk


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## ELB (May 23, 2016)

I use a piece of pegboard. Use standard split-point drill bit to enlarge two rows of holes to the size of your favorite router bushing (I used 7/16"). To use, clamp pegboard to cabinet side, use plunge router with bushing + 1/4" bit, depth stop set to 3/8".
Simple, cheap, fast, effective, and plenty accurate. $10 worth of pegboard makes 4+ jigs.
HTH, E.


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## Nezzerscape (Jan 14, 2016)

> Rockler jig. Works good.
> 
> - Howie


I have been very pleased with mine. It also is nice for post construction work (adding an extra shelf for pre-made selves/cabinets).


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## Cooler (Feb 3, 2016)

I use pegboard and a Vix bit. I tape off the holes I don't want to drill. The vix bit (5mm) allows the peg board to last indefinitely.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I have used pegboard. I'll note however that glass shelves
are absolutely unforgiving in terms of rocking and any 
improvised solution (or a machine with drifting stops)
can be trouble with glass.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I have a quarter inch thick acrylic strip with the holes drilled over sized to accommodate a Harbor Freight spring loaded, self centering drill bit (the biggest of a set of three).

After I drill my first hole (with the acrylic resting on the cabinet base, I insert a screw that fits the hole snugly. The screw has tape around it where it would contact the jig, so it fits that snuggly too.

If I need to drill a long row, I just move the jig up and insert the indexing screw and continue.

If I have to, I chase the holes with a regular bit. They clean so quick and easy it's almost impossible to accidentally go deeper.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Not so, many of us, even as we worry about and for you, found it hilarious.


> How much time did you waste on that.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy
> 
> ...


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I use a strip of 1/4 plexi with holes big enough to take a standard, spring loaded, self-centering screw hole bit commonly used to drill holes in door hinges.

I made my holes to accept a HF version of the centering bit, so replacements are cheap and easy.

I drill the first hole, then have a screw I screw into the hole I just drilled. It has duct tape about 3/8" back from the tip, so it fits snug in the guide, when screwed into the hole in the cabinet. This insures all the screw holes drilled afterward are where they are supposed to be.

Once all the holes are drilled, I have a chaser drill bit the size of the supports I'll be using. Because the hole was pre-drilled, you can enlarge all the holes VERY quickly and without fear of blowing through the other side, unless you go Neanderthal.

Once I chase all the holes, all the chip out you see is taken out.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

> 2 kreg jigs ganged together.
> 
> - TheFridge


Me too. no problems encountered.


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