Anyone use Veritas 32 Cabinetmaking system? Comments?

[Adrian Ponik]

Hello everyone,

Sometime in the next several months I need to build some cabinets for my garage/shop, and in the next year or so I want to build several bookcases for the house. I found the Veritas 32 system and think it may be a good solution to be able to use for euro-style (no face frame) cabinets and to use for the shelf-drilling on the bookcases. I am wondering if anyone has ever used the system, how it works, what components are necessary and which are nice, etc. I would love the deluxe system, but $300+ would be really pushing my budget currently. I'm mainly looking for anybody's experience with the system and how you liked it. Thanks!

[Jamie Buxton]

That thing is way too fancy and too expensive for what it does. Basically, it is a shelf pin jig. You can get those for $30-$40. I like the Woodhaven stuff. (http://www.woodhaven.com/Shelf-Pin-J...s+%26+Hardware). Buy the longer version of the template, in metric. Buy the 5 mm router bit, and use a plunge router.

[Jim Dwight]

I agree that the Veritas system looks nice but is very expensive for what it does. I have the Rockler jig for drilling shelf pin holes but I prefer the simpler Kreg jig. It is minimalist but works great. It also spaces holes on 32mm centers and can aide with back-spacing consistent with the 32mm system. Holes can be 1/4 or 5mm.

To fully use the 32mm system, I think you need one of the gang drilling machines. I'm sure they are nice but drilling holes is not my most time consuming task when making bookshelves, even with a simple jig (I spend a lot more time cutting to size and sanding than I do drilling).

[Adrian Ponik]

I agree that the Veritas system looks nice but is very expensive for what it does. I have the Rockler jig for drilling shelf pin holes but I prefer the simpler Kreg jig. It is minimalist but works great. It also spaces holes on 32mm centers and can aide with back-spacing consistent with the 32mm system. Holes can be 1/4 or 5mm.

To fully use the 32mm system, I think you need one of the gang drilling machines. I'm sure they are nice but drilling holes is not my most time consuming task when making bookshelves, even with a simple jig (I spend a lot more time cutting to size and sanding than I do drilling).

I agree, drilling the holes will not be a super time consuming aspect of construction, regardless of the method I wind up using. Lee Valley does have a basic set which is only $125 and seems much more reasonable and is the way I would probably go if I get any of the Veritas offerings.

[Martin Wasner]

Before I had a line bore, I just brought scraps of 1/2" plywood to a buddies cabinet shop and made drilling jigs out of those. Pretty cheap, and effective.

[William A Johnston]

Jig.jpgI originally had a MDF jig I had made from a local CNC shop but the holes would swell and shrink up do to changes in the humidity and it would get tight to use with my router. I then had them CNC me another one made out of acrylic which works really well with a good plunge router for drilling peg holes. You can see it hanging on the wall behind the orange ladder. I think it cost me around $75.00 to have it made.

[kent borcherding]

I had a Veritas 32 cabinetmaking system. It works great - once in a while one will be posted for sale . I sold mine for $130 shipped , when I had to quit woodworking - health issues.

Woodhaven makes really good practical products - Brad was a cabinet maker before he started Woodhaven . he is a good person.

If the budget is tight the Woodhaven jig works well - sure you would be happy with it.

[Brad Schmid]

I have what they're calling the "Basic System" now. I've had it for probably at least 10 or more years and back then I don't think there were Basic/Deluxe options. It works great. I don't recall having many other high quality options at the time. Now, there are likely more but honestly I had no need to keep an eye on such things. The thing I like the best about it is if I have to (and I have), I can get the rail inside an existing cabinet and retrofit shelf pins. I can usually figure out a way to fasten it in place while I drill. It's tougher to do that with a router based jig.

[mreza Salav]

Recently I've been doing lots of cabinets for a new house. I got the basic kit and made 3 templates for different cabinets I have with all the holes for the gables (hinges, shelf pins, etc). The holes I made 3/8" and then used a 3/8" bushing guide in plunge router with 5mm bit to do all the drilling, simply clamp (using kreg clamps) the template to gables, run the plunge router over the holes, done.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Hello everyone, Sometime in the next several months I need to build some cabinets for my garage/shop, and in the next year or so I want to build several bookcases for the house. I found the Veritas 32 system and think it may be a good solution to be able to use for euro-style (no face frame) cabinets and to use for the shelf-drilling on the bookcases. I am wondering if anyone has ever used the system, how it works, what components are necessary and which are nice, etc. I would love the deluxe system, but $300+ would be really pushing my budget currently. I'm mainly looking for anybody's experience with the system and how you liked it. Thanks!

