Line Boring 32mm-What are you using?

[Roland Chung]

I want to upgrade my line boring capability from the jig systems that I have been using to something faster and cleaner. I've looked at the Conquest 13 spindle machine and right now I'm taking a close look at the Festool 32mm system.

With the 13 spindle machine, I anticipate having to use work supports and man-handling the occasional 30"x90" panels. The upside is the fence system and spring loaded reference pin for drilling longer rows.

With the Festool system, unless you use the 95" guide with holes, I think that there are problems if you are using the 42" guide on longer pieces - alignment, reliable spacing. I wouldn't mind dedicating the 1010 router to exclusive use with the 32mm system, but for another $70, I could get the 1400 which is more powerful and versatile, but is much heavier and may not be as compatible with the 32mm system. I admit that my assessment may not be current as I have been reading old posts.

The Conquest is about $1350 with bits and the Festool System works out to about $760 (95" guide and plate @$360/1400EQ @$400). Either way, I'll be spending enough to where I don't want to make a mistake.

Could you tell me what systems you are using and how you like them? Thanks!

RC

[Christian Aufreiter]

As a hobbyist I'm perfectly satisfied with the shop made setup I described here.

Regards,

Christian

[Dev Emch]

I have seen a number of solutions here. A heavy CNC bored steel plate. The LV solution (dont know if it can do 32 mm intervals however!!!!!), and the Festool solution.

The Festool solution is a single package solution based on the 1010 router. For this application, it cannot be beat. Its quick and its accurate and it was designed for the european market. With festool, it would be nice to know ahead of schedule if you ever need this feature. That way, if you purchase guide rails, you can order the ones with the holes in them from the get go.

I personally dont do much with 32 mm cabinets. These tend to be a bit Jetson like. But I am sure the time is comming and more sooner than later that I will need to tackle the mighty 32. At that point, I am just going to buy the Festool system and be done with it. So my vote goes to the Festool system. Also keep in mind that 2/3 thrds of this system is capable of being broken down and utilized elsewhere. So you have the potential of getting extra milage out of your hardware investment.

[Chris Giles]

I just recently went through this situation considering the same options you are now looking at. I ended up buying the conquest 13 spindle machine because I find it to be surprisingly well made for the price. It bores perfect holes very quickly and is easy to index for larger runs of holes. I have been very happy with this purchase. I did look at the festool because I like their products, but I found the spring-loaded indexing pin to be a weak point in the design. My feeling was that with the pin snapping in and out of the holes over time, wear would be a problem. The sample set-up in the store where I tested it is already showing signs of the aluminum rounding over where the pin goes into the hole, and it was almost new. You're also still drilling one hole at a time, and I could do that already with my existing jigs. The conquest makes the extremely tedious job of hole boring almost a non-issue. Realize though, that they put all the money into the drill head and plunge mechanism, and very little thought into the material handling aspect of the procedure, so you will have to set the machine up with some sort of table with stops and spacers to efficiently utilize it's abilities. Best of luck to you!

[John Renzetti]

Hi Roland, I use a Blum minipress and have the 7 hole line boring attachment. I don't drill a complete row of holes on the panel, but space them out to allow for some shelf adjustment. The Blum will also drill the holes for cup hinges and insert them also. I've seen them on Woodweb used for around $1100. Sometimes a Blum distributor will heavily discount the Minipress as long as you are going to order a bunch of hinges per year.
take care,
John

[brent lenthall]

I've used the Conquest 13 spindle at a friends shop and have had great results. In fact, everytime I have a project with a lot of adjustable shelves, I just happen to have my case parts with me when I stop by his place. I'm told the Conquest is made in the US and has metal gears (vs. Delta's plastic). After using one, it's sure hard to break out my jig and drill.

[Steve Rowe]

I use an SCMI 29 spindle boring machine. It is approx 20 years old and does a great job. It is very heavy - approx 1500 lbs and takes up a lot of shop space. If you don't plan on using it a lot, I would recommend going with something that doesn't take a lot of space such as the Festool, Hoffmann PDS, or some other system. While less convenient, as long as it is infrequent use, it seems like a reasonable compromise.
Steve

[tod evans]

roland, faster and cheeper have never been synonymous in my experience. as with anything good equipment ain`t cheep, depending on your requirements and floor space you`ve already had the most logical answers, either a dedicated router system(i made my own) or real line boring equipment. i would advise anyone to steer clear of the entry level equipment, if dollars are an issue look for used industrial. .02 tod

[Mark Singer]

I agree with what has been said...ither get a line boring 32 machine , most of my friends that build Euro cabinets all the time have one. ...or something simple and cheap. I use the rockler shelf drilling jig. It is real cheap and less cumbersome than the Veritas erector set I have used it for Euro cabinets for workstations, kitchens, baths ...it seems to work well and the results are good...it is fast too..

[John Stevens]

With the Festool system, unless you use the 95" guide with holes, I think that there are problems if you are using the 42" guide on longer pieces - alignment, reliable spacing. I wouldn't mind dedicating the 1010 router to exclusive use with the 32mm system, but for another $70, I could get the 1400 which is more powerful and versatile, but is much heavier and may not be as compatible with the 32mm system. I admit that my assessment may not be current as I have been reading old posts.

Hi, Roland. I have not used any system other than the Festool LR-32, so I can't give you a comparison. However, I can confirm your suspicions about the Festool system:

(a) it was too difficult for me to get acceptable spacing when re-positioning the 42" guide along a piece >42" long. (I don't like shelves that rock, even a little bit.) Alignment is only a problem if you're unable to clamp the guide rail to the work piece. I find that the rail will shift if not clamped, and that's the only time alignment can suffer. After using the 42" rail, I bought the longer one so I can use the channels under the rail to clamp it to the work piece.

(b) the OF1400 was not designed to work with the LR-32, but I think Festool is working on a way to make them compatible. Perhaps it's already available. Bob Marino (Fesool ISA who posts here) would know. You may want to PM him--he usually doesn't post messages to threads like this because he has too much class to give the appearance that he's using this forum to sell Festool products. But he knows Festool inside & out, and will give you a square account of the pros and cons of their products.

(c) if you dedicate the OF1010 to exclusive use with the LR-32, make sure you never try it for for hand-held plunge routing. If you do, be prepared to buy a second one, because you'll probably like it that much.

One other thing about the Festool system: when you use a drill to bore the holes, there's a ton of sawdust, but the Festool system is almost totally sawdust-free. To me, that's a big deal.

[Lee DeRaud]

I agree with what has been said...ither get a line boring 32 machine , most of my friends that build Euro cabinets all the time have one. ...or something simple and cheap. I use the rockler shelf drilling jig. It is real cheap and less cumbersome than the Veritas erector set I have used it for Euro cabinets for workstations, kitchens, baths ...it seems to work well and the results are good...it is fast too..

I've got one of those, works great most of the time. It does give you more opportunities to get one line of holes very slightly offset from the other three, DAMHIKT. (Probably not as much of a problem in situations where the holes can be drilled after the case is assembled.)