More shelf hole jig advice, please

[Debbie Battaglia]

I'm an amateur making my own kitchen cabinets. Everything's come out very accurately, until now. I borrowed a friend's "GIZMO" to bore two rows of shelf pin holes in a pair of cabinets. The first 7 or 8 holes would be fine, but then I'd start to get inconsistent spacing. The resulting columns of front and back holes aren't perfectly lined up, which means I'll have rocking shelves, which I don't want! (Have any of you used the GIZMO?)

I read another thread on shelf hole jigs, and saw that lots of you have had success with everything from pegboard to high precision router-based jigs. I don't need many cabinets with adjustable shelves, so it doesn't make sense to buy anything expensive. But I DO want accuracy!

I guess I'm looking for the cheapest jig that will enable me to make two rows of holes that line up precisely. Is it really possible to get accuracy with something like Rockler's plastic jig? (Or even pegboard?)

MEG makes a plywood template jig that sells for about half the price of their aluminum one. What would the disadvantage of plywood be, over aluminum? I don't have a plunge router, though I might consider buying a small one if it's my best option.

Thank you in advance for guidance on this!

[Bill Neely]

Debbie, Woodhaven makes and sells several jigs that would meet your needs at a reasonable price; they're made of phenolic right here in the USA. They also sell self centering drill bits in both 5mm and 1/4" to drill the holes, the bits themselves are brad point and cut clean holes. Check out the online instruction manual.

http://http://www.woodhaven.com/ProductDetail.asp?Id=1000

[Rod Sheridan]

Debbie, I lay out the holes by measuring carefully at the edge of the piece and making a small line with a square.

The drill press fence also has a line on it, exactly in the center of the drill bit.

This allows you to either mark all your pieces and line up the two lines when drilling, or set a stop block for each hole and drill that hole in all your pieces.

It's extremely accurate, and of course allows you to make holes at any spacing.

Regards, Rod.

[Russ Boyd]

I use the pegboard. Take the time to rip it precisely from one side to the other. I rip a piece to leave 3 holes wide. Also, cut the length precisely so as to enable use from either end without misalignment. If you need to extend the piece, use a pin in one hole to hold it while drilling. Pegboard is susceptible to enlarging the hole if you aren't careful when drilling. It has worked for me for years, with the same piece of board. Good luck.

[Joe Scharle]

One thing that can mess you up is changing registration. Registering one end of the jig for the 'front' holes and the other end for the 'back' holes. Decide which end is 'up' for all the holes. Just an unfond memory!

[Matt Meiser]

I made the New Yankee Workshop jig which is basically copied off the MEG jig. Rod's technique is used to lay out the holes in the jig. Its pretty fast to use and as long as you've lined the jig up properly (hint, start off a centerline) then its quite accurate as long as you were accurate drilling the original holes.

[Prashun Patel]

Pegboard is hard to work with; eventually the holes will elongate. If yr doing one cab, it's ok, but in a kitchen's worth, I think you're good to get a better jig.

I LOVE the Rockler Jig-It shelf pin jig. It's acrylic and comes with a self-centering bit. Further, the jig can be used right-side up, upside down, and with faceframe or non-faceframe cabinets. The flexible orientation will save you a lot of headache.

It's fast too.

I outfitted 6 closets in my home with this jig. Rockler is having a free shipping promotion now too.

[Bill Huber]

I made a jig, it is really easy and takes no time at all.

I used MDF, set up my holes using a compass to make sure my spacing was correct. I then use a brad point to drill my holes and a large countersink to finish them off.

The holes are 1 inch apart but if I would them 2 inches I just drill every other hole. I do use a plunge router, I just like the way it mades a really nice looking hole and its fast.

Once I have the first set of holes drilled, I then move the jig up and put a dowel in one of the holes for spacing and start the next line of holes.

120293

[Byron Trantham]

Pegboard is hard to work with; eventually the holes will elongate. If yr doing one cab, it's ok, but in a kitchen's worth, I think you're good to get a better jig.

