Drilling Shelf Pin Holes Using Drill Press

[George Bokros]

I am building a cabinet and need to drill the shelf pin holes before assembly. In the past projects I was able to drill them after the cabinet was assembled using a shelf pin jig referencing the front face frame and the cabinet back using a Kreg shelf pin jig.

This time I need to drill the prior to assembly and am planning to use the drill press. I know the fence will keep the same distance from the edge against the fence but what method do you use to accurately place them along the spacing?

Thanks

[Chris Padilla]

Why can you use the same shelf pin jig? I use a jig and a router with appropriate guide bushing and centered bit. It takes a little bit of set up to ensure the bit is centered and then I have to play with the depth but once set, the holes are popped out pretty quickly.

[Bill Adamsen]

As you've pointed out, using the fence, it is easy to get the distance from either front or back. Getting the right distance vertically is much more challenging. One would think you could use a stop fence to register off the previously drilled hole. In my experience that leads to incremental errors (and undesirable results) over the height of the cabinet. Confession - I only did it once many years ago and then logged that into the "doesn't work" category. If you are only doing one cabinet, marking off the holes has a high likelihood for success. If you are doing many cabinets I would recommend a jig like Chris suggested. I have several (variations in pin spacing) that I've made and using a plunge router with an appropriately sized bit is fast and ensures a hole perpendicular to the face. If you have a friend with a CNC you can get them to "drill" the holes perfectly spaced for your busing.

[pat warner]

Drill Template, on appropriate centers & diameters for the job.

[Mark Wooden]

If I'm only doing one or two cabinets- ok, maybe a half dozen- I just lay out the holes with a set of dividers and use a brad point bit for the drilling- easy to set the point in the divot left by the dividers.
I'm also a proponent of using 3,5,or 7 holes (or 9 or 11) per shelf position as I don't care for long lines of holes that don't get used.
I've made several different jigs for doing line bores over the years, some worked, some didn't. If I need to do a bunch, I know a guy who has an Ayens borer to do it or I make up a template as suggested. Trick with a template is to always index off the same place in the cabinet and never flip it over, but slide it side to side in the box or (easier) mark the faces left, right, top and bottom and do the parts laying flat

[Leo Graywacz]

If you insist on doing it this way then make a fence and put lines on it at the distance you want the holes to be spaced. Then put a single mark on the panel to have the holes drilled in it and just slide and match it to the marks on the fence.

What I like to do is using the drill press is to make a stick with the holes drilled in it and you can use a hand held drill with a stop and I find it easier. Plus if you want you can assemble the cabinet and then do the holes.

I went to the hardware store and found a pc of brass tubing that had an inside diameter of 1/4" and an outside diameter of 9/32". So I drilled 9/32" holes and inserted them and this jig has lasted me for a couple years so far. This is my standard jig. Other non standard hole jigs I leave them unlined and there get used for that job.

For both I always use a brad point bit. I've ground the diameter of the drill bit down slightly so the shelf pin is snug instead of loose like if you use a nominal .250" bit. Just chuck the bit up in the drill press and use a block with sandpaper on it to rub against the spinning drill bit. At each swipe of the sandpaper drill a hole in a pc of wood and check the fit. Don't go to far or you'll need a new drill bit. Don't ask how I know that

[George Bokros]

You have some good suggestions Leo. I am considering both of them for my application. My only concern with the index on the fence is making sure I get all four cabinet stiles ( the cabinet is going to have glass in the ends) lined perfectly with the index marks.

I have also found a way to use my Kreg shelf pin jig but it only allows for 1/4" holes however I need 9/32" holes since I wanted to use the sleeves you can put in the holes.
This way I do not have finish the inside of the holes so they disappear.


Thanks to all that responded.

[tom lucas]

Google usually has some answers:
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/ski...-a-drill-press
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=153489401

[George Bokros]

Thomas I like the diynetwork link you posted. Since I want 9/32" holes I could just use a second 9/32" drill bit as the index pin.

I knew as always the members at SMC would have some excellent suggestions.

[Edwin Santos]

If you insist on doing it this way then make a fence and put lines on it at the distance you want the holes to be spaced. Then put a single mark on the panel to have the holes drilled in it and just slide and match it to the marks on the fence.

+1 here. I personally use a plunge router and jig from the Router Magic book, but if using the drill press is a must, I like the part of Leo's suggestion about multiple lines. You'll be drawing a lot of lines. Across your cabinet side at each hole height position, all the way across, and multiple lines on the drill press fence to match. This is because it is easier for your eye to line up your workpiece when you have several (3 or more) target lines for registration versus only one.

If you were so inclined, I could imagine an indexing jig that involves a registration pin or dowel in the drill press fence at the chosen distance from the bit and then making an indexing jig to clamp on cabinet side (think box joints) and then moving the workpiece along as you drill registering each notch to the pin. This would be a lot of work, and if you have a plunge router, I think that's the better way to go. Maybe even making one jig on your drill press to be used with a handheld drill if you can get a clean cut. Even if there are some errors, they'll be consistently transferred. Line boring is challenging without professional line boring equipment.

[michael langman]

What Pat Warner said is the simplest.
Take a piece of wood a practical size for the hole spacing and distance from the fence. Drill 2 holes into the wood the correct distance between centers and from the edge of the wood the distance the holes are from the fence.
Drill the first hole in the shelf. Then insert pin into hole and set fixture onto pin and drill second hole and so on, using drilling template.

[Leo Graywacz]

You have some good suggestions Leo. I am considering both of them for my application. My only concern with the index on the fence is making sure I get all four cabinet stiles ( the cabinet is going to have glass in the ends) lined perfectly with the index marks.

I have also found a way to use my Kreg shelf pin jig but it only allows for 1/4" holes however I need 9/32" holes since I wanted to use the sleeves you can put in the holes.
This way I do not have finish the inside of the holes so they disappear.


Thanks to all that responded.

That's easy. Just use a framing square and draw a line across the panel so when you flip the cabinet side around you are referencing the same line.