Shelf pin drilling/routing system

[Lockwood]

Hello all, this is my first post.

I make built-in furniture, and up until now I've been using Shelf Support Strip, Screw Fixing, Steel, 10 x 5 mm, Intervals 15 mm - Häfele U.K. Shop. In my opinion they look smart and have generally worked well. However, they do make decorating more difficult (we don't paint the cases, it is done by a third party after fitting) and also the strips themselves are not cheap. Cutting the strips to length etc. also takes a little more time than I would like.

I've been considering moving to a shelf pin system, I wanted to know what could be a good method. I already have a Festool OF1010 router, so I have been considering the LR32 approach but I can't quite work out what accessories would be required, and thus how much the shopping list would cost. Another potential approach would be Robot Check.

I should also add that we tend to set our support strips either 50mm in from the edge or 80mm in, and it can happen that we are working to a scribed edge (thus no easy place for a fence to ride).

What are the pros and cons of the different methods out there?

Many thanks for the shared wisdom!

Jonathan

 

[Jonathan S]

For years ive been using hafele 3mm support pins.....I did my own testing and they held up as much as the big 5 or 6mm support pins.
For some reason I only use tonk strip in schools......

For drilling the 3mm holes I've made up my own jig in hardwood, they last for years.....a few years ago I started doing the drilling with a lightweight festool txs (when using a heavy drill the arm got tired and the jigs got worn quickly) and started using there expensive brad point bits and never looked back.
Also I always do the drilling when the cabinets are made up and referance the jig on the bottom of the cabinet, this way you don't get wobbly shelves.

 

[RobinBHM]

I made a jig out of 10mm birch plywood

basically I made what looked like a giant sawtooth edge, with the pitch of 32mm

I made it with a morso guillotine -easy to make, I cut a load of ply offcuts 32mm, 64mm, 96mm, 128mm -then used them as a stop.

to use the jig, I set up a router with a guide plate and a 5mm drill.

you clamp the jog to the work, rout away.

and here's the great advantage: using a router with a guide bearing, its possible to machine up a load of jogs from the original.

I had a fair few of them, some about 700mm long for base cabinets, some 1800mm long for tall bookshelves.....so one set up does the whole row of holes.

 

[Ged S]

I have the Mk II Parf guide system for drilling 20mm holes a la MFT worktop. As an added advantage, this is perfect for drilling accurate 3mm holes at 32, 48 and 96mm centres, vertically and accurately. Coupled with Hafele 3mm pins as suggested by Jonathan S, job done.

 

[petermillard]

I have the LR32. I bought the kit but you don’t need it all - I only use it for shelf-pin holes, so just use the ‘holey rail’ and router baseplate. I had a pal turn me a pair of 32mm ally discs tapped in the centre for M8 (??) to fit through the rail holes. I use these to bear against the base of the carcass, and made a jig to set where the holes are drilled.

I’ve drilled these holes every way imaginable, and I‘be found a router with dust collection etc... to be the easiest by far, if you do them more than occasionally.

I show my setup around 5:30 in this video.

HTH P

 

[Lockwood]

Hello all, thanks for all the input, it's been really helpful! I've tried to read up on all the information you've given (and followed the various rabbit holes that they lead to). I had no idea that making shelf pin holes could be done in so many ways!

I've been looking carefully at my set-up and the space I have available, and it leads me to think that the jig from Germany may well be the best option for me. I have a Luton van rigged out as a mobile workshop, and space is very tight. Added to the fact that my sister and I work together and are sometimes in the van doing different things at the same time it means that space is at a premium!

With the jig, am I right in thinking that I need to also order a guide bush? I have a Festool 1010 router and a Makita 3612C. I already have a couple of Festool clamps so that will probably do for clamping.

Peter, thanks for the link to the video, I watched through the whole series. It looks like I do fairly similar work to you, and I picked up some useful tips!

Thanks again for the input.

Jonathan

 

[petermillard]

Thanks, good to hear it helped. And thanks @Hammer Time for the link to the SauterShop jig - hadn’t seen that one; I’m doing a few bits and pieces with SauterShop soon, I’ll see if I can get my hands on one

And yes, it looks like you need a bush/copy ring for your router - there’s a link in the body of the description. BTW if you didn’t get redirected, the English-language version of their site is SauterShop.com

cheers, Peter

 

[PAC1]

I use the Bosch holey rail which works well. The problem I suffer is the holes fill up with paint which then needs cleaning out.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Hello all, this is my first post.

