shelf drilling jig

gpssam | Posted in Jigs, Fixtures, Tips & Tricks on July 5, 2011 12:39pm

Seems as though I have pitched out the piece of peg board that I used in the past for drilling the holes for adjustable shelves. Since my next few projects will need adjustable shelves this might be the time to upgrade to something real instead of just buying another piece of pegboard. I have looked on line at the various types of jigs for drilling holes for shelves. I like the price of the simple jigs where you do one side at a time, but the jigs with both front and rear together seem like they would eliminate the possability of any allignment problems. I would prefer to use a router for the holes instead of a drill, but that is not a critical requirement. If you are using one of these jigs would you please let me know how you like it, or don’t like it as the case may be. Thank you.

Replies

VAM | Jul 07, 2011 01:13pm | #1
Veritas 32 System

I've used this one to drill more than 35000 holes (probably not something to be proud of). It has worked very, very well. I have two of the 25 inch rails so I can drill both the front and rear holes on a side with one setup.

You may have to experiment with types of drill bits to see which one works cleanest in your plywood or hardwood. I recommend "filling" the openings in each of the 25 inch rails with a tight fitting piece of hardwood to help prevent tearout.

For wider cases Lee Valley sells longer rods. I found I could buy some at the local Lowes, which work fine, for about a quarter of the cost.

I've had mine for fifteen or twenty years - just used it again yesterday.

gpssam | Jul 08, 2011 12:47pm | #2
Thank You

VAM,

Thank you for your input.

Johneramics | Jul 09, 2011 10:58am | #3
One can make their own drilling jig using a long fence on the drill press and a stop to the right and the end of the jig to the left. Machine a stick to 32mm, cut into blocks. Drill the first, best to use a 3/8 bit which will work with a router or vix bit. Just keep adding a block and drilling a hole each time
DonStephan | Jul 10, 2011 07:56pm | #4
Shop Made

Years ago I made a jig for use with a router bearing collar and 5mm router bit in a PC 690 plunge router. I adjusted a pair of dividers until I was able to step off 20 holes and get almost exactly 640mm, then laid out hole patterns on both sides of 10" wide 1/2" plywood. I drilled both sets of holes to fit a collar, but kept one in reserve and flipped the working set of holes to drill front and back of cabinet side. By flipping, the holes always lined up well. But if I made a lot of cabinets I'd probably want to commercial jig that didn't require flipping.
[email protected] | Jul 21, 2011 01:41pm | #5
meg jig

For use with a plunge routher not much beats the M.E.G. jig. http://megproducts.com/

Take a look at what they offer. The econo version made of plywood will probably last forever in home shop.

And, if you want to spend the time, you can borrow the idea and make your own. But, with the basic bore priced at under $50, you might want to just buy one.