I LOVE the Rockler Jig-It shelf pin jig. It's acrylic and comes with a self-centering bit. Further, the jig can be used right-side up, upside down, and with faceframe or non-faceframe cabinets. The flexible orientation will save you a lot of headache.

It's fast too.

I outfitted 6 closets in my home with this jig. Rockler is having a free shipping promotion now too.

+1 for Rockler. I bought a more expensive one several years ago it was a joke. Then I tried pegboard, yet another mess. Finally bought the Rockler unit and haven't looked back. ;)

[Debbie Battaglia]

Thanks everyone. It's tempting to buy a plunge router for those nice holes, but I'd rather not spend the money right now.

Any opinions on the plywood jig from MEG?

[Jamie Buxton]

Any opinions on the plywood jig from MEG?

Plywood should work just fine. But IIRC the plastic ones like Woodhaven's are less expensive, and they'll work just as well.

[Prashun Patel]

Whatever you do, get the self-centering bit.
The MEG jig doesn't have a registering lip edge, which means it'll be fine on a cab with a faceframe, but harder to line up if you want to drill the holes b4 you get the frame on.

[Jay Yoder]

I have the woodhaven 12" version and it is slick! It includes a registering pin, as well as one that locates it from the edge. I have the VIX type self-centering bit, but next time i will use a plunge router. The drill started to get hot and smell funny when i did a 6'-0" cabinet! Gee imagine that. I bought mine at Hartville Hardware, but i believe woodcraft sells them too. Definately worth the money!

[fRED mCnEILL]

I found it really wasn't necessary to have holes from top to bottom. And I just finished cabinets in the laundry room. When the cabinets were installed I asked my wife where she wanted the shelves and then drilled the appropriate holes. Of course if you want to change the self location it involves a little more effort than simply moving the brackets but it works for me.Keeps the inside fo the cabinet looking cleaner as well.

Fred Mc.

[Chip Lindley]

First of all, the *rows of holes* method of attaching shelf brackets came with the 32MM system! And the 32MM system is basically a computerized CNC method. To attempt same by manual means is Very labor intensive, any way you look at it.

I have an excellent *HoMade* jig of some ancient pegboard my dad scrounged from a store display where he worked in the *50s*! The stuff is almost like phenolic! Hard as a rock, full 1/4" thick, and the holes are almost 9/32" dia. with 1" spacing. Just perfect for using a large Vix bit!

But, besides the time-consuming labor, most of those holes will never be used! For my money, and time I had rather use the metal shelf standards with metal clips, let into a router slot to make them flush with the cabinet wall. These can be attached with narrow crown staples or screwed on. Either way, they are sturdier than rows of holes drilled into melamine board.

[Paul Ryan]

I bought the shelf hole jig from grizzly. It was under $10 at the time. The only problem the fence or cleat what ever you want to call it that came on the jig was warped as a politician. It was terrible. Easy fix though I just made a new piece for it. Now the jig works fine and for the price it was a heck of a deal.

That said, I have went back to Chip's method. I just like the rails that are dadoed into the sides of the cabinet. The cabinets and shelfs I have made with the pins are more time consuming and a bigger pain if you ask me. Once the pins are pushed into the holes they always seem to be really tight, so when I need to move the shelf I have to get a pliers to get out the pins. I just dont like them. I like the rails much better, to me they are easier to install and adjust. But it is alot more work tp do the rails if the sides of the cabinet are raised panel. So I use both systems depending on the piece.

[Steve Clardy]

Pegboard is hard to work with; eventually the holes will elongate. If yr doing one cab, it's ok, but in a kitchen's worth, I think you're good to get a better jig.

I LOVE the Rockler Jig-It shelf pin jig. It's acrylic and comes with a self-centering bit. Further, the jig can be used right-side up, upside down, and with faceframe or non-faceframe cabinets. The flexible orientation will save you a lot of headache.

It's fast too.

I outfitted 6 closets in my home with this jig. Rockler is having a free shipping promotion now too.

Ditto the rockler. I use mine weekly.
I've had it for 6-7 years now.