I have had the deluxe system for a number of years now. For those who think it's just a shelf drilling jig, it is not! Indeed Lee Valley sells a shelf filling jig. It does allow you to drill shelf holes, but it also serves to drill what are called in the 32 mm system "system holes and construction hole". With the deluxe system I can set up the layout for balanced holes and just plop the jig on each cabinet piece and build interchangeable parts for cabinets. It is NOT necessary to have a multi head drill to build 32 mm system cabinets! This jig and a drill supplies all that you need.

Now, basic vs deluxe.... I think you could get away with the basic jig with the addition of the long rods or extra long rods. You would drill the front holes first in all of the components then set up for the back holes. If you then purchased an extra alignment pin you could use the rail then to drill additional construction holes ( these are the connecting holes for components which use dowels or mechanical connectors)

Download the instructions and study them, they're well written. Note that many parts are interchangeable with their dowel jig and their shelf drilling jig.

I like it, but then I like the whole concept of the 32 mm system and this allows me to construct 32 mm cabinets with a minimum of tools.

[Larry Frank]

I made a lot of Euro style cabinets for my shop....about 16 feet of uppers and lowers. I made the WWA Shelf Pin Jig which uses a plunge router with spiral down cut bits. I made a zillion holes with it all perfectly spaced. The holes were use for mounting hinges, drawer slides and shelf pins.

You might want to take a look at. You need to use a metric sized router bit. I bought all the hinges, slides from Woodworkers Hardware. They had everything I needed including special screws for the holes. It was so great as the holes were perfectly lined up for the hinges and drawer slides.

[Ole Anderson]

Another vote for the under $40 Woodhaven system with a upcut spiral bit in a plunge router. Did all of my kitchen cabs that way.

[Jim Dwight]

I understand that in the 32mm system the shelf pin holes are used for drawer glides. So every cabinet has the holes. I also know they use other names for them. But I don't think giving the holes new names makes the jig worth a lot more money. The Kreg jig has the offset of the 32mm system molded into the jig. So if you want to space the holes this way you can. I'm not trying to claim equivalency, just pointing out you don't need an expensive jig to have one with the spacing of the 32mm system.

I also made a whole kitchen of frameless cabinets once. We liked them. With 3/4 plywood boxes, the face frame truly isn't necessary. But I didn't poke a bunch of holes I wasn't going to use for anything in my cabinets.

The reason I think the multiple boring machine is consistent with this construction is just the huge quantity of holes that a 32mm system includes. Every upright has holes on 32mm centers at the front and back. You can drill them by hand with a jig but I will skip it and put shelf pin holes where I want them. Maybe I will space them so that I can use them for the hinges too but I doubt I will ever make holes in base cabinets like you do with the 32mm system.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

I understand that in the 32mm system the shelf pin holes are used for drawer glides. So every cabinet has the holes. I also know they use other names for them. But I don't think giving the holes new names makes the jig worth a lot more money. The Kreg jig has the offset of the 32mm system molded into the jig. So if you want to space the holes this way you can. I'm not trying to claim equivalency, just pointing out you don't need an expensive jig to have one with the spacing of the 32mm system. I also made a whole kitchen of frameless cabinets once. We liked them. With 3/4 plywood boxes, the face frame truly isn't necessary. But I didn't poke a bunch of holes I wasn't going to use for anything in my cabinets. The reason I think the multiple boring machine is consistent with this construction is just the huge quantity of holes that a 32mm system includes. Every upright has holes on 32mm centers at the front and back. You can drill them by hand with a jig but I will skip it and put shelf pin holes where I want them. Maybe I will space them so that I can use them for the hinges too but I doubt I will ever make holes in base cabinets like you do with the 32mm system.

But the point is that the jig sets up for other holes besides the shelf pin holes . The construction holes are normally at the edges of components and used for connectors. Sort of a doweling jig plus a shelf pin jig. Most shelf pin jigs don't provide these holes.

Do you need such a jig? Of course not. Before I bought it I measured and drilled holes for a cabinet. Does it save time? Yes. Typically as you spend more time or money for jigs you save construction time and gain accuracy-- important if you're making many components.

The original poster asked for reviews from users of a particular jig, he didn't ask how many other ways can he make cabinets.