I make built-in furniture, and up until now I've been using Shelf Support Strip, Screw Fixing, Steel, 10 x 5 mm, Intervals 15 mm - Häfele U.K. Shop. In my opinion they look smart and have generally worked well. However, they do make decorating more difficult (we don't paint the cases, it is done by a third party after fitting) and also the strips themselves are not cheap. Cutting the strips to length etc. also takes a little more time than I would like.

I've been considering moving to a shelf pin system, I wanted to know what could be a good method. I already have a Festool OF1010 router, so I have been considering the LR32 approach but I can't quite work out what accessories would be required, and thus how much the shopping list would cost. Another potential approach would be Robot Check.

I should also add that we tend to set our support strips either 50mm in from the edge or 80mm in, and it can happen that we are working to a scribed edge (thus no easy place for a fence to ride).

What are the pros and cons of the different methods out there?

Many thanks for the shared wisdom!

Jonathan

I have the kreg jig and the LR 32 rail and system in the systainer

if you are only doing a few and using the standard offset the kreg jig wins

the German jig would be a disaster for me as there is no single place for the holes and I’m sure that dust buildup would be a problem

If you have other festool items and do a lot the LR32 is the hands down winner, the offset is variable, the holes are very difficult to get wrong, as Peter said if you miss drilling one you can easily go back to the exact position it should be in.

I don’t have the number of holes to drill that Peter does so I use the system, the only items I don’t use are the OF1010 mounting points as I use an OF1400

 

[RueFondary]

I also have the Kreg jig and the Festool LR32 setup (not the full kit, but close to it, as buying piecemeal everything but the 35mm cutter and the systainer box resulted in a significant saving)... The Kreg jig is fine to add extra holes in situ, but the result is definitely not as good as what one gets with a router.

Setting up the Festool system takes time, and using it requires a bit of concentration, but the results are good for on site or limited volume production. Of note, I do use a Festool router with it, but with a bit of creativity it's possible to make 'adapter plates' for other smallish 'plunge' routers.

I did contemplate getting the Bosch "Starship enterprise" kit which sits in between these two solutions. The fact that the router plate is made of plastic and that it only comes with a 800mm track led me to go for Festool's solution, but it's a contender for limited volume production

 

[Lockwood]

After many months I have now actually used the jig (Milling template System 32 Multiplex), and I can give some feedback on how it has been.

The kit I use is:

• Milling template System 32 Multiplex
• Copy ring KR-D17/OF 900
• 4.8mm router bit
• 5mm drill bit
• Shelf Support Stud

Overall, the experience has been good. It's a significant improvement on my previous method (tonk strips), in that it's faster to set-up, faster to use and less prone to error (we haven't made a single mistake with it yet). My sister and I work together, and she's done most of the work with the new jig. She really likes it for its ease of use.

The method of laying out holes is quite 'positive', in that you can see what's going to happen and you're not so dependent on doing complicated calculations. This has meant that I've easily been able to offer clients the option of only drilling holes where they want them, such that they can have flexibility with shelf positioning but not necessarily see a long line of holes.

I ordered a 5mm router bit with the kit, but for whatever reason the shelf pins I got from Toolstation were a bit slack in the holes. The same was true for my existing 5mm router bits. I then simply went for the approach of routing 4.8mm holes and then finishing off with a 5mm drill bit, and the pins fit perfectly. This method works, but is far from ideal since it adds extra steps to the process, and also the drill raises the grain at the edge of the hole. This can be flattened somewhat by sanding, but if anyone has any alternative ideas I'm all ears. In short, 5mm router bits are too big but a 5mm drill bit is just right

Dust extraction is excellent and hasn't posed any issues at all, I use my little Festool router OF1010 and a Festool Mini CTL.

One critique I have of the jig is that the ends aren't long enough. This means that if you're routing a hole in the last slot you won't have enough room to clamp it down. I'm considering Domino-ing on some extra 'wings' to overcome this, but so far it's only been an issue once (we start the routing a few holes in from the end, since adjustable bookshelves aren't typically fitted right at the bottom of the opening!).

In summary, this jig works well for us because it's simple. We make and fit our built-in cabinetry all on-site, working from a mobile workshop in the back of a Luton van, and so this short jig with its flexibility, 'positivity' and ease of use is just the ticket for us. It also has the right level of incremental options (insets etc.) so as to be useful but not fussy.

A big thank you to @HammerTime (whose post seems to have disappeared) for first putting me on to this jig, and to everybody else for your input and suggestions. If anybody would like any more info on the jig I can try to answer.

Jonathan